MELBOURNE - The lineout woes at the root of New Zealand heartache in previous rugby tests against Australia must be avoided at all costs in tomorrow night's World Cup semifinal says lock Chris Jack.
The Wallabies have already pinpointed the game's most contestable phase as a pressure point for the All
Blacks, hopeful they can spread the same malaise in New Zealand's lineout that afflicted Bledisloe Cup losses in recent years.
While the All Blacks will start favourites at Telstra Stadium, Sydney, another shoddy lineout performance against an intelligent Australian pack featuring the lanky Justin Harrison and powerful Nathan Sharpe as locks could prove disastrous.
"The Wallabies have got a fantastic lineout with great athletes in at lock. They're superb in the air and that puts a whole lot more pressure on us," Jack said.
"It might cause us to throw to places where we wouldn't normally throw and do things we might not have organised for.
"They feel it's a place they can really attack us and they do it well, as you would have noticed over the last few years. Hopefully we can get through the game with most of our lineout ball intact."
New Zealand's lineout has performed fluidly at the tournament so far without being tested.
The Springboks barely contested in last Saturday's quarterfinal, allowing hooker Keven Mealamu to pick out lock Ali Williams for several vital wins at the tail of the lineout, the best kind of ball to attack from.
"We got our ball where we wanted it. The way Kevvy was throwing out there was fantastic, he was just putting it up there and letting the jumpers do the work," Jack said.
"Our lineout's always under pressure with the public because people don't seem to rate it. That's all right for us. We know what we're doing out there."
An unusually inept Wallabies lineout display in their quarterfinal win over Scotland has seen their overall tournament statistics drop below the All Blacks.
New Zealand have won 91 of their 98 lineouts for a 92.9 per cent ratio compared to Australia's 87.7 per cent. And the All Blacks have also attacked opposition throws better, winning 10 out of 52 opposition throws for a 19.2 per cent steal rate. The Wallabies have snatched 11.5 per cent.
However, Mealamu will have fresh in his mind the lowly 53 per cent record on his throw when they beat Australia by a record 50-21 at the same ground nearly four months ago.
"They're a smart pack, they know how to do their jobs and they do it well. We just have to beware, I've never seen them buckle," said Mealamu, expecting the Australians were sure to invent another way of contesting the New Zealand throws.
"They're hard to prepare for. You try to get ready for things you've seen on tapes but there's no reason why you can't pull out something different. You've had something in your bag and you want to save it for the big games."
The clash between the in-form Jack and Harrison, recalled to the Wallabies starting lineup after being overlooked for much of the year, holds an extra element.
Jack outplayed his rival in the Super 12 final last year but Harrison told Australian journalists soon afterwards that he questioned the credentials of his New Zealand rival.
Harrison said: "I present a lot of skills and qualities that Jack probably doesn't have."
Jack said he enjoyed playing against Harrison.
"We've got similar attributes on the field, we both come across quite aggressive. He's a great man to play against, there's always a good contest. He doesn't leave anything on the field."
The other pre-tournament weakness that critics believed could tell against the All Blacks was goalkicking.
That has not yet proven to be a problem, their tryscoring ability keeping them out of danger in their biggest challenges against Wales and South Africa.
Their tournament success rate of 75 per cent is fractionally below the Wallabies' 78.2 per cent.
Centre Leon MacDonald has kicked 22 from 28 attempts since taking over the duties three games ago for a 78.6 per cent ratio.
He managed six from nine against Wales at Telstra Stadium two weeks ago, when the big screens stationed behind the posts proved to be a distraction.
"Every game's an experience and next time I play there it won't be an issue," he said.
- NZPA
MELBOURNE - The lineout woes at the root of New Zealand heartache in previous rugby tests against Australia must be avoided at all costs in tomorrow night's World Cup semifinal says lock Chris Jack.
The Wallabies have already pinpointed the game's most contestable phase as a pressure point for the All
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