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The All Blacks' bench has something 'no other team' has
Selections can be tricky business in a Rugby World Cup with injuries and suspensions to work around, but very rarely do you see a bench quite like the one the All Blacks fielded against Italy.
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The final 20 minutes of All Blacks games was once a period when the fitness and execution of some of the world’s top athletes were pushed to the limits, a period when the New Zealand side were at their most destructive.
The team would frequently ice close games or further blow out big scores in the last quarter during their reign as world champions in the 2010s.
That era is now over and the Kiwis are desperate to regain that spark.
In their recent Tests against South Africa and France, both opponents outscored New Zealand considerably in the closing period, with a solo effort by young halfback Cam Roigard the only points on the board for the All Blacks in either final quarter.
Against Italy however, the team’s rampant scoring rate was amplified even further in the final 20 minutes as the bench took over.
Four tries were scored between the 66th and 75th minutes of the match, each of which was converted by replacement first five-eighth Damian McKenzie.
Alongside McKenzie was a wealth of experience and two future stars.
“You’ve got experience, with some youthful exuberance – and that’s what you get with Tamaiti Williams’ first game in a Rugby World Cup,” Former All Black Jeff Wilson told Sky Sport. “But then, you had Sam Cane, Dane Coles and Sam Whitelock.
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“No other team in the World Cup is going to have that kind of experience coming off the bench.
“But then, I’ve got to say, Damian McKenzie made his statement, right? In terms of the fact that you’ve got to put me there, you’ve got to keep me there and I’ve got to be an option because he changed the way the All Blacks played when he came on.”
Returning from injury, regular team captain Sam Cane was eased back into match fitness in his 24-minute cameo off the bench. Prop Tyrel Lomax was in a similar boat as an established starter returning from a gruesome deep gash suffered against the Springboks pre-World Cup.
Even with rookies Tamaiti Williams and Cam Roigard on the bench, the impact unit boasted 470 international caps of experience.
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Many of the reserves stood out, but as he did against Namibia two weeks earlier, Damian McKenzie posed a constant threat to the Italian defence.
“He certainly did,” Mils Muliaina added. “And I think that’s where they’ve got things right. Cam Roigard came on and had instant impact once again, next to Damian McKenzie and the injection he brings.
“That’s now going to be the key for the All Blacks and everyone else, when it gets to that slow game, how can they adapt?
“Do you bring guys off the bench, or how do they get that tempo back because we’ve seen the French did that to them, the South Africans did that to them.”
The All Blacks have been unable to play to their strengths against more physical opposition, but having shown what they are capable of against Italy, the performance sent a message about how dangerous the team can be if they are able to play on their own terms.
Wilson was asked how he imagined potential quarter-final opponents would have reacted to the big win.
“I wouldn’t say nervous,” he replied. “But it’s a reminder, if you allow the All Blacks to play, with the talent they do have, and particularly around the backline, they’re settled.
“I think the other countries are now well and truly aware of what the All Blacks have at their disposal, and how are you going to counter that?”
Comments on RugbyPass
Those are pretty good draws for the two top Aussie teams. I certainly wouldn't want my Chiefs to have a quarter final in Brisbane. None of the top teams will want the Crusaders.
1 Go to commentsHonestly, I am a bit lost here …. Ireland - RSA was (at least in my opinion) perhaps (from a purely technical / rugby-skills-show point of view) the pinnacle of the RWC2023 - almost flawless playing (putting aside the kicking of RSA which was the difference between the two teams), rugby at it’s very best …. if I were a Bok and after the game some Irish lads came around saying “see you in 5 weeks same place”, I definitely wouldn’t have thought of it as being in any way “arrogant”, rather a sort of jolly “if we both continue to play like this, no one could stop us” - besides, few of us fans would have, at that time, been surprised to see the same teams playing on 23 september and 28 october 2023 ….. well, we all know Ireland chose to hit a slump to keep the QF curse alive …..
