'Boks still the favourites'

2008-08-03 10:57

Wellington - South Africa remain Tri-Nations rugby title favourites but the All Blacks have kept their destiny in their own hands, New Zealand assistant coach Steve Hansen said on Sunday.

New Zealand pulled off a remarkable turnaround in fortunes on Saturday, hammering Australia 39-10 just a week after going down 34-19 to the Wallabies in Sydney.

The result in Auckland puts the All Blacks back on top of the Tri-Nations table with 10 points from four matches, one point ahead of the Wallabies and five ahead of the Springboks.

"You would have to say South Africa are (favourites) in that they have three home games, but we're in charge of our own destiny," Hansen said.

Back to basics

"If we can win our remaining games, then we have a big show."

Fans, who had deserted the All Blacks after their two successive losses in the series, were suddenly again proud to be Kiwis after Saturday's convincing win.

The Herald on Sunday echoed the feeling here with the front page headline: "Sweet Revenge."

"The All Blacks went back to basics, took care of the core skills, played the game in Australia's half and levelled the series," wrote Gregor Paul.

"They administered an old-style belting - the kind where the receiver feels the humiliation more than the pain," he said.

Commentators agreed it took last week's humbling loss to get the All Blacks fired up.

"The team played as if the very future of the country depended on victory," wrote Sunday Star Times columnist Michael Donaldson.

The knives were out for coach Graham Henry last week after the man hailed as the "Great Redeemer" was outfoxed by Robbie Deans, the Wallabies' new mastermind, who was discarded by the New Zealand Rugby Union.

But commentators said Henry and the All Blacks had put the boot into their critics.

"The All Blacks ripped into this demanding Test and were 18-3 ahead after the first quarter, they had one hand back on the Bledisloe Cup and showed they weren't about to surrender their Tri-Nations title either," said columnist Duncan Johnstone.

"They produced an in-your-face defence that had the Wallabies forced into the sort of errors that New Zealand had suffered to their embarrassment in Sydney last week.

"The yellow jerseys were the ones spilling the 50-50 balls and the All Blacks used that to add to their front-foot momentum," he said.

All Black skipper Richie McCaw, the team's "Lucky Charm," had weaved his magic again, said Wellington's Dominion Post.

McCaw was sidelined for six weeks with an ankle injury after the loss to the Springboks in Dunedin.

Former All Black Grant Fox said the team, hurting deeply from two successive losses, had responded in the time-honoured fashion.

"The critical lesson of a convincing victory is you have to turn up both physically and mentally ready to play," Fox said.

"Richie personified that and his return kicked off a domino effect that overwhelmed Australia."

The win continued an astonishing record for McCaw that's seen him on the winning side in 56 of his 63 Tests.

With the tournament taking a break next weekend, the focus will turn to the All Blacks' trip to Cape Town, where they face the Springboks on August 16.

- AFP