All Blacks mustn’t overthink final tactics
19 Oct 2011
JON CARDINELLI writes that the All Blacks will beat France and claim that elusive world title if they play their natural game.
Last week’s performance against the Wallabies was a rugby masterclass. The All Blacks defended brilliantly, fielded the high ball well, and through the accurate and often prodigious kicking efforts of Aaron Cruden and Israel Dagg, they won the battle for territory. Success in these areas inhibited and frustrated the Wallabies, but it was the All Blacks’ power and precision on attack that allowed them to build momentum and ultimately a winning score.
Afterwards, Graham Henry and Richie McCaw said they would have to be just as brutal and precise against France in the grand final. The All Blacks have shown themselves more than capable of producing these well-rounded showings consistently. The statistics will reveal that they won the 2010 Tri-Nations by kicking more than any other side in that tournament. They also boasted the best defensive record, and scored the most tries.
What stands in the way of the All Blacks and a second world title is 80 pressure-filled minutes. The hype has been building since the lead up to the tournament, and the same questions have been asked over and over again. Will the All Blacks handle the pressure? There is no rugby reason why they shouldn’t win the trophy, as their record will confirm they’ve been the best team in the world over the last four years. But will the pressure of the occasion force them to play a more conservative game, because the fear of losing is stronger than the desire to win?
In an interview for Business Day Sports Monthly two months ago, former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones told me that the All Blacks are a better side when they express themselves. When they go into their shells and try to play a more tactical game, when they overanalyse and rely too much on a rigid game plan, Jones said that they moved away from their strengths. If they decide to do this on Sunday, it will benefit their opponents.
New Zealand are favourites at the scrum, and while the battle at the collisions should be brutally contested, Richie McCaw will ensure the All Blacks win the breakdowns. This should be enough to supply a strong platform for New Zealand’s halfbacks, who have shown that they have the decision making ability to maximise the advantage either by kicking into space or bringing the big and skillful backs into the game.
It is of course, not as simple as that. ’80 minutes and we’re laughing,’ said one newspaper headline over the weekend, but the truth is the 80 minutes of that semi-final against the Wallabies were anything but comfortable. From a rugby point of view, the All Blacks looked favourites to clinch it when Piri Weepu slotted another penalty early in the second half, and yet there was a strong sense in the crowd that the game wasn’t over until the final whistle. A 14-point gap wasn’t enough to calm the nerves of the long-suffering Kiwis.
There was a collective sigh of relief following the semi-final win, but there are still a lot of nerves in the build up to the grand final. Sitting in the crowd last Sunday, I obtained an idea of how much the World Cup means to this country, but I also got an insight into how that passion and desperation could have an adverse effect on the team.
The All Blacks must stick to what worked for them against France in their Pool A meeting. They must play like they played against Australia, that is, with power and accuracy, and the assurance that they are the best team in the world.
If they slip into a conservative mindset, if their coaches and players adopt a ‘we-must-not-lose’ mentality instead of ”we must win’, they will, as Jones previously suggested, give France a sniff. Forget the failures of 1999, 2003 and 2007. Check that baggage at the door.
While experience will be important in a game as big of this, the confidence of some of their young stars will also provide the necessary boost. Cruden was impressive in last week’s game, and going by what has been said this week, he will continue to play his natural game. Notably, the young flyhalf has the backing of his coaches.
‘It’s really important that you build throughout the week but that you’re not over-thinking about the game,’ Cruden told reporters. ‘You need to find a balance and that is what I will be doing this week.
‘I’d like to think it’s just the beginning of another week, just going through and doing the normal for me, making sure I’m really clear on my role and just building so that when it comes to kick-off time I am ready to go.’
The rest of the All Blacks side would do well to follow suit.
267 Comments
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19 Oct 2011, 17:07 pm
@NZINCHINA(NZINCHINA)-194: Would miss it for the world, and you need my viewership, it forms part of the impressive European viewer numbers
19 Oct 2011, 17:08 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-187:
Those two?
Surely not.
19 Oct 2011, 17:08 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-195: hahahahahaha
funniest sshit i’ve read all week
19 Oct 2011, 17:09 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-200:
Accidents do happen…
19 Oct 2011, 17:10 pm
@JL1(JL1)-201:
wouldn’t miss it for the world? if so good man at least one SAFFA will be watching the rest have something else to do apparently
19 Oct 2011, 17:10 pm
@NZINCHINA(NZINCHINA)-199: France also won there in 1994 and 1979 and before… But thats a long time ago, and the cowards were just lucky weren’t they…
19 Oct 2011, 17:10 pm
@JL1(JL1)-201: I mean I would not miss it
19 Oct 2011, 17:12 pm
@NZINCHINA(NZINCHINA)-197: I’ll find something. Don’t worry.
