World Cup-winning coach Jake White says his early money is on the all-dominating All Blacks for the Rugby Championship title following their ruthless 42-10 thumping of Ireland.
The first weekend of Test rugby delivered few surprises, but White said he was taken aback at the slickness of the All Blacks’ victory, which included a stand-out three-try performance from debutant Julian Savea.
“The All Blacks for me have been just phenomenal,” the Brumbies coach said, having cast his eye over all three Tests.
“People speak about World Cup hangovers, etc, etc, but they were just phenomenal the way they played.
“They never looked like losing that game and to get a guy like Savea in scoring three tries … I was really impressed.
“They’ve made a statement they’re definitely the form team – they’re definitely the No.1 team.”
White, who won the 2007 World Cup with the Springboks, returns somewhat to his international roots from Tuesday, when his Brumbies tackle a second-tier Welsh side at Canberra Stadium.
And after the game, he’ll head straight to Melbourne to join up with the Wallabies camp, where he’ll be assisting coach Robbie Deans.
“It’s not so much for help, but more of just an earpiece and to maybe bounce ideas off him and it’ll be fantastic to see how another international team operates,” White said.
After silencing the critics to lead the Brumbies to the top of the Australian Super Rugby conference this year, White said he was also impressed with how Australia bounced back following an uninspiring performance against Scotland to take points in the first Test with Wales.
“You’ve got to compliment them,” he said.
“They took a lot of criticism when they lost to Scotland and they take a lot of criticism when they don’t play well, but I think everyone was really proud about the way they played.
“It’s a new combination yet they still kept the ball in hand, still asked questions, they scored some great tries and they defended reasonably well for a team that hasn’t played together much.”