21/09/2007 Sportal.co.nz
Eliminating surprises and coping with whatever is thrown at them has been the continuing pattern emerging as the All Blacks' World Cup unwinds.
Moving from temperatures in the mid-20s of Aix en Provence on Thursday to the low teens in Edinburgh in the course of a two-hour plane flight, with the prospect of a Sunday Test against Scotland at Murrayfield in windy conditions, has left the team unfazed.
Already having had to adapt to playing their first two games at 1pm and 1.45pm in the hottest parts of the day have not rattled the side.
Now they revert to something they are more familiar with, a 4pm start in Edinburgh.
It's all part of the All Blacks' adaptability, something the management side has worked on for the past three years.
"Nothing is a surprise to us, we've done a lot of work on it," backs coach Wayne Smith said.
The move away from the crowds and attention of bigger centres like Marseille and Lyon to Aix en Provence, allowed the All Blacks to go about their work without intense build-up around them.
It hasn't prevented them maintaining an edge however.
"To be fair there has been an edge since we got together. I think we've all recognised there is a different feeling than there was in the Tri Nations.
"There's been a lot of excitement, we've tried to encourage that, we've looked at the whole thing as a bit of an adventure so everyone has been pretty keen and the trainings have been good all the way through.
"The key for us is probably to maintain our concentration for longer during the games and to be building that up so we are playing for 60-70 minutes rather than 40," he said.
The temptation, given the natural feeling the players have about the way they want to play, was to keep on throwing the ball around while forgetting about some of the basics where errors had crept in.
"Concentration is an ongoing issue, especially if you stack points on. It is hard sometimes for guys who want to play the sort of rugby we play to do the little things well but that's what we are trying to do, nail all the little details. It's a bit more accurate for longer," he said.
Smith also added another factor that adds to the All Blacks potency - the sheer enjoyment of playing rugby in Europe.
"We've played pretty well up because we're excited about coming here. I think our group really likes Europe.
"It's different to the routine of Super 14, Tri Nations and home internationals. We love France, we've loved Italy and we've loved the UK, it's great to catch up with people over here, our supporters are really passionate over here, our expats. It's a good feeling here and it seems to suit us," he said.
Moving from temperatures in the mid-20s of Aix en Provence on Thursday to the low teens in Edinburgh in the course of a two-hour plane flight, with the prospect of a Sunday Test against Scotland at Murrayfield in windy conditions, has left the team unfazed.
Already having had to adapt to playing their first two games at 1pm and 1.45pm in the hottest parts of the day have not rattled the side.
Now they revert to something they are more familiar with, a 4pm start in Edinburgh.
It's all part of the All Blacks' adaptability, something the management side has worked on for the past three years.
"Nothing is a surprise to us, we've done a lot of work on it," backs coach Wayne Smith said.
The move away from the crowds and attention of bigger centres like Marseille and Lyon to Aix en Provence, allowed the All Blacks to go about their work without intense build-up around them.
It hasn't prevented them maintaining an edge however.
"To be fair there has been an edge since we got together. I think we've all recognised there is a different feeling than there was in the Tri Nations.
"There's been a lot of excitement, we've tried to encourage that, we've looked at the whole thing as a bit of an adventure so everyone has been pretty keen and the trainings have been good all the way through.
"The key for us is probably to maintain our concentration for longer during the games and to be building that up so we are playing for 60-70 minutes rather than 40," he said.
The temptation, given the natural feeling the players have about the way they want to play, was to keep on throwing the ball around while forgetting about some of the basics where errors had crept in.
"Concentration is an ongoing issue, especially if you stack points on. It is hard sometimes for guys who want to play the sort of rugby we play to do the little things well but that's what we are trying to do, nail all the little details. It's a bit more accurate for longer," he said.
Smith also added another factor that adds to the All Blacks potency - the sheer enjoyment of playing rugby in Europe.
"We've played pretty well up because we're excited about coming here. I think our group really likes Europe.
"It's different to the routine of Super 14, Tri Nations and home internationals. We love France, we've loved Italy and we've loved the UK, it's great to catch up with people over here, our supporters are really passionate over here, our expats. It's a good feeling here and it seems to suit us," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment