Doubts cast on mental approach of All Blacks

Press, 23 June 1984, Page 76

Doubts cast on mental approach of All Blacks

By

JOHN BROOKS,

, in Auckland

History might repeat itself with another French win when the All Blacks and the Tricolours slog it out in the second rugby test on the lush damp grass of Eden Park this afternoon.

That inference came through strongly yesterday as the rivals rounded off their preparation for the second leg of a series in which the home side is one up; With typical Gallic cunning, the French side held two-thirds of its training away from the inquiring gaze of pressmen at Westlake Boys’ High School. The All Blacks, meanwhile, took part in a conventional and uninspiring practice at the North Shore club’s grounds, the run ending with several of the backs spending about 12min kicking aimlessly for goal.

The sight of the New Zealand full-back, Allan Hewson, a natural leftfooter, kicking twice with his right foot from in front of the posts — and missing — raised substantial doubts about the All Blacks mental approach. Technical expertise was missing, too, as Gary Whetton muffed half a dozen catches at the kick-off. On the last French tour of New Zealand, in 1979, the All Blacks won convincingly in Christchurch, but lost in the face of a free-running French backline in the second test at Auckland.

That victory occurred on Bastille day, and although the current French side will not enjoy such patriotic encouragement, there is a genuine desire to finish the series on a high note.

“We want to play a great match,” said the French coach, Jacques Fouroux, as he shook fresh Auckland raindrops from his receding hairline. “We have this desire because we want to thank New Zealanders for their welcome. If victory smiles on us, then that will be good.”

The New Zealand coach, Bryce Rope, expressed pleasure with his side’s build-up but did not exactly dispel the possibility of a French win.

“It will be a boomer,” he promised. “We are far better prepared and organised than we were for the Christchurch test. “The French are better prepared, too, and the outcome will depend which side has done the best preparation and carries out its plans on the day.”

The All Blacks believe they have solved their scrum problems, but with the likelihood that the French will move the ball from hand to hand much

more today, it was strange that no defensive patterns were practised. Mr Rope was nonchalant on the point. “I expect them to be more adventurous early on than they were in Christchurch. But you must remember we had the ball behind them a lot in that period of the first test and we spoiled their possession by screwing the scrum.” The French, meanwhile, were giving nothing away about what fiendish schemes were devised behind the bluegum trees on Westlake’s lower playing fields. Mr Fouroux traded quip for quip when he was charged with devising a secret weapon at the private work-out.

“My idea of a secret weapon is a dropped goal in the last minute of a test,” he said, in a mischievious reference to Jean-Patrick Lescarboura’s four costly misses in the last smin at Lancaster Park last Saturday.

The weather has been weepy in Auckland for three days, and the pitch at Eden Park is expected to be soft. But Mr Fouroux was not fazed by the possibility of a wet test.

“We are prepared for rain, we have trained for three days in it,” he said. "As a general rule the rain works against those who have the ball. They say we do best on a fast ground. Well, we had that last Saturday, but we had little ball so it was no use.” Mr Fouroux defended the decision to hold part of the final run in private by saying that rugby was a game of intelligence. “In this age of video all your moves can be copied and looked at,” he said. “It is better that the All Blacks do not discover our moves

until after 2.30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.”

Mr Fouroux recalled that in the second test of 1977 — in which he was French captain and 1981, the All Blacks altered their tactics, and the Tricolours were unable to adapt to the different tempo of the game. So he was wary of what New Zealand will come up with this afternoon.

But if Mr Rope has something up his sleeve, he did not disclose it. Instead he emphasised that the All Blacks were opposed by a tough team and were much more determined than they were in Christchurch.

“They are hard men,” he said. “I think we took them a bit too easy in Christchurch, and I don’t know what the score will be, but as long as we are seven points ahead I’ll be happy. They can change things in a twinkling.” An expansive Mr Fouroux, unaware that he was standing in front of a Greenpeace poster proclaiming “stop French tests now” said the Tricolours were frustrated by the outcome of the Lancaster Park test, and had since been working on technical aspects of their game. “Our psychological buildup will start on Saturday morning,” he said.

“I think the one who wants victory most will win.”

From the way the final training runs were conducted, that has got to be France. The teams are:-

New Zealand: Allan Hewson; John Kirwan, Steven Pokere, Bruce Smith; War-, wick Taylor, Wayne Smith; Andrew Donald; Murray Mexted; Jock Hobbs, Gary Whetton, Andy Haden, Mark Shaw; Gary Knight, Andy Dalton (captain), John Ashworth.

Reserves.—Forwards: Hika Reid, Allan Whetton, Brian McGratten. Backs: Robbie Deans, Craig Green, David Kirk.

France: Serge Blanco; Patrice Lagisquet, Didier Cordoniou, Patrick Esteve; Philippe Sella, Jean-Patrick Lescarboura; Pierre Berbizier; Jean-Luc Joinel; Jacques Gratton, Francis Haget, Jean Condom, Laurent Rodriguez; Jean-Pierre Garuet, Philippe Dintrans (captain), Pierre Dospital.

Reserves.—Forwards: Bernard Herrero, Pierre-Edouard Detrez, Jean-Charles Orso. Backs: Henri Sanz, Guy Laporte, Eric Bonneval.

The referee will be Mr Winston Jones, of Wales.