Italy and New Zealand – Crowley: “We set the starting line”

ROME – Kieran Crowley also made his debut at the press conference after the match between Italy and New Zealand. s.o Satisfied but aware of the work to be done as normal that emphasizes the positive aspects.

“Today we drew a line in the sand, starting from what has been done on the pitch to build our future”New Zealand coach words. “Against opponents of this caliber, performance and mental attitude count: we are at the beginning of a clear process that will continue to develop with Argentina and Uruguay, with many areas of the game where we need to improve, for example the defence, but it certainly has a positive approach from several points of view. “.

“If we analyze our defensive performance, the numbers speak for themselves: about 190 positive interventions, thanks to which we put the All Blacks under pressure with very hard work for us, which billed us in the long run. We entered the final quarter of the game at 21 to 9, and that’s definitely an important number for us, and since then they’ve come off really well, but being in the game up until that point is definitely one of the things we have to start with… for the next two races with Argentina and Uruguay.”

From one novice player to another, Captain Lamaro also positively analyzes a match in which he did not allow a second rest period: “In the end, they took advantage of our physical decline, using their feet deep to put all the pressure on us when we gave it our all. For the future, we must learn to adapt better to these situations, and grow as individuals and as groups.”

“The first few minutes were for the ‘feel’ of the match, and choosing to insist on a throw-in was a feeling of continuing to put pressure on them at the point where they were struggling the most. It was a shared choice with Paolo (Garbisi, editor), and even if we didn’t manage these situations In the best possible way, it is still the right choice.”

Captain Blue continues: “At the end of the first half we were satisfied with the way we were coping in defence, we wanted to continue on that streak and in fact kept keeping our defensive rhythms as high as possible. We are at the beginning of a new cycle: a new coach, a new captain, a new match, a test. Today it makes clear that the defense is our starting point, but in the coming days we will analyze with special interest what has worked less well, to get us ready for an appointment with Pumas on Saturday.”

On the All Blacks side, there’s an analysis, the Blue Analysis, also shared by coach Foster and captain Caine: “Italy surprised us with a very strong defense, which did not allow us to develop our game by taking away our reference points. The boys were good at managing some very sensitive stages of the match and then in the final they fell physically and we found their satisfaction in a faster and more effective match. We are really satisfied with this. The test, it was the kind of match we needed on our journey these weeks.”