Pressure the key to beating All Blacks, says Gregan

George Gregan says Wales must apply pressure for 80 minutes if they are to have a chance of upsetting New Zealand this weekend.

The All Blacks have only lost twice in 2017 and are undeniably the best team in the world, evidenced by their comfortable retention of the Rugby Championship.

France and Scotland have both failed to halt New Zealand’s charge in the first two Tests of their northern hemisphere tour, with Wales the last to try and claim a victory this month.

And Gregan feels Warren Gatland’s team need to maintain their focus for the entire match at the Principality Stadium, and be prepared to go beyond 80 minutes if they are to be successful.

“The All Blacks, they’re human beings, that’s one thing we sometimes forget when we talk about them,” Gregan, a Land Rover ambassador, told Omnisport.

“They’ve had an incredible run, winning over 90 percent of their Test matches for nearly four years.

“But they’re beatable, they’re like everyone else. If you stress them and pressure them constantly, that’s the hardest thing, you’ve got to do it for 80-plus minutes, then they’re going to feel it.

“But you’ve still got to be good enough to put them away because they just find ways to win.

“You’ve got to be prepared to go past 80 minutes to beat them.”

#STATCHAT | With 41 conversions in Test matches this year, @beaudenbarrett has landed more Test match conversions in a calendar year than any other All Black in history.#TeamAllBlacks pic.twitter.com/dZUu6SBU9T

— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) November 21, 2017

Unsurprisingly, Gregan has backed New Zealand to go deep into the 2019 World Cup, but he also believes England and Ireland will challenge for the title, along with South Africa and his native Australia.

“I always like Australia’s chances in World Cups because it just sets up nicely,” he added.

“I think historically it’s probably Australia, New Zealand, South Africa who’ve been the most successful. They like that format and England are pretty damn good in World Cups as well.

“It sets up nicely in terms of it’s more like golf matchplay. From the quarter-finals onwards it comes down to that pressure.

“I’d put a handful of teams in there, obviously Australia, New Zealand, I’d definitely be putting England in there, I’d definitely be putting Ireland in there, they’d be my top four.

“Then there’s the floaters, Argentina are dangerous, South Africa are always very good, that’s throwing six teams at you if it started tomorrow. That’s how I’d look at it.”

George Gregan is a Land Rover ambassador. Land Rover has a heritage in supporting rugby at all levels; from grassroots to elite. #WeDealInReal