MELBOURNE - Sixteen test tries this year have not whetted All Black winger Joe Rokocoko's appetite for more, but he would rather be tackling.
Rokocoko said defence was the "bread and butter" of his game and the area where he would again devote most of his thinking and training before the
semifinal against Australia.
"My goal is actually always concentrating on D, getting my lines right and being in the right place at the right time," Rokocoko said.
"Each game there is always a goal, not to score a try but do your own role first."
Rokocoko and halfback Justin Marshall combined to stop Springbok prop Christo Bezuidenhout from scoring at a crucial moment during Saturday's 29-9 quarter-final win.
That gave Rokocoko more satisfaction than his try near the end of the game, his fifth of the tournament, from a spectacular through-the-leg pass by Carlos Spencer.
The Fijian-born winger praised captain Reuben Thorne for turning over possession in the lead-up and was not surprised by how he received the ball.
Rokocoko expected the All Blacks' wide defence to be extended by Wallaby wingers Wendell Sailor and Lote Tuqiri.
Right-winger Sailor will resume his rivalry with Rokocoko, but his place is under threat after a lacklustre display in their 33-16 quarter-final defeat of Scotland.
Tuqiri improved his standing with a storming effort against the Scots and Rokocoko said both were capable of causing problems.
"It's not a good idea to give those guys some park, they're very powerful up the top, especially 20 metres out. If they get the ball, they gain ground. We have to be up in their face."
Rokocoko famously left Sailor grasping with an outside swerve to score early when the two teams last met in Sydney, kick-starting the 50-21 Bledisloe Cup triumph.
"Every player learns from every test they play," he said charitably, before commenting on his surprise at receiving so much space during the Sydney test.
"They've had a few tests under their belts since. There have been mistakes, but they're improving every time."
- NZPA
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