New Zealand

All Blacks seek redemption

Friday, September 18 All Black captain Richie McCaw says his team are eager to redeem themselves with a good performance against the Wallabies in Wellington on Saturday.

The All Blacks’ dire Tri-Nations campaign culminated in a 29-32 defeat to the Springboks in Hamilton last weekend, which saw the Kiwis relinquish the southern hemisphere title for the first time since 2004.

McCaw said the loss was not a case of his troops buckling under pressure and while the result was extremely disappointing, he is pleased that they have one more match to close out the Tri-Nations on a winning note.

“It wasn't a case of allowing any pressure involved to get on top of you," McCaw told reporters.

"The team had to have belief, get its training right in order to have confidence in what it was doing, he said.

"You've got to keep working at what you're doing. It's about how you react to it. I guess we're lucky to be able to have another crack," he said.

"In years gone by there has never been too much between these teams and both are keen to play some pretty good rugby so I can't see tomorrow night being too much different.

"It would be nice if it was a bit different and not too close, but we'll have to wait and see," McCaw said.

The All Blacks put on a spirited fight against the Boks in the second half and almost pulled the match out of the fire in what would have been one of the all-time great Tri-Nations comebacks.

McCaw said it was crucial for his side to come out firing from the outset on Saturday.

"We played some pretty good rugby in the last 30 minutes last week and we have to make sure we do that right from the word go," he said.

"It was all about how the team wanted to play this week and doing it from the outset, something it has not been able to achieve all season.

"That's the driving factor rather than anything that has happened in the past.

"We've got a bunch of guys who will keep going until the end and we realise that to win Tests you've got to make sure you do that."

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