'I'm glad it happened': Springbok thumping gives All Blacks 'sharpness of mind'

France will face an All Blacks team with renewed “sharpness” in this weekend’s Rugby World Cup opener thanks to New Zealand’s historic defeat to the Springboks two weeks ago.

That is the opinion of two-time world champion Victor Vito, who also reminded fans that a pre-World Cup loss by no means rules out a team’s chances of lifting the Webb Ellis Cup.

Vito won with the All Blacks in 2011 and 2015, and has also tasted success in Super Rugby and the Champions Cup. So the man knows a thing or two about what it takes to win a rugby game.

“I think it’s just all about the preparation and a whole bunch of guys buying into the same dream and then believing it all at the same time,” Vito told The Front Row Daily Show.

“I guess having a lot of luck go your way too. I mean a lot of the guys, you put in a lot of preparation but if guys get injured or that sort of thing then those combinations get changed up.”

Having played in both countries, Vito knows the players and coaches from both the New Zealand and France camps and knows just how tense the final week before a World Cup can be.

Team Form

Last 5 Games

33 - 31

24 - 45

13 - 13

16 - 20

17 - 38

11 - 12

6 - 44

24 - 28

73 - 0

96 - 17

3

Wins

4

2

Streak

1

13

Tries Scored

36

6

Points Difference

193

2/5

First Try

5/5

1/5

First Points

3/5

2/5

Race To 10 Points

4/5

“I can tell there’s going to be some nervous camps, both of them. It’s a big game, big statements to be made, I think especially for the All Blacks. Obviously, we had a bit of a clip, a bit of a hiccup against the South Africans last week so that will obviously change things up in terms of our approach.

“But I know if we just trust our processes and fix the little things that went wrong there, rugby is one of those games that if you’re three or four per cent off in any area, whether it’s intensity or contacts o whatever, it blows out like it did.”

There’s no hiding from the scoreboard and it was the worst defeat New Zealand have ever fallen to in that regard. But it may have served the Kiwi side well in the long run.

Another former All Black, Andy Ellis was Vito’s interviewer and agreed it would have been a gnarly few days in the All Blacks camp after the loss.

“After getting a bit of a spanking against South Africa, I can only imagine what that environment’s been like,” Ellis said.

Prior to the match, New Zealand had taken over as the bookies’ favourites to win the tournament and were snipping at Ireland’s heels for the world No 1 ranking. Since, there’s been a fair amount of doom and gloom.

A loss close to the tournament isn’t unfamiliar territory though.

“I feel like it’ll provide the right edge,” Vito continued. “In the World Cups we won in 2011 and 2015, we’d lost matches before went to the World Cup too. Maybe not quite like that but at the same time, it gives you a bit of a sharpness of mind that you can’t have from winning, winning, winning.

“So, I’m glad it happened, it had to happen, but hopefully we can take the learnings and turn it around.”