New Zealand All Blacks 2nd-five Ma'a Nonu during a press conference, held at the teams base The Lensbury, Teddington, Middlesex, London, in preparation before their first Pool C match against Argentin
New Zealand All Blacks 2nd-five Ma'a Nonu during a press conference, held at the teams base The Lensbury, Teddington, Middlesex, London, in preparation before their first Pool C match against Argentin
Before a shot is fired in anger at this World Cup, we can only assess the form of the teams through what they say, and already differences are developing between the All Blacks and hosts England.
Ma'a Nonu, a late arrival for the All Blacks due to a flu-like illnesswhich kept him in Auckland for an extra 24 hours, today personified his team's attitude when he effectively said he wasn't thinking past lunchtime in terms of his World Cup ambitions.
The All Blacks' embracing of the tournament and their excitement at being here has already been well reported. England, though, ensconced as they are at their luxury base at Pennyhill out of the way in Surrey, are either rising to the challenge or amping themselves up to new levels of anxiety, depending on your point of view.
Steve Hansen's men this morning trained behind a blacked-out fence at their Teddington base - no change there, it's what they usually do when on tour, or even at home during closed sessions. England coach Stuart Lancaster, though, has insisted that his team change their routines and train in similar secrecy because he wants to ensure his players don't prepare for their opener against Fiji at Twickenham on Saturday NZT like a normal test week.
"When you're here you're in a bubble, you're not exposed to the outside world and if you're not careful it could just become another test week," said Lancaster. "I don't want that as it isn't normal. We try and keep it business as usual but we also need to ramp it up at some point as it's not a normal game."
His comments to the press after he named a full-strength side to take on Fiji came alongside an explanation about a pep talk he had recently given his players. "I was articulating my belief and trying to build their belief that they can go on and win the tournament," he said.
Time will tell whether he is on the right track with his big-picture view, but in a tournament which is more marathon than sprint, breaking things down into bite-size pieces might be easier for the players to digest. Which brings us back to Nonu and his lunchtime philosophy.
"We saw in the last World Cup with our injuries at No10 ... [before] our last pool game. I think with this World Cup we just look at it day be day, really," Nonu said. "We're not looking too far ahead - who we've got here, who we've got next week, where we are going. We're playing Argentina [on Monday] and that's our focus. It's nearly lunchtime so I'm focusing on that. After lunch I'll think about tomorrow."
Nonu gave Julian Savea and Beauden Barrett, his teammates alongside him at the press conference, a look as he said how "excited" he was to be here, as though it were a buzz word they had talked about before they walked into the room. There is no denying, though, that after their arrival in London and today's first training run, that's exactly what they are, with Nonu saying his advice to players yet to play a World Cup match would centre around enjoyment.
"Just enjoy the experience, just remember what got them in the side," he said. "It's the pinnacle of your rugby career, making it to a World Cup. Every game is special in terms of making it to the end."
Ma'a Nonu during All Blacks first full team training session, held at the teams base The Lensbury, Teddington, Middlesex, London. Photo / Brett Phibbs