19 Oct 2011, 17:12 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-195: that won’t be right! you can’t win the world cup by only winning 5 games!
japan, canada, england, wales, nz and BANG you’re the world champs? hehehehe no man
19 Oct 2011, 17:13 pm
Imagine if France win on Sunday….
Imagine the choke jokes…
Imagine the “bravery” jokes…
Imagine…
But it can’t happen will it
19 Oct 2011, 17:14 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-206:
was at the 94′ test one of the best tries ever scored at the garden of Eden, you should back the Frogs great money
19 Oct 2011, 17:14 pm
@NZINCHINA(NZINCHINA)-205: …but the way the Kiwi press and people have been going on…. I would be really worried if I was a Kiwi supporter….but, hey I am not unlik esome of thes traitors coming onto a SA Suppporters site and want to tell all and sundry how proud they are of the Kiwis
Bizarre, you must say it is bit strange
Are you:
a. Complacent
b.Arrogant
c.Nervous
d.Dont care
About the final?
19 Oct 2011, 17:15 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-204:
Indeed.
Rolling with your homeees in your adidas unoriginals the shots are flowing the honees are all over your schtick dj Silver Fern on the 1′s and 2′s suddenly whoosh.
nylon shirts.
hair extensions.
cheap imitation greek booze.
that s hit can make Nam look like a grade 2 nativity play.
the one where the three wise men from hammas take down the babyjesus.
19 Oct 2011, 17:16 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-208:
yer but it won’t quite be the same will it, life will have changed forever for the majority around here
19 Oct 2011, 17:17 pm
The French just don’t believe in themselves…
There is nothing to believe in anyway…
They are a rebelling rabble…
No self-respect…
But they respect nothing else, do they…?
White-flag waving cowards cant win in the Eden Park Cauldron with 4 million brave Kiwis baying for blood, can they?
No way.
19 Oct 2011, 17:17 pm
@JL1(JL1)-212:
Confidently nervous
19 Oct 2011, 17:18 pm
@Gunther(gunther)-213: hahahahahaha yoh yoh ripper
yoh hayi i give up!
19 Oct 2011, 17:18 pm
@NZINCHINA(NZINCHINA)-211: Ahem… but no-one wins at Eden Park except the ABs… Especially in a World Cup…
19 Oct 2011, 17:20 pm
@Gunther(gunther)-213: Sheezus
19 Oct 2011, 17:20 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-215:
all good mate but I think you might be overdoing it just a little bit but your call you obviously know what your doing?
19 Oct 2011, 17:21 pm
@NZINCHINA(NZINCHINA)-216: Aha, the way we felt in 1995..confidently nervous
We were a bit more arrogant in 2007
19 Oct 2011, 17:22 pm
@NZINCHINA(NZINCHINA)-216:
go on….we’re listening…tell us about it…
19 Oct 2011, 17:22 pm
@Gunther(gunther)-213:
Of course all these George All Black supporters types like to live in the past, and imagine that they were highly active freedom fighters during the struggle.
I imagine anything resembling Nam will just help keep the fantasy alive.
Next thing you know they’ll wake up in hospital with third degree burns and a moerse hangover and claim they were necklacked by traitorous right-wing sellout elements with evil white capitalist tendencies.
19 Oct 2011, 17:24 pm
@NZINCHINA(NZINCHINA)-220: Did I mention turkeys… Just in case, they are a bunch of turkeys too…
A disgrace to rugby… How can they lose to Tonga and then go on and win the whole damnthing…
These things don’t happen in sport.
The scale of the upset is just too large.
Nope, it can never, ever happen.
19 Oct 2011, 17:25 pm
@NZINCHINA(NZINCHINA)-205:
oh i’ll be watching…but don’t expect me to like it…unless of course the ab’s win everywhere else but on the scoreboard…
19 Oct 2011, 17:27 pm
now that would be awesome
19 Oct 2011, 17:29 pm
@au revoir mon tout noirs, au revoir…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-225: or the ref cheats them… hang on what I am I saying it is a SA ref and not a Kiwi ref that will be officiating
I wonder if Bryce and Jack Dempsey are related?
19 Oct 2011, 17:32 pm
Its late in the PRC so I have to run, keep the choking stories coming you’ve had fantastic mileage out of that one…only 4 more sleeps
19 Oct 2011, 17:34 pm
@NZINCHINA(NZINCHINA)-228: Good luck
19 Oct 2011, 17:34 pm
The whole world doesn’t rate them, even their coach hates them:
“I told them what I thought of them,” he said of his misbehaving players. “That they’re a bunch of undisciplined, spoiled brats, disobedient, sometimes selfish, always complaining, always whining, and they’ve been (frustrating me) for four years.”
