The All Blacks have prepared for their World Cup opener against France by watching clips of their 40-25 defeat the last time they played in Paris two years ago, a setback assistant coach Scott McLeod said still hurts.
“There’s still a knot in our gut from the last time we were here,” McLeod said. “That hurt and we’ve held on to that a little bit. A couple of clips have been shown which still hurt the boys.”
The defeat was a painful way for the All Blacks to finish a difficult Covid-affected year, and what will make it worse for those there that November day is that they were still in the game despite being second best up front and conceding a 24-6 halftime deficit.
They dragged themselves back into the game with a far more direct approach in the second half allied with tries from Jordie Barrett in the left corner, a long-range wonder effort from Rieko Ioane, and one from close range for Ardie Savea, but, after narrowing the gap to 27-25, the proverbial wheels fell off.
Of all the clips shown to the All Blacks the one that will sting the most was Romain Ntamack’s stunning run from his own try line to set up an attack which finished in a yellow card for Savea.
At 30-25, the All Blacks looked promising again after Sam Cane won a turnover, but replacement midfielder David Havili, attempting to spark a breakout attack, succeeded only in passing the ball to French wing Damian Pernaud. Game over.
The failure of the All Blacks to effectively chase Jordie Barrett’s kick which sparked Ntamack’s highlight reel of a run was the main issue for defence coach McLeod. Both Barrett and first-five Richie Mo’unga missed Ntamack.
“The players are sick to death of seeing that… we want the players to feel that a little bit and not let it happen again,” he said.
“We relaxed, thinking we would get them and we didn’t, they ran out and around us and got through us. That suits their style of play. They look for the space and run into it well and feed off each other so we can’t allow that.
“We see similarity in the way they play, particularly around structure and the way they want to use the ball. We can’t switch off at any stage. However, we think they’ve added to their game in terms of kick space so they’ve added more of a threat that we’re aware of.”
Havili, who hasn’t played a Test all year due to a hamstring strain suffered in Super Rugby, will be firmly in the frame to replace Jordie Barrett should the second-five not recover from the knee injury he picked up in the last couple of days.
Havili made the squad after proving his fitness while playing for Tasman against Otago in the NPC, his presence in the 33 a testament to his resilience after a challenging last few years which featured several injuries along with major bowel surgery.
Asked about his readiness to step in for Barrett if required, he said: “Everyone’s preparing to play. Injuries like these can come out of nowhere.
“I’ve had a bit of a tough run over the last couple of years and I’m really grateful to be in this environment and giving everything to this team.”
McLeod, meanwhile, said the All Blacks had trained well in the summer heat at their Lyon base and had no shortage of motivational touchstones for one of the most highly-anticipated World Cup openers ever.
“The loss to them last time, the loss to South Africa and the opening game will all combine to heighten the sense of [the importance of] this game,” he said. “It’s one that we thrive on and love."
In a message which reflected assistant coach Jason Ryan's day earlier, he added: “But some of the guys know the pressure of playing a World Cup at home. We’re sure France will feel that, so the occasion is going to be massive. We feel the support so we’re looking forward to kick-off.”
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