'There's been a lot of words out there': All Blacks eager to restore pride

The All Blacks have had a “good look in the mirror” after falling to a record defeat at the hands of the Springboks in Wellington, and are carrying plenty of that hurt into their upcoming Bledisloe Cup clash with the Wallabies at Eden Park.

Team veterans Codie Taylor and Patrick Tuipulotu, both absent from the Wellington loss due to injury, are back on deck for the Wallabies showdown and are tasked with rectifying the errors of two weeks ago.

Taylor, now a Test centurion, said the team’s review of the Wellington loss was harsh but fair, and the players would step up to the plate to right the wrongs.

“Looking back, there’s a lot of hurt from the last Test we played,” he told the media in Auckland. “It was a pretty honest review that we had on Sunday night when we came in, and that was much needed. We had a good look in the mirror, at ourselves, and as players, we’re the ones out there, and we’re the ones who need to fix it.

“The coaches have taken it on board, and they’ve put their hands up, but I think we’re the ones out there playing.

“We’re playing a really good Australian team, who have had some really tough Tests this year, and they’ve shown some resilience and had some pretty good wins. So, we’re expecting exactly that at Eden Park. It’s the Bledisloe, so it’s massive.”

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins

5

Draws

0

Wins

0

Average Points scored

30

20

First try wins

60%

Home team wins

60%

Taylor said there was no hiding from the defeat, and it had haunted much of the squad in the rest week that followed.

“Like I said, it hurt. We had that week off afterwards, so I’m pretty sure most of us had a pretty sore heart around letting down the jersey, and I suppose our country as well.

“There’s been a lot of words out there, a lot of noise. We came back in on Sunday, and we’re the ones in the circle, we’re the ones that have to respond, and it doesn’t matter what people are saying, we’re the ones who get to wear the jersey. We’ve got to make sure we do it with pride, and we get a result.”

Tuipulotu added that while there are numerous areas to fix, the team had to prioritise and ensure they had the basics nailed.

“You don’t want to overdo things. You can often fall into the trap of trying to do everything. Less is more, and keeping it simple is good for us this week.

“We’ve steadily built into this week. The boys are going well, tracking well. The Bledisloe is at the forefront, but also, for us, that is restoring our pride and how we want to play.”

The All Blacks have dominated the trans-Tasman rivalry since 2002, and having already disappointed fans twice this Rugby Championship, the team are determined to avoid suffering a third defeat.

“This is the second-biggest trophy to us, next to the World Cup,” Taylor added. “We often touch on the times when we didn’t have it. There have been past players who have come in and talked about that, and how hard it is to win.

“I’m sure Australia are sitting there looking at this as an opportunity, and rightly so for them. But for us, we’ve got the utmost respect for that trophy, and we want to take it.”