The All Blacks aim to achieve consistent high-quality performances, moving from good to great.
Ardie Savea emphasises thriving under pressure and performing at every venue.
The upcoming test against the Springboks is seen as a key opportunity for improvement.
The sign of a good All Blacks team is being able to respond to high-pressure, must-win games with a quality performance.
The sign of a great All Blacks team is that they deliver consistent high-quality performances and results which means they rarely have to alleviate built-up pressure inmust-win games.
The best All Blacks teams in history have never needed an external stimulus to consistently get the best out of themselves, and have won with enough regularity to only occasionally have had their backs against the wall.
They have operated with such high internal expectations – such a relentless capacity to hold each other to account and demand more of one another that they have built non-negotiable cultures where they only tolerate sustained excellence.
The two standout eras – 1987-1990 and 2010-2016 – were driven by a desire to produce the perfect performance. It made them a little Captain Ahab searching for their white whale, but it also saw the former go through 21 tests without losing, while the latter twice won 16 consecutive tests, and then managed a world record 18 consecutive victories.
It didn’t matter to these two teams who they were playing or what was at stake, they both had a way to create their own pressure and play to the standards they had set for themselves.
Scott Robertson's men saw off a tough challenge from the Springboks at Eden Park. Photo / SmartFrame
To be able to consistently play at that peak level is the holy grail of high-performance and something the All Blacks most recent centurion, Ardie Savea, said remains front of mind for the current team.
After playing a major role in the All Blacks’ gutsy and combative 24-17 win, Savea said: “I think keep bringing the pressure. You guys [media] do a great job building that pressure. I think as a player you thrive on that and it makes you want to do better.
“That’s what the people of this nation deserve and that’s what we’re expected as All Blacks to do. So for me, I love it. It gets the knots in the gut going and makes me want to perform for the people.
“Every stadium in New Zealand is our home and that’s the mindset we should have. We shouldn’t wait until Eden Park to get up and put in a performance like that.”
It’s a point he’s made before – as recently as last year after the All Blacks lost to Argentina in Wellington and then thumped them seven days later at Eden Park.
And it’s a point that is worthy of repetition because this up and down business has been the story of the All Blacks under Robertson – who after 20 tests have arguably found themselves in too many must-respond encounters.
Consistency has eluded them and rarely, if at all, have the All Blacks under Robertson produced back-to-back outstanding performances.
There were signs of a breakthrough at the tail end of last year when they followed a convincing home win against the Wallabies, with victories against England at Twickenham and then Ireland in Dublin, but then came a loss to France and an error-strewn victory against Italy.
They haven’t yet been able to build a concerted run of games where they meet a benchmark level and provide a definitive sense of being better each time and obviously governed by their own demanding culture.
This Saturday’s second test against the Springboks is set up to be the beginning of the All Blacks’ journey from good to great – the perfect opportunity for them to start learning the art of being at their best even when the external pressure has been dialled down.
The sense of occasion has certainly lessened, but Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus couldn’t have been any clearer after his side’s loss in Auckland about how determined they are to secure a win on New Zealand soil.
He said they didn’t frame this tour exclusively or even heavily around the Eden Park encounter – they came for a win and that goal is still achievable – before confirming he’ll be making selection changes for Wellington.
The All Blacks perform their haka before facing the Springboks. Photo / Photosport
The Boks are going to dust themselves off and come again this Saturday, arguably better equipped due to the likely personnel changes they have signalled and certainly energised and determined to pull off what remains a bucket-list item for all South Africans.
Savea’s point about being able to play well at any venue in every game is perhaps more a veiled warning to his teammates than a lament.
The All Blacks will pay a heavy price if they drop the intensity they showed in Auckland and the whole pressure cycle – all the questions about what sort of team they really are – will reignite as after the Springboks, comes back-to-back tests against the much improved Wallabies, a clash with Ireland in Chicago, and then Scotland in Edinburgh and England in London.
“This is a unique opportunity to play two tests against South Africa in New Zealand. Now we’ve got a chance to win the Freedom Cup so that will be talked about this week.”
This week, then, represents what could be the first steps Robertson’s All Blacks take on a journey from good to great.
