Tri-Nations
'All Blacks better prepared'
2009-07-31 12:17
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Durban - New Zealand coach Graham Henry is confident the All Blacks will provide a much tougher Test for South Africa in their Tri-Nations encounter on Saturday after having a full week to prepare.
The Springboks began their campaign with a 28-19 victory over New Zealand in Bloemfontein last weekend, although the visitors had little time to adjust to the high altitude conditions coming soon after their opening week win over the Wallabies.
"The players looked good yesterday (Thursday) and we've had a very positive week of training," Henry told reporters on Friday.
"The guys are in good shape mentally and have enjoyed their time in Durban. But we'd be conning ourselves if we thought having a good week meant we can just turn up and win."
All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw echoed Henry's sentiments but felt that the team needed to get off to a better start after struggling in the opening half of both Tri-Nations matches this season.
"Last week we made too many mistakes, we were maybe overly physical and ended up giving away penalties at the wrong end of the field," McCaw said.
"Mistakes and penalties just allow the pressure to build. In the first week against Australia we were just off the pace physically and fell off a few tackles."
Buoyed by a solid opening display, Springboks skipper John Smit will be looking for a repeat performance on a day he will captain the side for a world record 60th time.
"I don't think there are any greater challenges really for any test playing nation than to face the All Blacks two weeks in a row," Smit told a news conference.
"It's a great challenge and it's a great task to do that. To beat them once is great; to be able to do it back-to-back is a far greater challenge.
"I think we can take it for granted that they were never going to be satisfied with their performance last week. There was always going to be a backlash and we are certainly going to face one on Saturday.
"They will be a far better team and we need to make sure that we can bring more than we did last week," Smit added.