NZ ‘needs to lift game to stay top’

XXXXXX during the New Zealand All Blacks media session at Millennium Stadium on November 21, 2014 in Cardiff, Wales.

XXXXXX during the New Zealand All Blacks media session at Millennium Stadium on November 21, 2014 in Cardiff, Wales.

Published Nov 23, 2014

Share

Cardiff – New Zealand must keep improving after a “great year” if they are to become the first side to win back-to-back World Cups in 2015, coach Steve Hansen said.

The All Blacks beat Wales 34-16 on Saturday to cap a year in which they sealed their third successive Rugby Championship, beat World Cup hosts England four times and lost just one of 14 games against South Africa in Joburg in October.

“No one has won back to back World Cups so we shouldn’t even be the favourites but we will be because we are the number one side in the world,” Hansen said.

“It’s got to happen one day so why not us? Our challenge is massive – that’s great for us because to win the World Cup you have to be hungry.

“We go into next year knowing that we’ve got 45-50 players, if they’re all fit, are capable of giving us a really good nucleus of 31 players.”

Reflecting on 2014, Hansen said the All Blacks had “found ways to win ugly, or draw ugly which is a lot better than a loss”.

Australia prevented New Zealand from claiming a world record 18th consecutive win by holding the world champions to a 12-12 draw in August.

South Africa ended their 22-game unbeaten run with a 27-25 victory on October 4, the first team to defeat them since England in late 2012.

“We had to earn the right to win some games,” Hansen said. “In fact had to earn the right to draw one which we shouldn’t have even drawn, we should have been beaten that night,” he said of the draw with the Wallabies.

“We’ve learned some valuable lessons along the way about individuals. It’s been a great year for us, not just on the scoreboard but we’ve been asked questions and we answered them.

“The reality is we’ll have to improve our game again next year.”

Hansen said just because New Zealand were the “top dogs”, they had no right to win the World Cup which starts on September 18.

“2007, we should have won but we were not the right dog because we didn’t turn up with the right attitude,” he said of a tournament in which New Zealand lost to France in the quarter-finals.

“We came expecting to win it and you can’t win World Cups just expecting to.

“You don’t have to be the top dog to win it, you have to be the right dog.” – Reuters

Related Topics: