All Blacks coach Steve Hansen revisited the New Zealand’s nightmare 2007 World Cup campaign as he played down the significance of their emphatic 41-13 victory over the Wallabies on Saturday.
A month from the start of the World Cup in England, the five-tries-to-one runaway win reaffirmed the All Blacks’ position as the world’s best team. But Hansen knows from bitter experience the gulf between the All Blacks and Australia exposed by one Test will count for nothing at the World Cup.
“The difference with the World Cup is you get four games guaranteed and if you’re good enough to run first or second in your pool you get one more,” said Hansen who was assistant coach to Graham Henry in 2007. “We learnt a massive lesson in 2007. If you don’t win that one you come home.
“So I don’t think what happens at this time of the year really counts.”
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With the All Blacks forwards controlling play up front it allowed a good flow of quality ball for fly-half Dan Carter to direct the attack and silence his critics.
“He was the Dan Carter of old,” Hansen added. “He knows he’s done the job and he’s done it under pressure. He’s been questioned by a lot of people and he’s stood up.”
Wallabies captain Stephen Moore said his side needed to learn how to cope with 14 men after Quade Cooper was sin-binned.
He said: “The tempo went up, particularly when we were down a man. We need to learn from those periods and be able to operate with a man down like that.”
