New Zealand’s mission to retain the Bledisloe Cup against Australia has helped the All Blacks shift their focus from the sting of their record defeat to South Africa, assistant coach Jason Holland said on Tuesday.
The All Blacks, who have held the trans-Tasman trophy since 2003, can secure it for a 23rd consecutive year with a win over the Wallabies in Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash at Eden Park.
Ten days after the 43–10 loss to the Springboks in Wellington, the heaviest defeat in New Zealand’s test rugby history, Holland said there was little sign of players losing belief.
“Obviously the boys hurt massively during the last week,” he told reporters in Auckland. “A lot of those boys have been around a long time, and they’re pretty clear with everyone around what the Bledisloe means.
“It’s massive for the crew, it’s massive for us, and getting solutions quickly has enabled us to have real confidence in what we’re going to do this week.”
With two rounds left to play, Australia lead the Rugby Championship on 11 points, ahead of South Africa and New Zealand.
As attack coach under head coach Scott Robertson, Holland’s tactics are under scrutiny after a string of second-half drop-offs. The All Blacks failed to score after the break in Wellington, and managed only 10 points in the second half of their 24–17 win over the Springboks at Eden Park the week before.
The Wallabies, by contrast, have surged in second halves, scoring late tries in both their 28–24 win over Argentina in Townsville and their 28–26 loss to the Pumas in Sydney.
Holland said the team’s focus is on achieving a better balance between kicking and running, after conceding too much possession with the boot against South Africa.
Scrumhalf Cameron Roigard, returning from a foot injury, may aid that balance. Although sidelined for the entire Rugby Championship so far, Roigard joined the team in Auckland for a detailed review of the Wellington defeat.
“There was a bit of edge about the review, some real honest conversations talking about standards and expectations and around where we went wrong,” the 24-year-old said.
“It wasn’t a short, sharp review; there were lots of layers to it. We have a lot of pride in what we do, and we want to always perform to make New Zealand proud.”
