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'Really suits New Zealand': Ex-Wallaby assistant tips All Blacks as RWC dark horse

By Ben Smith
Sam Cane of the All Blacks leads the team out ahead of The Rugby Championship & Bledisloe Cup match between the Australia Wallabies and the New Zealand All Blacks at Marvel Stadium on September 15, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Former Wallabies assistant and Leicester Tigers head coach Dan McKellar has warned rival international teams that this World Cup ‘suits’ New Zealand more than any other time in history.

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The All Blacks have generally entered most tournaments as heavy favourites but that often hasn’t resulted in them winning the tournament.

Upset defeats to France in 1999 and 2007 stunned the world while in 2019 their quest for three consecutive World Cup wins was stopped by England.

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The former Wallabies assistant under Dave Rennie told The Roar Sports podcast that the low expectations after last year’s home defeat to Ireland has placed the side in an unfamiliar position.

“I think this World Cup really suits New Zealand I think for the first time ever, they’ll just fly under the radar,”McKellar told The Roar Sports pod.

“They’ll turn up with no expectation. If they get knocked out in quarters they’ll probably be disappointed.

“Semi-finals, it will be whatever, that’s what everyone expected so I think that works in their favour.

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“Clearly the French and the Irish are the teams to beat and as people were saying on the Spring Tour last year you don’t want to play Australia at the back end in tournament rugby.”

The All Blacks open the tournament with a blockbuster clash against the home favourites France, who beat them 40-25 when they last played in late 2021.

New Zealand have undergone a number of personnel changes since that defeat which leaves France in the dark as to where they stand against them currently.

There is also optimism that Australia will do well having been drawn on the opposite side to the top four ranked sides, allowing for a smoother ride into the semi-finals.

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The Wallabies could meet England in a semi-final which would pit Eddie Jones against his old team.

McKellar was frank about his former team’s prospects saying that if they lose too many key players to injury they will struggle.

“If we can get our best players on the park and keep our best players healthy,” he said.

“If you take out Kerevi, Cooper, that sort of player this year then we’re going to struggle to win.

“But if we can keep our best players on the park, nice and healthy, then the expectation is for us to perform well and get to a semi-final and once you get to a semi-final then it’s anyone’s game.”

Cooper recently returned to the field in Japan for the first time since his Achilles injury, although it was just for one minute as part of a tactical substitution.

Eddie Jones confirmed that his star flyhalf is on track to make this year’s World Cup while inside centre Samu Kerevi is due to return in May from an ACL rupture suffered last year at the Commonwealth Games.

 

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Bull Shark 53 minutes ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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