Two Tests up with one to play, All Blacks coach Scott Robertson said Saturday’s third Lipovitan-D Test at Hamilton is still a challenge against France.
The All Blacks were proud to front up every Test, so it was a matter of what their mindset would be, as a group, and what their motivation would be.
Robertson said, “That’s our challenge.
“The second Test was for the Dave Gallaher Trophy and our narrative for the third one will be to keep performing at the highest level and show how much we care about our jersey.”
Robertson said the side’s second-half performance would be an area of focus during the week’s preparation.
“We’ve played some great footy, and a couple of errors put a little bit of pressure back on us. We’re still creating, but we weren’t quite finishing in that second half, so we’re aware of it.
“We’re excited about what we’re creating but we can be a little more classy in our finishing.”
With Tupou Vaa’i having to go through HIA protocols, which will see him miss the Hamilton game, Samipeni Finau shapes as a prospective replacement for him. They have also called in some local players to assist.
But the team would be announced on Thursday, and fans and media would have to wait until then.
Some players have played several Tests among those in the squad who haven’t had a chance, so there is potential for them to be named for Saturday.
“And also, there are some young fellows that have come in and stepped up to play their first Test and performed well with a mixture of experienced All Blacks around them, and Fabian Holland is one of them.
“We’re pleased he’s stepped right up to Test footy. We set him up, and we’ve had a couple of weeks to set the others up to have a crack too.
“We want to create depth. We picked 33 players with the ability for mid-field back Anton Lienert-Brown to be selectable once he’d been cleared. And now he is in the money and taking his opportunity.
“There’s competition all over which is exactly what we want.”
Robertson said the innovations, especially at the lineout, that saw a try around the front of the line for halfback Cam Roigard, were part of wanting to find ways to innovate, get one-on-ones, and catch the opposition by surprise.
“Something you haven’t seen is the hardest thing to defend. So what’s that little moment you can catch them?
“You can spend a lot of time, and sometimes you focus on that, and it doesn’t quite turn out how you want it. Sometimes it comes off. A lot has to go right for those little moments if you make it too complicated.
“We’ve got some creative juices in our group, and they’re always suggesting. We’re available for all the options out there in New Zealand.”
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