“It seems to be our way of functioning,” Lievremont continued. “I also told them I have a lot of affection for them, but it’s a shame they don’t know how to look after themselves.”
Looks like these cowards have thrown in the towel ?:
“In a way it brings us closer together … we’ve been getting massacred for a while now,” Nallet said. “I don’t see why I should be angry with the team. We’re in the World Cup final. Obviously I would have liked to be 20 points up against Wales … There’s been no recognition, that’s for sure. If we win this match, there will be.”
19 Oct 2011, 17:36 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-223:
These playaz don’t rock hospitals.
They get. Uncle Jamail (standard grade science) to sort them out.
This is precisely the sort of pro bono work extrabollock could be doing if he came back to make a difference.
#leadsa
19 Oct 2011, 17:36 pm
@JL1(JL1)-227:
part of me wishes craig joubert could forget who he is just one time say to himself:
“you know what? ffuckit!..so what if i’m an honest saffa?..these prickks think i’m sooo ffukken naive to not see the sshit they’re up to… screw them…i”m gonna blow it my way…”
boy oh boy….now that, would be awesome!…
19 Oct 2011, 17:37 pm
The French may not even be playing to win the World Cup…
They may be only playing for recognition…
They have no respect…
Nope, they can never win…
19 Oct 2011, 17:42 pm
The French Cinderella Men?
19 Oct 2011, 17:47 pm
in 2001, the New England Patriots were the little team that could. They lost their starting quarterback and replaced him with a sixth-round pick who they rode all the way to the Super Bowl.
But all the fun would stop there, right?
They were facing Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk and the “Greatest Show on Turf”. And they were 14 point underdogs.
Ah, yes. But Mr. sixth-round pick, 199th overall wanted to introduce himself.
His name was Tom Brady.
And he had a winning drive in him.
Hello, world.
Morgan Padda?
19 Oct 2011, 17:49 pm
1980. Lake Placid. Cold War.
Unbeatable Soviet team.
“Miracle on Ice”.
Say it with me…
“The impossible dream?”
19 Oct 2011, 17:56 pm
Senegal v France: World Cup 2002
This was meant to happen… The 2002 French World Cup squad contained 15 veterans of their 1998 victory including Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry and Marcel Desailly. On paper, tournament rookies Senegal stood about as much chance as a mouse in a cat sanctuary.
… but actually Senegal’s wardrobe-sized midfielder Papa Bouba Diop scored in the first half to stun a French side who seemed to think they could win simply by turning up. The final whistle sparked off days of dancing on the streets of Dakar.
19 Oct 2011, 18:37 pm
Wazzup you bunch of rabid stinking right wing neo arch racists.
Leave us cullarts alone with our fake style and GHD and cheap AB jerseys.
19 Oct 2011, 20:32 pm
Imagine how the people in France must be feeling, they are just as excited as the All Black supporters, imagine the celebrations and the copious amounts of wine and shampoo that will be consumed if they win, that little 10% chance they have of winning must still be very exciting for them.
19 Oct 2011, 20:47 pm
@Treehugger(Treehugger)-239:
The exotic French versus the rational All Blacks.
But I still cannot figure out how they will use shampoo to celebrate
19 Oct 2011, 21:20 pm
So Joubert now ‘an honest saffa?
More so with Pro Legota and Mrius Jonker as his assistants?
19 Oct 2011, 21:25 pm
@Treehugger(Treehugger)-239:
Yeah,no doubt the Frenchies must be excited. Even a slim chance is better than the NO CHANCE the Bokke have of winning the RWC.
19 Oct 2011, 22:42 pm
shampoo/champagne
19 Oct 2011, 22:51 pm
Think the froggies must be the most difficult team 2 support, emotional rollacoaster, would need a steady diet of prozac,valium and the odd jeffrey 4 the really bad days (Gunther mentioned the jeffrey the other day) lol.
19 Oct 2011, 22:56 pm
All quiet on the Western Front…
All the Kiwis at the Ticker Tape Victory Parade tonight?
19 Oct 2011, 22:57 pm
Ted gleefully rubbing Bill like a Buddha’s tummy…?
19 Oct 2011, 22:58 pm
Wonder if the etching is already complete on Bill’s base…?
19 Oct 2011, 22:58 pm
eish our cricket not 2 dandy need 109 of 60 balls, Botha is rocking though.
19 Oct 2011, 23:00 pm
Wonder how hard “New Zealand 2011″ is to etch?
19 Oct 2011, 23:01 pm
feck Steyn gone.
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