Coach Graham Henry wants All Blacks to improve
New Zealand coach Graham Henry has urged his side to improve on their 3-49 hammering of Scotland, when they take on Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday 20 November.
New Zealand picked up no injuries in the match with Scotland, and with the exception of the suspended Kevin Mealamu, they have a full strength squad to choose from.
Speaking to reporters, Henry stated that his All Blacks team must improve on their performance.
“I think we need to talk about ourselves. We set a standard on Saturday and I think it is very important that we try and increase that standard and improve on that; it’s the benchmark,” said the New Zealand coach.
Henry suggested that the aim of the tour was for New Zealand to create a team capable of winning the World Cup.
“I think the objective of the tour is to build a team. I think we made some progress on Saturday [against Scotland] and would like to continue that over the next two weeks. Building the team is the philosophy,” said the All Blacks coach.
As a result, Henry is expected to field much of the same side that trounced Scotland at the weekend.
“It means we won’t make too many changes. We haven’t had a meeting of the selectors. There might be one or two guys who need a bit of time on the paddock so to speak, to freshen up. In some cases it might be counter-productive to have guys play three games
in a row, in others it won’t.”
The New Zealand coach stated that his team would face a tough challenge against the Irish at home who only beat Samoa 20-10 in their last Test match.
“We have always respected them and had difficult games, generally speaking,” said Henry.
Ireland will go into the match searching for their first ever win over the All Blacks.
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