All Blacks fire World Cup warning shot with Wallabies rout
Steve Hansen entitled to feel satisfied after thumping win answered New Zealand critics who felt his team was stagnating
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen could afford himself a little feeling of satisfaction yesterday after his side retained the Bledisloe Cup with a record victory over Australia that also sent a stark message ahead of next year's World Cup.
Richie McCaw's team scored six tries in a brutally clinical performance to beat the Wallabies 51-20 at Eden Park on Saturday, with the visitors considered lucky to have scored two tries when the hosts had established a 44-6 lead with 20 minutes remaining and were seemingly incapable of being stopped.
Praise for the performance was almost universal in the rugby-mad nation yesterday, a far cry from a week ago when they laboured to a 12-12 draw with the Wallabies in the Rugby Championship opener in Sydney.
There are always going to be people that have their opinion. That’s what makes our game in New Zealand so great because so many people are passionate about it
"Too old". "Not evolving". "Lacking in execution", were the thrust of the water-cooler observations after the draw, which critics pounced upon as signs of a team in decline. Questions were raised as to whether the ageing spine of the side, McCaw, Dan Carter, Keven Mealamu, Tony Woodcock, Conrad Smith and Ma'a Nonu could see them through to a successful defence of the World Cup next year.
"You read them but you don't take too much notice," Hansen said yesterday of the doomsday scenarios. "There are always going to be people that have their opinion. That's what makes our game in New Zealand so great because so many people are passionate about it."
Hansen's team put those discussions to rest on Saturday, though more telling have been the contributions of the new blood introduced after the 2011 World Cup.
