Tri-Nations
Pressure mounts on All Blacks
2009-08-02 22:00
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Durban - New Zealand coach Graham Henry admitted his team had placed themselves under pressure after suffering a second successive Tri-Nations loss to South Africa in Durban on Saturday.
The All Blacks defeated Australia in their first Test of the tournament in Auckland, but lost to the Springboks in Bloemfontein and again in Durban, where flyhalf Morne Steyn dominated to score all South Africa’s points in their 31-19 win.
But Henry added that he remained confident New Zealand could lift the Tri-Nations trophy for the fifth year in a row.
“It’s a challenge because we’ll be relying on other teams to produce the right results,” Henry said.
“But we’ve got three games to go and we’ve just got to be positive.
“We’ve got a game in Sydney in three weeks’ time and then we’ve got two home Test matches so the only thing we can do is look forward and look to improve.”
All Blacks captain Richie McCaw agreed with Henry’s comments earlier in the week that the current Bok team, ranked first in the world, was one of the best he had played against in his distinguished career.
“They’re one of the better Springbok sides, no doubt," McCaw said.
“They play with a lot of composure.
“They obviously have a plan of how they play and they do that very well.”
South Africa face Australia in Cape Town next week with the Wallabies going in search of their first win.
The All Blacks are up against the Australians again in Sydney on August 22.
South Africa's three remaining matches after Saturday's clash at Newlands are on August 29 (Australia in Perth), August 29 (Australia in Brisbane) and September 12 (New Zealand in Hamilton).
The final match in the series is that between New Zealand and Australia in Wellington on September 19.