134 Go to commentsThere’s value gleaned from having an All Black star running and training with your team. How many games he starts (or even where he plays in the backline) will be decided on a week by week basis based on the needs for that week. But the overall learning and growth for all concerned, I’d think, is massively beneficial. Especially for Irish players.
8 Go to commentsSon, whith just " raw athlete “ , you are able to beat “ better rugby players “ by 74 points…. May be England should recruit in athletics….
1 Go to commentsPffft. It’s not a one-way street bud and Irish teams don’t seem to have had an issue taking kiwi players previously.
8 Go to commentsParticularly great to have captain Scott Barrett back after going off last week for the Crusaders. Codie Taylor a real leader and mighty Tamaiti Williams join Fletcher Newell in the front row. Those 2 will make a big difference. Great bench with the likes of Tom Christie, Jamie Hannah etc who are playing well. Should be a great derby.
1 Go to commentsDoes a blitz defence not have a weekness against a well-placed grubber kick, perhaps angled cleverly. All the defence is up and the full-back can only cover so much ground. Thoughts?
28 Go to commentsWhile Iose is destructive in the Canes set-up, he is not big for an international 8 and could struggle against the top teams. With his speed, he could be developed into a seven but, as Ben points out, he doesn’t show a scavenging game with the Canes or make dominating tackles. Sotutu has shown a step up this year and attitude plus motivation seems to be the big areas of growth. Deserves another AB shot imo.
3 Go to commentsNaholo is my only question mark for this side. He wasn’t the only one who had a forgettable game against the Brumbies but he was passive, defensively poor and generally lacked energy. Needs to get a whole lot busier for me. I would have liked to see Sullivan on that wing with Higgins on the bench (if staying with a 6-2 as BeegMike points out on here!)
3 Go to commentsWell, I am sure that Eben said exactly what he meant to say, exactly how he meant to say it. Does he strike you as a man that doesn't know arrogance when he sees it. He should know it because he has shaken the arrogance out of many foes before.
134 Go to commentsPls get it into your thick arrogant heads that the final was played by two Southern Hemisphere teams. The best against the best and that Argentina was just unlucky otherwise non of the Northetn Hemisphere teams would have seen the light of day.
134 Go to commentsAs long as New Zealand youth are involved in sport they are passionate for, and are well supported, it’s all good. I love league as well as rugby. NRL clubs have long since scouted the First 15 competitions, the NH and Japan scout super rugby and NPC. It’s a miracle there’s any players left for the all blacks to pick from.
4 Go to commentsI'm a Bok fan, so I don't say this lightly, but he is one of my all time favourite players. I am really going to miss watching him play. Thanks for many great memories. You are a true legend of the game.
3 Go to commentsBest way to deal with all of this is to play another game.
134 Go to commentsIt’s 12-15 games Luke. Ringrose has barely played in 2024 and Henshaw and Keenan have also been out for spells in the same time period. There are always injuries and for younger players to play with the likes of Barrett will be great for them. It’s just looking for negatives where there are none.
8 Go to commentsAndy Goode pushing his own agenda with very dubious considerations on refereeing performances. Luke Pearce speaking a bit of French doesn’t make him a good and adequate referee for the Champions Cup final; his latest refereeing performance in particular was not so great.
4 Go to commentsJordie knows that he has to earn the right to put on the jersey, whatever that jersey might be.
8 Go to commentsThe best outside centre in the world at one point. He will be greatly missed.
3 Go to commentsYip his great for the big moments when needed as a safa really enjoy watching him
4 Go to commentsOne that will start to come up from now on is penalties for back pushes during kick chase scrambles. Very difficult to detect. In Croke Park if you replay the Hendy NH try, you will see Furbank push Porter in the back, who collides with Larmour knocking the ball across into Hendy’s path to dot down. A more significant example was in the RWC QTR final where Arendse pushes Fickou into two other French players for the ball to spill into Arendse’s path for him to gather and run in to score SAs first try. Not cheating if you are not caught and very difficult to spot but with kicking becoming so critical I feel its an area that will referreeed/TMO-ed more.
4 Go to comments