New Zealand backs coach Wayne Smith has insisted the All Blacks will be tested behind the scrum as well as up front when they face world champions England at Twickenham on Saturday.
England overpowered Australia at the scrum in a 26-16 win last week but their backs failed to make the most of all the team’s possession.
By contrast Tri-Nations champions New Zealand have been in thrilling form in all areas during 38-point wins over Wales and Ireland.
But Smith, formerly coach of English Premiership side Northampton, was adamant there was more to England’s game than a huge pack of forwards.
”If you wrote it down on paper you’d say we have got a highly talented backline. But they are not without talent. [Full-back] Josh Lewsey is an outstanding footballer, Mark Cueto, and Ben Cohen [wings] I know really well.
”In my years at Northampton he [Cohen] became the best winger in the world leading up to the World Cup. He’s got his love of the game back and he’s a real handful with a big work-rate.
”Mike Tindall and Jamie Noon [centres], Charlie Hodgson [fly-half], Matt Dawson [scrum-half], you wouldn’t say there are any weaknesses there.
”I don’t really agree they are any way inferior in the backs,” Smith, New Zealand coach in his own right from 2000-2001, also told reporters at the squad’s hotel here on Thursday.
New Zealand though do have Daniel Carter.
The fly-half scored 26 points, including two tries, in the 41-3 thrashing of Wales a fortnight ago before being rested from the equally one-sided 45-7 defeat of Ireland last weekend.
”Nothing surprises me too much about Daniel,” said Smith, himself a former All Black fly-half who played against the 1983 Lions.
”He looks flash but he’s not, he’s tough and he’s got his feet on the ground. He rehabbed really well, he played just about as soon as he could run so he’s got a desire to be out there.
”He’s a sensational talent but he’s understood pretty early in his career you get rewards for what you put in,” explained Smith ahead of a match where victory would leave the All Blacks just one win away from becoming the first New Zealand side since 1978 to win all four Tests of a British Isles tour.
Meanwhile the former Crusaders chief said he’d no problems about working under Graham Henry, who has also brought in Smith’s old Super 12 colleague Steve Hansen as forwards chief, in one of the most formidable coaching units in rugby union.
”It’s been the best two years of my rugby life. You’re allowed to get on with what you love doing — working with the players.
”We had certain beliefs when we came together as a coaching team, which didn’t have universal approval in New Zealand.
”I guess an example of that is our flatter attack which came in for a lot of criticism. But you find as a coach when you do anything out of the ordinary and poke your head above the parapet, you tend to get it cut off.
”You’ve got to show real resilience, perseverance, to stick to what you believe in and we’ve done that both in terms of selection and the way we want to play the game.”
New Zealand centre Ma’a Nonu was cleared on Wednesday of a ”spear tackle” on Ireland’s Gordon D’Arcy and Smith said: ”It’s obviously a relief but we’ve taken the lesson on board. We’ve got to be careful with our tackle technique and that’s what we will do.” – AFP
