Early scores may be the way to settle outcome of World Cup final
New Zealand and SA expected to aim for fast start to Saturday’s epic clash, seeking early lead to set the tone
23 October 2023 - 18:00
by Mark Gleeson
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Paris - New Zealand and SA will target a fast start to Saturday’s Rugby World Cup final, looking for any early lead to set the tone in the clash at the Stade de France, All Blacks defence coach Scott McLeod predicted on Monday.
“It’s no secret both sides will be focusing on the first 20 minutes,” he told reporters as the build-up to the final between the two traditional foes began.
“It will be about who can execute with accuracy. We need to be extremely accurate and be able to apply pressure at the same time. But the Boks will also be coming out and wanting to start well, so we’ll prepare for that too.”
The two All Blacks-Springboks matches were characterised by fast starts.
New Zealand blitzed their way to a 17-0 lead in the opening 12 minutes when they hosted SA in the Rugby Championship in Auckland in July and went on to a 35-20 victory.
When the teams met again at Twickenham in their World Cup warm-up match in late August, SA were 14-0 up at halftime and extended their dominance after the break for a 35-7 record defeat of the Kiwis.
“We felt we were maybe a little bit superior, a little bit quicker in the first game, and in the second game we were slow. We took a lot of learnings out of it,” he said.
As for the All Blacks approach on Saturday, McLeod said their review of Friday’s semifinal win over Argentina showed they needed to make better use of space presented to them.
“Argentina were extremely physical. We had to work hard to get through. But there was also space available to us around that. The Springboks will be very similar. They put on a lot of pressure and come at you quite quickly.
“We want to meet their big men running down hard, head on and be extremely accurate in the set pieces. What’s shown through the tournament is you need to be switched on for every single scrum.”
McLeod said there would also be extra emphasis on dealing with the SA kicking game.
“We haven’t encountered a lot of that in the tournament. We’ll build on that this week. They’re very good at getting up in the air and then getting the ball back,” he said.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Early scores may be the way to settle outcome of World Cup final
New Zealand and SA expected to aim for fast start to Saturday’s epic clash, seeking early lead to set the tone
Paris - New Zealand and SA will target a fast start to Saturday’s Rugby World Cup final, looking for any early lead to set the tone in the clash at the Stade de France, All Blacks defence coach Scott McLeod predicted on Monday.
“It’s no secret both sides will be focusing on the first 20 minutes,” he told reporters as the build-up to the final between the two traditional foes began.
“It will be about who can execute with accuracy. We need to be extremely accurate and be able to apply pressure at the same time. But the Boks will also be coming out and wanting to start well, so we’ll prepare for that too.”
The two All Blacks-Springboks matches were characterised by fast starts.
New Zealand blitzed their way to a 17-0 lead in the opening 12 minutes when they hosted SA in the Rugby Championship in Auckland in July and went on to a 35-20 victory.
When the teams met again at Twickenham in their World Cup warm-up match in late August, SA were 14-0 up at halftime and extended their dominance after the break for a 35-7 record defeat of the Kiwis.
“We felt we were maybe a little bit superior, a little bit quicker in the first game, and in the second game we were slow. We took a lot of learnings out of it,” he said.
As for the All Blacks approach on Saturday, McLeod said their review of Friday’s semifinal win over Argentina showed they needed to make better use of space presented to them.
“Argentina were extremely physical. We had to work hard to get through. But there was also space available to us around that. The Springboks will be very similar. They put on a lot of pressure and come at you quite quickly.
“We want to meet their big men running down hard, head on and be extremely accurate in the set pieces. What’s shown through the tournament is you need to be switched on for every single scrum.”
McLeod said there would also be extra emphasis on dealing with the SA kicking game.
“We haven’t encountered a lot of that in the tournament. We’ll build on that this week. They’re very good at getting up in the air and then getting the ball back,” he said.
Reuters
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