Senior All Blacks like Sam Whitelock have spent much of the past two weeks reflecting on what went wrong against Argentina - and ensuring there's no repeat this weekend. Photo / Getty Images
Senior All Blacks like Sam Whitelock have spent much of the past two weeks reflecting on what went wrong against Argentina - and ensuring there's no repeat this weekend. Photo / Getty Images
Utilising the unusual two-week gap between the last of their successive defeats and the final test of the year will determine whether the All Blacks snap their form slump.
Physically there are no excuses for the All Blacks. While the Pumas continue their recovery from the ugly draw with theWallabies last weekend, the All Blacks are fresh off their week of soul-searching reflection.
All Blacks coach Ian Foster, captain Sam Cane and the team as a whole have been under siege since their first defeat to the Pumas which came one week after losing to the Wallabies in Brisbane.
Mentally 2020 has been a year of challenges, with delays and postponement of competitions and fixtures bringing near constant change. The latest example involves the All Blacks drilling down into the finer details for their failures in the last two outings and rectifying those before the season ends.
"This is the first time I've been involved with a week where we are away from home, still assembled as a team, but not having a game," All Blacks centurion Sam Whitelock said.
"That's had its own challenges but it's also been good to have extra time so you can have those conversations that during a normal test week are hard to have.
"It's been good to use the last week differently and it means, hopefully, we're in a better spot going into this last game. We're all excited to show the improvements we've made over the last eight or nine days.
"You have to embrace the pressure and the year that has been."
Senior All Blacks like Sam Whitelock have spent much of the past two weeks reflecting on what went wrong against Argentina - and ensuring there's no repeat this weekend. Photo / Getty Images
Messages from management and the leadership group have echoed those from 2011, when the All Blacks last suffered successive defeats prior to the World Cup, which stipulate remaining clam, trusting individual abilities and not losing confidence as they attempt to secure the Tri Nations title.
The danger of allowing minds to drift to the summer break that awaits from next week is another factor the team is conscious to avoid.
"It is a very real challenge. It's been a couple of hard weeks but I've got to know the boys better, even some of the guys I've known a long time, to really understand what makes them tick. We've got to use that to work out if someone is drifting towards thinking about in two weeks' time and pull them back to where they need to be right now."
From a personal point of view Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu took ownership of the need for the All Blacks forward pack to deliver physical dominance that will help break down the Pumas defensive wall.
"Individually I've got a few things I want to work on with my ball carrying and staying alive and actually getting off the line in defence and making some good chop tackles," Tuipulotu said.
"Everyone will have their work-ons to negate how they defend and carry hard. Personally I need to bring that intensity, match and go over what they bring because we all saw how they brought it the last time we played and that played into their hands.
"All of us are anxious to get on the field and do the job."
All Blacks captain Sam Cane and teammates Anton Lienert-Brown, Hoskins Sotutu and Rieko Ioane after the defeat to the Pumas. Photo / Photosport
While they must bring that passion to the collisions the All Blacks are well aware they cannot cross the line by being drawn into scuffles off the ball. Maintaining discipline in this department is a major collective focus.
"Against any squad there's always going to be that sort of niggle. What we can do best is acknowledge it. The hardest thing is to walk away but sometimes that's what you have to do. In the heat of battle it gets very tense so that's one of the hardest things to do but for us it's important. We know we are going to get it but we have to move onto the next job."
Despite defensive attitudes ruling test rugby at present Whitelock promised the All Blacks will not waver from attempting to break the Pumas down through their attacking intent.
"Some teams suit that style. All Blacks in general, and I'm talking all through history, love running the ball. Coming up against a strong defensive side that always challenges the team."
