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Captain Sam Cane 'proud' of All Blacks after record setting performance in Bledisloe III
The immediate release of satisfaction was widely evident from the All Blacks following their record victory over the Wallabies as they strutted around Sydney’s ANZ Stadium and savoured gulps from the Bledisloe Cup.
Professional sport is a high pressured cauldron at the best of times. When the All Blacks don’t get it right, as was the case in their draw with the Wallabies four weeks ago, scrutiny reaches fever pitch.
It’s little wonder, then, after thumping the Wallabies 43-5 to record the biggest winning margin against Australia that the All Blacks allowed themselves a moment to take their foot off the gas and enjoy the first major triumph of Ian Foster’s reign.
“It’s a pretty happy changing room in there at the moment,” All Blacks captain Sam Cane said proudly after locking away the Bledisloe for an 18th straight year. “We’ve just filled her up.”
There’s plenty of time to cast ahead to next week, and the fourth instalment of this year’s Bledisloe series which doubles as a Tri-Nations encounter in Brisbane.
Here’s something Beauden Barrett and Richie Mo’unga prepared earlier.
Credit: @skysportnz pic.twitter.com/MI21M6y7Bc
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For now, though, the All Blacks deserve the plaudits for their compelling first-half dismantling of a Wallabies side that, but for the Wellington woodwork, almost pulled off a stunning upset in the first test of the year.
“The trophy is really important to us and we care a lot about it,” Cane said. “I’m so proud of the work we’ve put in over the last five or six weeks building up to this moment, this is what it’s all about. I feel we’ve improved every single week and I’m really excited about where this group could go.
“One thing I’ve always admired about the Aussies is they’ll pick themselves up again next week with a similar confidence and attitude. We’ll really enjoy tonight and all the hard work that’s gone into getting us here and then we go again for next week.”
For All Blacks coach Ian Foster the six-tries-to-one result offered vindication on many fronts. Tactically his side were superb in the way they repeatedly targeted the short side and exposed the Wallabies through a variety of deft kicks.
Foster has been under intense pressure since assuming the head coaching role from Steve Hansen but even his most staunch critics will be forced to swallow some humble pie after this utterly dominant performance.
“It’s very satisfying. We’re ecstatic and they’ll be dejected and that’s test rugby isn’t it,” Foster said. “We saw in Wellington a really tough Wallabies team; we saw that at Eden Park too and we saw it today but it probably wasn’t long enough for their liking and we were able to subdue it when we needed to.
“The only reason you really enjoy winning trophies like this is because you’ve got a fear factor for the opposition and we legitimately have that. To come out the other side, we’re delighted.”
With the forward pack laying a near impeccable platform, Foster praised the game management of Richie Mo’unga after the Crusaders playmaker scored two tries and collected 23 points in his best performance for the All Blacks.
“Sometimes we’re guilty of overplaying situations but in the wet and the way the game went that’s probably the area I was most proud of.”
The much-debated Beauden Barrett-Mo’unga dual playmaking combination came up trumps on this occasion, too.
“They played really well together. I know there’s a lot made of that but there’s also a few numbers in jerseys in between those guys that are a key part of that group. For Richie it’s probably one of the best game management games I’ve seen him play for us for a while. Beauden is a class player whether he is 10 or 15. It was pretty cool to see him step in at 10 and do a chip kick for Richie to score.
“The fact is we’ve got two good options there so it’s pretty exciting.
“We’ve got to respond from a victory and make sure we get our feet on the ground really quick. Suncorp has always been a great challenge and now we’ve got another trophy to focus on and that’s the Tri-Nations.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Beautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to comments