Nothing has changed as far as the All Blacks are concerned – nullifying the twin threats of Will Genia and David Pocock remains the key to extending their Bledisloe Cup reign.
Wallabies halfback Genia and openside flanker Pocock have been identified as match winners by the All Blacks and planning has centred on them in the truncated build-up to Saturday’s opening Rugby Championship Test in Sydney.
Fresh in the All Blacks’ mind is Genia’s classy display when the Wallabies surged to a late Tri Nations win in Brisbane a year ago – admittedly one of just two Australian victories in the past 14 trans-Tasman Tests.
For several seasons, the threat of the diminutive No.9 has loomed large in New Zealand’s planning and it’s no different this week under new coach Steve Hansen as they set about extending their hold on the Bledisloe Cup to a decade.
Veteran All Blacks halfback Piri Weepu voiced the collective concern about Genia.
“Obviously, he’s a big threat for them. We’ll be definitely trying to shut him down,” Weepu told journalists following training in Auckland on Tuesday.
“We’ll try not to let him play his usual game, which is poking his head around the corner and drawing defenders to put guys into holes.
“We saw that last year in Brisbane when he made a couple of crucial plays and kept them in the game. We’ve just got to make sure that we stay on top of that and we’ve got our guys in the right position.”
Loose forward Victor Vito was just as effusive about the ball-pilfering methods which have become the Pocock trademark.
Weepu said the ultimate safeguard against Genia and Pocock was dominance at the breakdown. It had been Hansen’s focus through the first part of this week.
“We’ve done a few drills this week to make sure that we put them under pressure both when they’ve got the ball and when we’ve got the ball,” Weepu said.
Meanwhile, Weepu expressed some surprise that Genia’s Queensland teammate Quade Cooper had missed selection at five-eighth, with Berrick Barnes getting the nod as playmaker.
Weepu expected Cooper to be reinstated once he’d proven his fitness and form.
