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New Zealand bulldozed their way back into the Rugby World Cup winner conversation with a blistering “statement” victory over Italy on Friday night in Lyon.
They were simply brilliant.
“It was a final for us, a do-or-die game and we want to play like this every weekend,” said captain Ardie Savea who ran in two of his side’s 14 tries.
“We wanted to come out and make a statement. We really wanted to dominate up front.”
New Zealand did make a statement and did dominate up front.
They secured their bonus-point inside 22 minutes, were 49-3 up at half-time, and, in the final five minutes, were chasing a 15th try that would have seen them pass the 100-point mark.
All this came after Italy boss Kieran Crowley had declared in the build-up to the match that other teams had “caught up” with the three-time champions.
To be fair to Crowley, New Zealand had lost their World Cup opener to hosts France, two weeks after they slumped to a record defeat by South Africa.
Indeed, since the All Blacks last faced Italy in Rome in 2021, they had lost eight of their past 21 Tests.
And the Azzurri too were full of belief. They were on a four-match winning run, albeit against teams they were expected to beat, and had a perfect record in Pool A having overcome Namibia and Uruguay.
“We’re not going out there trying to keep the score down, we’re going out there to try to win the game,” said former New Zealand full-back Crowley on Wednesday.
“We’re not going to be stupid about how we play.”
After Italy’s defeat, their heaviest ever at a World Cup, Crowley cut a much more forlorn figure, admitting his coaching staff “might not even review [the match] and chuck it in the bin”.
“It was like a training run for them in the end,” he said. “They just monstered us and they played very well.”
‘How I want my boys to play’
The result was New Zealand’s biggest win at a World Cup since they beat Portugal 108-13 in 2007, and means they will advance to the quarter-finals should they beat tier-two side Uruguay in their final Pool A match on Thursday.
As things stand their most likely last-eight opponent is world number one side Ireland, who lead Pool B.
“We had an experienced bench and we had four guys back from injury,” said New Zealand head coach Ian Foster.
“We saw the impact they brought to the team. It is about building momentum in this World Cup.”
New Zealand seem to be peaking at the right time, much like South Africa who won the tournament four years ago despite losing to the All Blacks in their opening game.
“We have got talent across the board,” added Savea. “We played some free rugby and that is how I want my boys to play.”
How New Zealand won in Lyon
By Joe Rindl
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