All Blacks to go on pool feeding frenzy

By DANIEL GILHOOLY

The All Blacks will be among the most gluttonous when rugby's leading nations feast on minnows over the four weeks of World Cup pool play.

Rugby boilovers are less frequent than at a soccer World Cup, leaving most the 40 pool games easy to predict in Australia.

But there is still major interest in a handful of games.

The losers of England against South Africa in Perth on October 18 will face New Zealand in the quarterfinals while Scotland's encounter with Fiji, in Sydney on November 1, is likely to decide the pool B runners-up.

And the matches involving Australia, Ireland and Argentina in pool A shape as closely fought contests, with defending champions Australia far from assured of an easy passage.

All Blacks management will say otherwise but Italy, Canada, Tonga and Wales are sure to provide little more than cannon fodder for the tournament co-favourites.

Winger Joe Rokocoko and Doug Howlett, who have scored 18 tries between them in seven tests this year, are sure to compound their tallies while first five-eighth Carlos Spencer will get plenty of the goalkicking practice his critics say he needs.

A host of individual and team points scoring records would be in the offing were it not for the 145-17 exhibition put on by the 1995 All Blacks against Japan in Bloemfontein, a result that looks hard to topple for its magnitude.

While probably not the ideal preparation for the quarterfinals and beyond, a series of large wins will at least maintain the Reuben Thorne-led team's winning momentum and keep confidence high in the expansive game plan they are sure to maintain against stauncher opponents.

"People think we'll march straight through but we certainly aren't going to take them lightly," Thorne told NZPA.

"Those teams have their one opportunity against the All Blacks and I'm sure they'll be putting their best into it."

Thorne admits game time is important, with most of the squad not having played since the Tri-Nations finale against Australia in Auckland on August 16.

Italy on October 11 and Canada six days later will provide the All Blacks with a taste of Melbourne's Telstra Dome, the location of their likely quarterfinal.

After an encouraging internal tour of New Zealand, the Italians' confidence has plummeted.

A series of poor warmup matches, featuring heavy losses to Scotland and Ireland, had unfortunate consequences when coach John Kirwan sacked his assistant, fellow former All Black Leicester Rutledge.

Kirwan has complained bitterly about his team's draw. They play their four matches in the space of 14 days, the most compressed time frame of any team at the tournament.

They have named former North Harbour first five-eighth Rima Wakarua in place of the experienced Ramiro Pez.

Italy have conceded 392 points against the All Blacks in their six tests, including a century in their last World Cup clash in 1999.

The All Blacks' biggest points splurge could come against Canada, who are threatening to play their B team in that match to save their best players for more winnable encounters.

Their A team were thrashed at home twice by New Zealand Maori this year and they suffered again at the hands of the United States, showing how much the game has stagnated in Canada, for whom flanker Al Charron will attend his fourth World Cup.

Tongan coach Jim Love, like Kirwan and Wales mentor Steve Hansen, is a New Zealander.

So he's seen first-hand the effects of modern rugby as a host of prospective players have chosen not to represent their countries and remain with their New Zealand provinces.

Other British-based players have also declined the chance to represent their nation while Former Kiwis Lesley Vainikolo and Tevita Vaikona also couldn't get clearance to play.

After a short, uninspiring tour of New Zealand, the Tongans hit the headlines for the wrong reasons when Australian-based prop Tonga Lea'aeto said his team would try to "soften up" the All Blacks in their pool match, comments quickly dampened by Love.

Welsh rugby's decline on and off the field has been well documented yet they shape as New Zealand's most challenging pool opponents.

The All Blacks will hope Wales have improved since they succumbed 3-55 in Hamilton in June.

If so, the match at Sydney's Telstra Stadium will serve an important role for the New Zealanders, out to reaquaint themselves with the ground that will host the semifinals and final.

The All Blacks have scored 294 combined points in their last test against each of the four pool opponents. Given the right conditions, topping that figure is within their reach.

- NZPA