All Blacks wary of more unwanted history against Italy at Turin

If international rugby has shown us anything in recent years, it's that there is a first time for everything.

Eight years ago, Ireland achieved something that had eluded them for more than a century — victory over the All Blacks — and then followed that up with a first series victory on NZ soil.

In 2020, Argentina took advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic to topple New Zealand for the first time at Sydney and have since added two more victories on this side of the Tasman, most recently just three months ago.

Two years ago, Japan — who already have wins over South Africa, Ireland, Scotland, Argentina, Wales and Italy — came within a converted try of upsetting the All Blacks at the start of their northern hemisphere tour, light years from their record 145-17.

Italy are another with a long fruitless rugby history against New Zealand, but as the Irish and Pumas have shown, perhaps it's only a matter of time.

The Azzurri host the final outing of the All Blacks' current northern trek at Turin's Allianz Stadium — home of the world famous Juventus FC football club — which feels like the ideal venue for an ambush. In their last meeting, the Italians seemed well off that pace, stumbling to a 96-17 pool loss at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

"It's a different team at a different stage, I guess," reflected All Blacks captain Scott Barrett. "They're at home here... out of Rome, a different place for them.

"They've got a full-strength team and they'd love to get a scalp on us, so we're fully aware of the threat they pose. They want to be direct, and challenge us at set-piece with a big pack and direct running.

"They would have seen what France did last week as an opportunity, so we've had to adjust and be better in certain areas."

Bear in mind, Italy are coming off their best-ever Six Nations campaign, beating Wales and Scotland, and drawing with France.

Another element playing into their favour will be the weather. The Test will kick off at 9pm local time, when the temperature is forecast at 1C and even snow may become a factor.

"It's fresh blowing off those alps, that's for sure," confirmed Barrett. "It's cutting through us at the moment and it's going to be chilly tomorrow night, so this will be perfect preparation for us."

Rugby captains always pledge respect to seemingly overmatched opponents the day before a Test, hoping to keep interest in the game alive, while ensuring their team don't simply take the result for granted.

Apart from the memory of recent upsets, these All Blacks have ample reason to stamp on the Azzurri on Sunday morning (NZT), after succumbing to France seven days earlier.

"Naturally, after a loss, there's a lot of fuel and you quickly want to get out there and turn around a performance that didn't quite go your way," said Barrett. "We've acknowledged that and we're using it to finish this northern tour really strongly.

"We had big ambitions to come up here and go unbeaten on our tour, and we came up short last week. We can't change that, and it's about turning up tomorrow night and playing 80 minutes of rugby we can be proud of against Italy that have turned out a strong team."

The All Blacks will also want to farewell veterans Sam Cane and TJ Perenara the right way, as they disappear into Japanese club contracts and retirement.

In particular, Barrett is adamant he wants to pay adequate tribute to former skipper Cane, who has stayed with the team despite losing the captaincy to bring up his century of Tests and help transition the next wave under new coach Scott Robertson.

"It's a special moment for Sam," said Barrett. "He's given a lot to this jersey.

"He's been captain for the last four and holds a lot of mana in this jersey. You can see the way he plays, he puts his body on the line week in and week out when he puts the fern on.

"It's been huge having him around the environment this year, as a bit of a sounding board on how he's done things in the past. He offers a fresh view on certain things, and he's helped me and the other leaders in the group hugely.

"On a personal note, he's a good mate and I'm hugely thankful for what he's done this year."

Barrett brutally assesses the first campaign under Robertson as a "good year, not a great year". Two defeats to South Africa and another to Argentina cost the All Blacks the Rugby Championship, while the French result leaves a bitter taste from the European itinerary.

"We do have high standards," he insisted. "On the flipside, we've had a lot of debutants who have stood up in the Test arena — Wallace Sititi, Cortez Ratima, guys who have really shone through.

"The pleasing thing for me is the team has improved as the year's gone on. We've taken a few tough lessons, particularly in South Africa and last week at Stade de France, where we came up short.

"I'm certainly pleased as a captain with how we've adapted along the way and improved."

A first-ever loss to Italy would undoubtedly force a re-assessment of that progress.