KEY POINTS:
Straying from the usual All Black course of diplomacy, winger Joe Rokocoko has served up a verbal high shot to the European opposition.
Rokocoko, who did not play against Italy but will almost certainly be named late tonight to start against Portugal, admitted he had been surprised by
the sloppy start to the tournament by the big European teams.
Scotland and Wales struggled for long periods against Portugal and Canada respectively, England laboured against the US and, in the biggest shock of all, France were beaten in the opener by Argentina.
"I was quite surprised. I'm not sure what it is. Have they had too much rugby? I don't know. There's a lot of pressure on them."
Rokocoko was careful to point out that the Crusaders had often looked sluggish at the start of the Super 14 before clicking into gear later in the tournament, but there was still no doubt in his mind which hemisphere was producing the goods so far.
"We're looking sharper at the moment," he said of the Tri-Nations teams.
The 45-test veteran said Scotland and Ireland looked "frightened", despite their modest opposition, but he saved his biggest hit for the French, just two days after All Black coach Graham Henry said he expected the home side would still play a major part in the tournament.
"They looked like they just didn't want to play," Rokocoko said. "They were kicking it too much, giving 50-50s. If Argentina had kept the ball in their hands a bit more they could have scored a few more tries.
"It was like the French ran into their cave and didn't know what to do. I didn't see much talking from their senior players."
Rokocoko also said the All Blacks were benefiting from spending the past three years working on combinations and Plan A, B and C.
Meanwhile, Samoa insist they remain firmly in the hunt for the World Cup quarter-finals despite copping a 50-point thumping from South Africa.
And strange as it might sound after being on the wrong end of a 59-7 scoreline, you can see their point.
They'll watch the Springboks take on England in Paris on Saturday before tackling Tonga in Montpellier on Monday.
Then they have six days off before playing England in Nantes on September 23.
The Samoans' rugged approach would rattle lesser teams but not the South Africans, whose pack is loaded with big, hard men not averse to bending the rules at close quarters.
Indeed, Springbok captain John Smit referred to the clashes over the ball at the breakdowns as "almost cage fighting", and he left the impression he didn't mean it in a negative sense.
Samoa were right in the contest against South Africa until early in the second half when their heads dropped after a try was disallowed which, with the conversion, would have had them seven points adrift.
Instead, South Africa put their foot down, created space, took their chances and presented their title credentials emphatically.
Samoa's coach, All Black legend Michael Jones, is right to be bullish about his team's prospects.
"We've got time to work on things and we'll pay whatever price it takes. I truly believe in our potential.
"There's no reason why we can't qualify, but we're not thinking about England.
"We have to get past our Polynesian brothers first."
