Rugby World Cup: All Blacks prop Tony Woodcock out with injury

A narrow, 14-3 lead at half-time is the statistic most worth remembering, and with the All Blacks down to 14 players, too, Kieran Read having earned a deserved yellow card for collapsing a maul. And that’s the only way we’re going to win the game, if we go in there and attack them. Joining the face off against the New Zealand All Blacks are Halani Aulika, Latiume Fosita, Viliami Ma’afu and Sonatane Takulua.

“They really took us on up front”.

There will be particular concerns about how their forwards again buckled under pressure, as they did against Georgia last week, which Australia would have noted after the way their pack excelled when beating England.

“We can change that because obviously we’ve got guys who are good (at the breakdown) as well so it’s just depending on the opposition that we’re playing as to how often we try and contest the breakdown”.

It was the All Blacks who opened the scoring, after a few exquisite hands down the right-wing from number of players including Conrad and Aaron Smith, which finally saw Ben Smith go over for a try. If the scrum is not functioning well, then you are not getting either.

“I believe this could be my last season with the worldwide team and it’s just a flawless way of going out”, Latu said. But his experience made him a valuable member of the squad, and he could stay in camp despite his tournament-ending injury.

Fly-half Dan Carter is the all-time leading scorer in test rugby and now has 1552 points to his name after successfully converting six of the seven Kiwi tries in Newcastle. Jerome Kaino showed his worth in a tight, physical game, and Brodie Retallick stood out when he came on.

“If it is to inspire our youngsters that there are other ways to be recognised other than on the wrong side of the tracks, to come and play for their home country”.

Nonu reaches his century eight tests behind Carter but there was a time Hansen thought he would never make it.

“There’s no doubt we have the best coaches in the world, and this is proven by the demand for our people”, former All Black Jeff Wilson said. He worked on that though, and since 2010 his defensive positioning has been one of his strengths.

The unpredictable Tricolours famously knocked the All Blacks out of the 2007 World Cup in the quarter-finals. “That’s all that’s in their mindsets”.

“Both Ireland and France have played extremely well but for us it doesn’t really matter who we play, to be honest”. But a Test match against the All Blacks has always eluded him until now.

However, the All Blacks frenetic pace was opening gaps although they squandered one opportunity when Waisake Naholo dropped a pass in a three-on-one situation. They were relying on Tonga making mistakes in reading the play or missing tackles, which they did not do.

Were Samoa to win, Japan would be well placed to go through if they beat the United States on Sunday, in what would be their first appearance in the knockout phase of a Rugby World Cup four years before they host the event.