The All Blacks are pinning their faith on 23-year-old rookie Tanerau Latimer to turn their fortunes around in their must-win second rugby Test against France in Wellington today.
The confident French are on the verge of an historic series win after their 27-22 demolition of the home side in last week’s first Test.
France, with their superior physical approach, nullified the impact of the makeshift All Blacks loose trio, allowing their forwards to take control of the rucks and mauls, and their command of the game grew from there.
PHOTO: AFP
Latimer, on the bench until he had his first taste of Test rugby for the final 20 minutes, now gets to start in the No. 7 jersey as the All Blacks seek to show they can win without skipper Richie McCaw.
McCaw, one of the best openside flankers in the world, remains sidelined by injury along with 10 other frontline Test players, forcing the All Blacks selectors to cobble together a side with a distinctly raw look.
The first Test experiment of converting blindside specialist Adam Thomson into a No. 7 did not work and now the baton has been passed to Latimer, a specialist openside.
The All Blacks’ training this week has focused heavily on rectifying shortcomings in the forwards and Latimer said he was well aware of his role.
“Firstly it’s to tackle. Last week we got beaten up in physicality and we weren’t committed enough to putting their players on the deck,” he said. “That’s my job this week, to put them to the deck so we can try and get that meter past the ball, get a couple of turnovers.”
Latimer, listed at 101kg but looking much lighter in comparison with some of the French heavyweights such as 110kg prop Nicholas Mas, said he relished the prospect of a physical confrontation.
“In training this week we’ve been bashing each other up and if you can bash your teammates up you can definitely get stuck into the opposition,” he said.
French captain Thierry Dusautoir said his side were bracing for a much more physical approach from the All Blacks.
“We know the All Blacks game is going to be more aggressive. This game will be won through an aggressive approach.”
French coach Marc Lievremont, who played in the 1994 French side that was the last international team to win a series in New Zealand, is not surprised Latimer has been promoted to the run-on side.
“I think the All Blacks realize that they need a No. 7,” he said. “The All Blacks will be keen to impress in this game and obviously we expect that. They will make fewer mistakes, they will look to win the forward battle and their passing will be better, their kicking will be better as a result.”
He expects Latimer to pay a lot of attention to his halfback-flyhalf combination of Julien Dupuy and Francois Trinh-Duc, who were rarely pressured in the first Test, leaving them free to dictate play.
“And to be able to target nine and 10 you need to dominate up front,” he said
Latimer, meanwhile, when not taking part in a rigorous All Blacks training session this week, has been alongside McCaw.
“He’s been hugely influential. He gave me a few things to work on, basically entry — both defensively and when we’re attacking — entry into the ruck,” he said. “Richie has changed the No. 7 game and it keeps changing as he plays on.”
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