With England failing to pose a serious threat in the first rugby Test, the All Blacks appear to be treating them as training fodder for the second Test today.
It’s been a tough week for the English side, having also to contend with four players engulfed in a claim of a serious sexual assault at a hotel in Auckland, which police are investigating.
The controversy has overshadowed the run-up to the second Test, with the England players denying the allegations, but declining to be interviewed.
PHOTO: AP
At a pre-Test press conference caretaker coach Rob Andrew refused to discuss the accusation and said he was “working on the basis” that the 22 players named for the match would all be available.
Despite the off-field distraction, Andrew said his focus this week had been on the match.
“That’s what we’ve got to do,” he said. “We’ve trained well, we’ve planned well, we think we’ve got a side that can challenge New Zealand which is what we’re here for.”
On the pitch, another titanic forward battle is expected, but All Blacks coach Graham Henry has justified dismantling his winning combination by saying he is looking ahead to the looming Tri-Nations series against Australia and South Africa.
His apparent return to the rotation theory which so spectacularly failed to produce the goods at last year’s World Cup has raised eyebrows in New Zealand as the All Blacks rebuild their squad.
But after dismissing England 37-20 in the first Test in Auckland, Henry had no hesitation in blooding new players before the tougher challenges that lie ahead next month and in August.
“We had to have a major goal of trying to get better in this Test match and also another goal underneath that, of trying to prepare players going forward into the Tri-Nations,” he said yesterday.
The All Blacks have made four changes, including three who will make their debut.
Richard Kahui, who has played little rugby this year because of injury, replaces in-form center Conrad Smith, Rudi Wulf starts on the wing and Adam Thompson will partner captain Richie McCaw on the side of the scrum.
The only other change sees fullback Mils Muliaina replaced by veteran Leon McDonald, who survived an injury scare this week when he collided at pace with big lock Ali Williams.
England have made six changes — five in the backs where they were clearly exposed in the first Test and one enforced change in their forwards where Tim Payne replaces the injured Andy Sheridan.
The forward battle is one area where England are capable of holding the All Blacks and they can claim to have dominated that contest for the first quarter last week.
They have further stirred the pot by questioning the legality of McCaw’s tactics when the All Blacks did gain ascendancy and prop Matt Stevens blamed Neemia Tialata for the debacle of collapsed scrums late in the first Test.
A fuming Tialata denied the charge.
“If you’re going to come out and bag one of the players in the other team then you have to make sure that you back it up,” he said.
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
CHANCE TO QUALIFY: Both teams now have three points from two games, and Taiwan sit ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, who last night beat India 11-0 Taiwan yesterday defeated Vietnam 1-0 to move into second place in Group C at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with one match remaining. Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute after Taiwan midfielder Saki Matsunaga’s shot hit the crossbar, leaving Su to nod the rebound into an empty net for the team which won the last of their three Asian Cup titles in 1981. It was a deserved victory for Taiwan, 2-0 losers to Japan on Wednesday, who created several chances to extend their lead. Vietnam, the 2022 quarter-finalist, beat India in their opener, but struggled to
RSS