Zinzan Brooke hit out at those who have suggested the All Blacks will choke once more in France.
Writing in his column on bbcsport.co.uk the former All Black loose forward said: “I honestly think this New Zealand team can win the World Cup. I do not want to put the curse on them again, because everyone says the All Blacks peak between World Cups and then bottle it when they get to them, but that is just nonsense, a media perception. The current side have set the benchmark for everyone else in world rugby over the last three years. Graham Henry just needs to keep their feet on the ground now and make sure they forget about all the rubbish, go about their business, take it one game at a time, and do their talking on the field.”
- New Zealand prop Tony Woodcock has injured a calf muscle and will play no role against Portugal, as will Keith Robinson who requires another week’s rest. Conrad Smith’s condition is less clear but assistant coach Wayne Smith said both he and Reuben Thorne were “on track”, with the latter set to play against Portugal on Saturday. Smith confirmed they had made contact with NZ Cup players to ready themselves for a call-up should either of the quartet be ruled out of the World Cup.
- All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen has returned home for an unspecified period to be with his ailing mother. Hansen left the Blacks camp yesterday with Wayne Smith saying his departure would have an emotional impact on the squad and coaching staff. “There will be thoughts with him and an emotional cost maybe within the staff,” he told NZPA. “We’ve just got to get on with it and do the jobs this week for him, and honour him that way.” Smith said head coach Graham Henry would “poke his nose” into aspects of forward play.
- Jerry Collins says France’s loss to Argentina will have “woken a beast”. The All Blacks could meet the hosts in the quarter-final and Collins has cautioned against dismissing them as serious contenders. “They have a whole set of problems of their own with the pressure they’re under to perform at home,” Collins told Fairfax Media. “But I kind of get the feeling Argentina may have woken the beast. I wouldn’t go writing them off yet. All you have to do is qualify [for the play-offs], that’s the main aim, and after that it’s pretty much who turns up on the day.”
- Wayne Smith says their preparation for Portugal won’t be any less intense than that of any other Test match. “That’s what we have to do – take our eye off the other dugout and respect the fact that’s going to be a big game for them and try to get our standards up,” Smith said. “That means that all week there has to be an accuracy in our training that’s really high and a step up from last week. We like to try to honour the game and think if we do that and keep working on our own standards then it will honour us.”
- Scotland coach Frank Hadden declared himself satisfied with the 56-10 win over Portugal but stressed that they would have to improve going forward. “It wasn’t a tremendous performance but it was our first game and we wanted to start with a win,” he told bbcsport.co.uk. “Tremendous credit to the Portuguese, it was obviously a cup final for them. They never gave up and were incredibly tenacious throughout. We certainly expect to get better for the next game.”
- Hadden praised Dan flyhalf Dan Parks saying: “He got the game started for us in fine style. He’s a quality stand-off and Chris Paterson, when he came on, showed he’s no slouch in that position either.”
- Meanwhile Hadden is concerned that playing two pool matches at Murrayfield will have an adverse effect on their campaign. The Scots face Romania and New Zealand at home before returning to France for their crucial pool clash against Italy. “You are all aware of how massive an event it is here, the reception we have had in St Etienne has been tremendous and we are getting
significant numbers at training,” said Hadden. “When we arrived at the ground today there were unquestionably more people clapping us in than we get at a Six Nations game an hour and a half before the kick-off. It’s a massive competition and it would be a shame if the Scots missed out on the opportunity to be involved in what is the biggest sporting event on the planet this year.”
- Italy flanker Mauro Bergamasco is grateful they have a quick turnaround between fixtures (they face Romania on Wednesday). The Italians lost heavily (76-10) to the All Blacks in their opening match, and were particularly woeful in the first quarter. “Things like what happened in the first 20 minutes have no precise explanations,” said Bergamasco. “It’s a fortune and a privilege to have the chance of redemption so soon.”
- Italy centre Andrea Masi has sent an ominous warning to their European counterparts. “We want to react. We want to show that we are not the team that played against New Zealand,” said Masi. “We won two matches in the last Six Nations and that doesn’t happen by chance. We have to play to our true level.”
This thread will be updated throughout the day
No comments:
Post a Comment