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Ex-All Black 'quietly confident' of fourth Rugby World Cup win in France
Former All Black halfback and 2011 Rugby World Cup winner Andy Ellis is ‘quietly confident’ that Ian Foster’s side will go all the way and win New Zealand’s fourth William Webb Ellis trophy in France.
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Irish over-confidence stemming over the potential quarter-final match-up with the All Blacks has made Ellis smirk, while the former Crusader trusts that the All Blacks are timing their run.
The return of key players to full fitness is the key for the All Blacks to hit their straps at the right time in two weeks when knock-out rugby begins.
“They said from the start they wanted to peak at the right times in this tournament and they’ve been building for that nicely,” he told the Rugby World Cup podcast.
“They’ve had some of their injured guys coming back in the past weeks, which has boosted the side and strengthened the bench.
“I am a Kiwi so we’re pretty humble. We try not to talk up things too much but I feel quietly confident. I think we are in a good place.
“They’re all rolling back in. Sam Cane is now back in the mix again. He is fresh and healthy again. Shannon [Frizell] has come back and given that physicality we love at six.
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“All our locks are fully fit now. Jordie Barrett’s back, a bit of size in the midfield now. Tyrel Lomax, he strengthens that front row.
“The squad is in a good place to kind of leap forwards.”
Since beating South Africa 13-8 in their pool stage clash most of the talk has been about how the two sides will meet in the World Cup final again.
The dismissive attitude has not paid much thought to New Zealand or hosts France, who shape as likely quarter-final opponents for both.
Ellis hoped that the All Blacks could still ‘sneak up’ on Ireland despite making headlines with their 96-17 win over Italy last week.
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“Yep. It does yeah,” he said on whether the talk around Ireland makes him smile.
“I knew the All Blacks had a performance like the Italy one in them. The quality of the men and the way that they play, you know it’s there.
“But I would have quite liked them to have snuck up on Ireland, or whoever they play in the quarter-final, and really shown what they’ve got (then).
“But in saying that, they will take some good confidence away from that Italy game. Whoever they play in the quarters that team is going to be so ready and so well prepared.”
New Zealand and Ireland have forged a new rivalry since 2016 when the Irish broke a 111-year drought to register their first win over the All Blacks.
The second soon followed in 2018 on Irish soil in Dublin while Andy Farrell’s side have taken the rivalry to a new level with three wins from their last four, including a historic 2-1 series win on New Zealand soil.
Another quarter-final match-up will add a defining chapter to this rivalry whilst also being a pivotal moment in Irish rugby’s history as they look to get the quarter-final monkey off their back.
Comments on RugbyPass
The real deal.
3 Go to commentsIt’s been said that Nienaber will head back to SA too before next World Cup , hoarding all the amazing IP gained in Irish system … get a grip … Irish system needs to Milk the likes of Barrett . First time a leading all Black in his prime has gone to Ireland for any period of time . Enjoy it .
20 Go to comments20 min RC is the only good solution of a bunch of bad solutions. Ridiculous that it has taken this long and caused so many uneven contests. In general these are all very good changes - one is surprised that NH brokers were able to see sense at long last.
6 Go to comments“While a red card will mean a temporary team disadvantage, the replacement system will focus punishment on the offending player instead of disrupting the game itself.” This might work for amateur rugby, where players just want to be on the pitch for as long as possible, but hopefully we’ve got to a point where top level professionals care about the success of their team much more than about whether they personally are on the pitch or not.
6 Go to commentsa lot of focus on the targeting of south africa, but aspects of this are positive. The croc roll; the offside law; and time limits on set pieces are all good. calling for a mark off kick offs is baffling, but I guess we’ll see how it plays out in practice
24 Go to commentsSpeeding the game up is great, but I think we will find that the increase in viewership this year mostly comes down to the competition being more competitive…the fall of the Crusaders has been a boon for viewership. This should be at the heart of super rugby changes - how to make the comp more even
23 Go to commentsThe fact that the press were largely to blame for his taking a break is nothing short of disgusting. He’s made a few mistakes but difficult to name a player of any substance who gives it a full go hasn’t also made mistakes? On behalf of a large number of Bokke fans, bring back Farrell !!!!!
1 Go to commentsPSTD is a fantastic flanker. He could benefit from a bit of self-promotion / flair and he is not quite the danger man that Ardie is. That said, he is my 1st pick to build a backrow around. His speed and hustle made up for Duane who got quite a bit slower at the 8.
3 Go to commentssurprised, disco lights haven't been banned by world rugby board
24 Go to commentsToo many changes. Too often. I’m tired of this WR administration. How do we vote these fockers out? Bill needs to go.
24 Go to commentsDu Toit, 2 time W.Cup winner yet rarely mentioned a “Great “…if one looks back on his stellar carrier perhaps someone will one day elevate him to “Richie” status…a quiet, polite yet devastating loose forward that knew action speaks louder than words..
3 Go to commentsI like the offside rule, but this won't affect my team because all their kicks gets chased and that putts everyone on side. Lekker manne!
24 Go to comments20 minute Red Card is untenable. If you don’t punish the whole team, coaches won’t be sufficently incentivised to pick players with, or coach better tackle technique.
6 Go to commentsI can only think of One time ever a team has opted for a scrum from a free kick… Why the law change I wonder
24 Go to commentsYeah, its not going to work. But we see you World Rugby.
24 Go to commentsLove the reaction after last 2 W.Cups re rule changes…maybe good for more for more of a “ league” type running game( which I personally don’t like) but seems Rassie is definitely in ther heads…
24 Go to commentsGreat. More unwanted changes. Because these always work out well.
24 Go to commentsI’m sure South Africa’s opponents will rejoice at World Rugby minimising one of the Boks’ most potent weapons, but you just know Rassie is cooking something up with free-kicks that no-one else has thought of. Let them play checkers. Rassie’s playing chess. 😂
24 Go to commentsAfter a fairly simple Pac4, the BFs will find out a lot about themselves in September when they face the rampaging RedRoses at Twickenham in front of a record crowd. After that they will face them again in Canada in WXV1. They also have France to contend with. Will be interesting to see what Australia have to offer with Jo Yapp at the helm.
1 Go to commentsSuper Rugby Pacific has been better as a spectacle due to the emphasis on speeding the game up and I’d look at taking things a step further. Instead of giving teams 90 seconds to take a conversion, let’s bring that down 60 seconds. You could also look at allowing 45 seconds for a penalty goal. Maybe teams could get 20 seconds instead of 30 to form a scrum before the ref then starts the engagement process. However, this year the most pleasing change is the added competitiveness in the Trans Tasman matches. What does frustrate me is how the rugby media in Australasia allow the the whole ‘‘rugby is boring’’/’’rugby yawnion’’ narrative to take hold from from vindictive league types, the chairman of the ARL commission and News Limited Australia. Stick up for the game and shift the narrative!
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