Sat, Jun 27, 2009 page18

• All Blacks looking to exorcise indifferent recent performances

  • AFP
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  The All Blacks will be looking to justify their No. 1 world ranking when they play Italy today following two indifferent performances against France.

  The home side narrowly held on to their top spot over South Africa when they scraped home 14-10 in the second Test against the French to square the series but there were questions over the quality of their play.

  Against Italy, the Six Nations wooden spooners, they have a yardstick by which to prove either the French were very good or this All Blacks side is average.

  There is little chance of the 12th-ranked Italians pulling off an upset after arriving in New Zealand off the back of two hidings in Australia.

  But all eyes will be on the quality of the All Blacks play and whether they can better Australia’s performances.

  It is also the last run for the All Blacks before the Tri-Nations series with Australia and South Africa starts next month, and coach Graham Henry warned positions were at stake within his squad.

  “We think it’s going to be a hell of a hard Test on Saturday. The Italian forwards gave the Aussies a bit of a run around, particularly at scrum time,” Henry said.

  “I think none of them [All Blacks] are complacent enough to think that their position is always going to be with the All Blacks,” he said.

  “They’re all on a bit of an edge. The Tri-Nations squad is announced next Saturday and they know about that,” Henry said.

  The forwards have traditionally been an area where the All Blacks have dominated but they struggled against France and veteran Italian lock Marco Bortolami said it was an area the Azzurri would look to exploit.

  “It was very interesting to see how the French forwards put the All Blacks under pressure, at the breakdown especially,” Bortolami said.

  “The key thing against the southern hemisphere teams is that you slow down their ball, otherwise they play too quick and it’s very difficult to defend against them,” the Gloucester lock said.

  Italy are expected to use a rush-defense similar to that employed by the French to cramp the attacking skills of the potent All Blacks backs.

  “I think a lot of teams will look at what the French did to shut us down and learn from that,” said All Blacks assistant coach Wayne Smith, who has played and coached in Italy.

  The All Blacks have made six changes to the side that took the field against France in the second Test, with wing Lelia Masaga and prop Wyatt Crockett making their international debuts.

  Senior lock Ali Williams was also set to rejoin the fold but suffered a flare-up of the Achilles tendon injury which kept him out of the French Tests and is now unlikely to be fit for the Tri-Nations.

  Italy, who have lost their past 10 internationals and have never beaten the All Blacks, have made eight changes from their second Test team against Australia.
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