All Blacks captain Sam Cane has today lifted the lid on the “horrible” feeling within the camp created by the record loss to the Springboks.
The 35-7 defeat at Twickenham, the worst in All Blacks history, exposed Ian Foster’s team’s lack of composure, discipline and physical edge and there is clearly a steely determination to put things right against France.
The tournament's first match on September 9 is a hugely significant one between Ian Foster's men and the hosts in Paris which will probably determine whether the All Blacks play Ireland or South Africa, the top two teams in Pool B, in a quarter-final.
Should the All Blacks top Pool A, they will play the second place-getter in the other pool.
After reviewing the match, which featured Scott Barrett’s dismissal for two yellow cards just before halftime, and training at the Adidas headquarters in Bavaria, Germany, Cane told 1News reporter Kimberlee Downs that there was no issue putting aside the distractions of training in front of the employees of his team’s apparel and boot sponsors or the prospect of a great deal of free kit.
“It’s pretty easy to focus on the work, particularly coming off the game we just had at the weekend,” Cane said, adding: “It was a horrible feeling on Friday night and the next day.
“With a couple of days to settle I think we’ll look back and hopefully take the lessons we have from the game and implement them… then I really hope that we can look back and say we’re glad it happened when it did. But only time will tell.”
The review will have highlighted no shortage of things to work on for the All Blacks, who defended well initially after getting on the wrong side of referee Matt Carley, but who lost the physical battle badly after Tyrel Lomax’s injury departure, and the yellow (and red) cards for Barrett and Cane.
“We’ve got some really clear focuses,” Cane said.
“We’ve gone from London to here and when we touch down in France and get to Lyon [for a further camp before the first game in Paris] we know it’s really on and the excitement will build even further.”
Asked about the rising anticipation levels, he said: “I think it’s probably natural. The build up has been a long time coming. There is a lot riding on it. We know that but we’re pretty excited by the challenge and we know that anything can happen.
“All our efforts are going into nailing this first game and we’ll reset and continue that path. It’s cool that it’s finally here.
The fact that Barrett escaped a ban after appearing before the judicial committee is a significant boost for the All Blacks who have only two other fit locks in Sam Whitelock and Tupou Vaa’i (Josh Lord is an injury back-up only).
Barrett’s leadership and physicality will be hugely important against France, who are likely to play with a similar intensity to South Africa.
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