The All Blacks unleashed their most complete 80-minute performance of 2022 on Saturday in Hamilton, scoring seven unanswered tries and brimming with energy just seven days after being defeated 25-18 by the same opponents.
Ryan demanded an end to this year’s hot-cold form, which began with a 2-1 home series loss to Ireland and continued with Rugby Championship losses to South Africa and Argentina, both of which were followed by emphatic victories seven days later.
“We shouldn’t have to respond as All Blacks,” Ryan explained.
“The challenge now is consistency, and we’re up to it.” We should be proud of some of the things we accomplished.
“The boys have been hurting, but after that performance, they should be confident.”
Following the Ireland series, Ryan and former Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt were introduced as Ian Foster’s assistants, replacing John Plumtree and Brad Mooar.
Both have had an immediate impact, according to the players.
Extensive training
This week, flyhalf Richie Mo’unga spoke about the attention to detail demanded by attack coach Schmidt, while lock Ryan’s influence on improving New Zealand’s set-piece work – an area exposed by the Irish – was lauded by Brodie Retallick.
“I’ve been here ten years, and this is probably the most intense and precise week of training I’ve ever been a part of,” Retallick, a 96-Test veteran, said on Sunday.
“I think the boys are really buying into what Fozzie (Foster), Joe, and Jason are bringing – if you get a tight five that’s playing well and physically, it opens up space for everyone else.”
“But it can’t be done in a week.” Now, consistency is essential.”
All four teams in the Rugby Championship have two wins and two losses, but New Zealand leads Australia by a point with two Tests remaining, the first of which is on September 15 in Melbourne.
A 50-point defeat was painful for Pumas coach Michael Cheika, but he hoped it would help his team prepare for their two remaining Tests against South Africa.
Cheika claimed that his players were too timid in collisions, which contributed to Argentina’s historic first defeat of the All Blacks on New Zealand soil last week.
“We owned the physicality in the first game, but we lost it in the second.” That becomes even more important in these (wet) conditions, and the game got away from us,” he explained.
“New Zealand brought intensity, which was not surprising. It’s a two-sided equation, and we had the chance to bring it back, but we didn’t – we lost the battle in the middle, and thus the game.”
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