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Last Test Syndrome can often be a very real problem for the All Blacks as minds inevitably turn to the impending summer vacation, the beach, the Barbie, and the chance to kick back and bounce back from the excruciating year of rugby. .
But this week, another factor looms even more for Ian Foster’s men, as they spend their final week of 2020 together in Australia before their Three Nations closer against Argentina in Newcastle.
This week, the abject fear of losing three races in a row in the black jersey could counteract any danger lurking in minds that stray ahead of schedule. That’s certainly the sentiment among a group that says their back-to-back losses to the Wallabies and Pumas have them fully focused on closing out a challenging year with some degree of flair.
“It’s a very real challenge,” Sam Whitelock, the 121-proof padlock, said of the potential “minds on the beach” factor that usually comes into play at the end of November tours north. “Being away (in Australia) for a few weeks, it’s been a tough few weeks, but it’s actually been nice. I have to get to know some of the new guys even better, and even some of the guys I’ve known for a long time, to really understand what motivates them.
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* The untold story of Argentina’s plight before the historic win over the All Blacks.
“What we have to use is to find out if someone is probably drifting into a week or two and get them back to where they should be now.
“If we are in this meeting, we should focus on this meeting, then move on to the next thing and not worry about something that is in four or five days. It’s very easy as a rugby player to have that focus now and not worry about everything else. “
New Zealanders have no excuse for not being fully at work Saturday night in Newcastle. They can still win the Three Nations title with a full quota of points and, more importantly, they find themselves tucked into the corners or corners more than All Black, facing a third test loss at the trot that would threaten to derail this one. new coaching group before they have just started.
The last time the All Blacks dropped three tests on the rebound was in 1998 when they lost five unimaginable in a row under John Hart to a combination of the Wallabies and Springboks. Hart survived that because of the credit he had built up in 1996 and 1997, but Foster could find himself in a much more difficult situation.
Without question, the All Blacks are heading into this final test for 2020 with, not so much a jump in their stride, but a nervous move. About a week ago at Bankwest Stadium, they barely made a shot when they were manhandled 25-15 by Argentina in a historic result heard throughout the rugby world.
The previous week they had managed to engineer a loss for a Wallabies team that they had beaten by a record margin just seven days earlier. Some serious cracks are beginning to appear on his armor, and the world of viewers is salivating positively.
“As All Blacks we always put ourselves under immense pressure, whether we are playing well, whether we just won, lost or tied, whether we went a couple in a row or lost two in a row,” Whitelock said. . “We always demand that we play very well. Yes, there is a little pressure there right now, but the reality is that there is pressure there every week. “
Brendon Thorne / Getty Images
Sam Whitelock and the All Blacks found Argentina’s defensive wall difficult to break down in Sydney.
Pressure that they pretend to embrace? Walk to?
“You have to accept the pressure,” adds Whitelock. “It has been a challenging year. We all know the challenge that rugby and the world in general have had. It’s a great thing to have the opportunity to go out there and make a difference, whether it’s putting smiles on our faces because we’re playing rugby or if it’s playing attractive rugby that our fans enjoy. “
The reality is that the All Blacks’ arrangements this week are not so much mental as technical. Yeah, they have to be prepared to deal with that Argentinian physicality, to handle the niggle, to savor the intensity and get off the deck when that staunch defensive line picks up and takes them down.
But most of all, they have to find a way to play their game that tends to negate anything the Pumas bring to the table. That means playing with speed and skill, as well as strength and force. And mix those elements into a mix that South Americans can’t live with.
Whitelock brought up that factor when asked to think back to 2011, when the All Blacks last lost consecutive events under quite different circumstances before the World Cup at home.
“The main thing we talked about back then, if memory serves, was just trusting our ability as rugby players. We were there for a reason. It was about not losing confidence and just going out and doing what you are good at.
“Those messages have been repeated this week … trust yourself, trust your instincts and go out and play All Blacks rugby.”
The All Blacks have five days to recover. Do that and those hazy, hazy days of summer won’t be filled with regrets and recriminations.
