All Blacks fans worried their team already has one collective eye on a place in a World Cup final after their epic victory over Ireland put them into a semifinal against Argentina would do well to listen to veteran hooker Dane Coles.
When it comes to straight shooters, they don’t come much more accurate than Coles, 36, a man with plenty of ammunition entering the final two weeks of his All Blacks career before he retires.
And while it goes without saying that he is desperate to lift the William Webb Ellis cup, to do that the All Blacks first have to make the final by beating a nation that badly hurt them in Christchurch last year.
That hurt is driving Coles but so is the knowledge that a defeat to the Pumas would send the All Blacks into a game no top nation wants to be involved in: a playoff for third and fourth.
That’s where the All Blacks found themselves at the last World Cup – their semifinal defeat to England giving them the opportunity to win rugby’s booby prize, which they did convincingly by thrashing Wales 40-17.
Here's Coles: “I don’t want to be playing in a third and fourth playoff again [like we did] against Wales… in 2019, that’s my motivation.
“It’s a sh*t week if I’m being completely honest, playing for third and fourth after being knocked out of the semis.
“Regardless of who you’re playing, it doesn’t matter. You’re playing in a World Cup semifinal and if you don’t turn up you’re in for a week that tests you mentally, physically and emotionally.”
Coles was speaking to the mostly Kiwi media at the All Blacks’ hotel on the outskirts of Paris this morning before his team’s official review of the 28-24 victory over what was formerly the No.1 team in the world.
After their 29-28 quarter-final win over France, South Africa have gone from third to first following the release of the latest rankings this morning – the All Blacks are in second (up from fourth), with Ireland in third and France also falling two places to fourth. Argentina have gone up one to seventh.
What the review would likely reaffirm was how deep the All Blacks had to dig to keep Ireland out and how good some aspects of their game were, for example their impeccable set piece.
And while there will be areas to improve – most notably their lineout drive defence – they will want to get to a similar level against an Argentina side who came from behind to beat Wales 29-17 in their quarter-final after struggling to find their rhythm in pool play. England are the other semifinalist and will play the Boks after their uneven 30-24 victory over Fiji.
“We’ll take a lot of confidence from that [Ireland win] but we’ve got to go up another gear,” Coles said.
It was a similar response to that offered by forwards coach Jason Ryan, who said: “We’ve got a bit of confidence but by no means is there any arrogance with that. We’ll prepare accordingly for Argentina. They’re a different team… and it’s knockout rugby.”
Ryan said the Pumas’ win in Christchurch last year after the All Blacks had returned home following their remarkable backs-to-the-wall victory over the Boks in Cape Town would be talked about this week.
“You have to be honest around that but we’re a different team and they’re a different team. We learned a lot in that game as well.”
There are also shades of four years ago when the All Blacks thrashed Ireland in the quarter-final only to fall on their faces against England a week later but if anything the quality and unpredictability of all four quarter-finals at the weekend should serve as a reminder that nothing can be taken for granted.
The two big pre-tournament favourites, Ireland and France, are now on their way home. Asked about that, Ryan said: “It’s the reality of knockout rugby. It was like, ‘wow, nothing is guaranteed’. Here’s a reminder.”
Ryan said the workloads of the players involved in Sunday’s remarkable victory would be studied as usual for selection purposes but it’s difficult to see the All Blacks changing much apart from Mark Telea’s return to the left wing after serving his penance for breaching a team protocol recently.
As Ryan said, “there’s the other side of it where you’ve guys who are potentially playing in their last World Cup and they just want to keep playing and giving everything they can”.
Prop Ethan de Groot, who started against Ireland after serving a two-match ban for a high tackle in the Namibia pool match, said it wasn’t difficult to find inspiration in that match at a heaving Stade de France.
“Our leaders stepped up and it was easy to follow them," he said. "Old 'grandad' [Sam] Whitelock coming on and getting that turnover at the end – that’s experience and you can’t beat it. All I want to do is send these old boys out on a high note. That’s my drive at the moment.”
Coles found something similar in the way his front row colleagues de Groot and Tyrel Lomax played for 60 hard minutes against the Irish.
“Leaders aside, these other guys are just as important,” Coles said. “The way that Loey [Lomax] and de Groot turned up and gave 60 minutes as a front rower – that’s inspiring stuff.”
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