All Blacks captain Sam Cane shared his advice for a defeated Italy following their 96 - 17 thrashing in Lyon. Video / NZ Herald / Photosport
By Liam Napier in Lyon
Sam Cane’s return is a sure sign the All Blacks are building - and that they have more to give. The captain’s comeback comes with a timely message, too, by promising one compelling pool performance will not inflate internal perceptions of where this team stands.
Cane was far from a central figure as the Ardie Savea-led All Blacks blitzed Italy 96-17 in Lyon to take a sizable stride towards the quarter-finals.
A 23-minute cameo off the bench, after sitting out the loss to France and romp over Namibia, should be enough to seal Cane’s return to resume the captaincy for the All Blacks’ final pool match against Uruguay next week.
Cane was forced to pull out on the eve of the World Cup opening defeat with back spasms - the result of a gradual build-up of tension - that took much longer to settle than first anticipated.
Having completed his comeback, he’s confident those issues won’t prove a further hindrance as the business end of the tournament approaches.
“It’s been incredibly frustrating. I’ve been looking forward to that game for a long time,” Cane said of the French loss. “My body was in a good spot but backs can pop out of nowhere. I’ve been in worse spots before on game day and come through but it wasn’t to be this time.
“Sometimes they can come right quickly and other times they can linger and cause a few issues.
“I was very confident with the back going in, just based off the week’s preparation and how it’s got better. The excitement levels were a wee bit higher than normal. There’s nothing like having a few games off to make you appreciate how good it is out there.
“To come through unscathed is a bonus as well. I feel like I’m over the hump so hopefully it’s behind me.”
All Blacks captain Sam Cane says he feels he's over his back problems Photo / Getty Images
Cane had front-row seats on the bench alongside fellow senior statesmen Dane Coles and Sam Whitelock as the New Zealand forward pack crushed Italy to lay the platform for 14 captivating tries. With the foundation set, the experienced bench then maintained those standards.
“It was very clinical, pretty ruthless,” Cane said. “It’s a reflection of the past two weeks of work that’s been put on the training park. It was really pleasing to see that put out there for everyone to see.”
While the rugby world was put on notice with a reminder of how potent the All Blacks are with endless front-foot freedom, Cane has no doubts they will remain grounded.
The scrappy 10-minute period immediately after halftime, when the All Blacks buttoned off to concede four penalties, one try and cough up mistakes, will be a clear focus of their review.
Avoiding such lapses could be the difference between progression or deflection from a potential quarter-final against Ireland.
“There will be some areas we pat ourselves on the back but knowing our coaches, they’ll be looking through things with a fine-tooth comb and highlighting things we probably won’t get away with against better teams,” Cane said.
“Our set piece was really good. That’s something we’ve put a lot of work into, so making sure we keep tapping into those areas, because we know they’re key to getting our game right.
“I don’t see this team getting ahead of ourselves based on one performance. There’ll be only so much you can take from it because of the type of game it became.
“It wasn’t very long ago we put in one against France that wasn’t quite good enough. I feel we’re building nicely. I’m excited it’s only six days until we get another crack.”
Coles savoured the expansive nature of the blowout by claiming two tries roaming the edges, but as one of the senior leaders tasked with holding the team to account, the veteran hooker quickly reiterated Cane’s tone.
Dane Coles heads for the tryline. Photo / Photosport
“It’s a step in the right direction but we haven’t achieved anything yet,” Coles said. “We’re not getting carried away. We’ve got a short turnaround. We can be proud of the way we stuck at it. We were really disciplined and did the simple things well. We’ll keep our feet on the ground and get stuck into Uruguay next week.”
With speeches in the sheds, and Coles reluctantly sharing whisky on the rocks with him later in the Lyon evening, the All Blacks toasted Whitelock surpassing Richie McCaw in his record-breaking 149th test.
“It was good to share a special moment with a guy like that.”
The following morning, though, Cane noted Whitelock was the first in the gym to start recovery for the week ahead.
“To achieve one is pretty special. Not many get 50. He’s adding another 100 to that. It’s phenomenal,” Cane said. “It’s not just the 149 games, it’s the work, preparation, discipline and dedication that goes into each one. Who knows, it might be a very long time, if ever, that it gets beaten. A lot of things have to go right to achieve something like that.”
