“We defended like crazy,” says New Zealand captain Sam Keane

In Saint-Denis,

The confrontation between the Blacks and the Greens reached its climax on Saturday at the Stade de France. The end of the match was unbearable. Like his 37-time apnea and this amazing defense of the triple world champions. New Zealand pulled away but were not beaten by the current best team in the world in the World Rugby rankings. The saying is well known: in a World Cup, the best is almost always the black team. Sam Kane, third grade and captain, can taste the following: “ We were able to defend over 30 phases in the end, which is huge. We fought like crazy for each other and it’s beautiful. Our defense is what got us the win tonight“.

Kane and his 21 saves (the best total of the match) and two scratched balls played a vital role in this winning quarter. “ We managed to contain them for long periods, which allowed us to win », continues the captain of the men in black. Everyone was outnumbered for 30 minutes due to two yellow cards. “ Nobody wanted to play with 14 players, we had to do it twice. But the players went above and beyond and we defended like crazy tonight “, Canes lights up. Same story with center Jordie Barrett: “ We had to give everything. They showed that they weren’t #1 for a while for nothing. They are very good in the one-pass game, and if you get disorganized, they will hack you. They tried to cross a few times but we held on well. »

This is the World Cup. You have to roll up your sleeves and hit it.

Ian Foster

“ I would have preferred us not to get yellow cards because we know they are good when they play against a smaller team. Famous coach Ian Foster. We knew how to defend and we stuck to our plan. This is the World Cup. You have to roll up your sleeves and hit it. » However, the New Zealanders remain on a five-game losing streak in eight matches against the Green Fleet, who are invincible in 17 matches. After losing to the Blues in their World Cup opener, they proved throughout the tournament that their magic had not evaporated.

Impressive on the kicking side with ball in hand with executives in great form like Ardi Savea, who was brutal on Saturday. One pass was enough for Will Jordan to score his fourth try in as many games. “People don’t realize it, but he understands everything, Says fly half Richie Monga. We see it in matches, he is always there at the right time. His sense of anticipation and speed are his strengths. He knows how to read and anticipate where the ball will go. He chases the slightest opportunity“.
Against the XV of France, the All Blacks presented an attractive face in the first period (9-8 in the first half for the Blues), before losing the thread. Not this time.

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Richie Monga let’s go : “ For us, it’s huge for a number of reasons, the first being that everyone saw us lose. We expected it, we had already played against Ireland, one of the best teams in the world and we realized that this is not enough and that the goal is to become the best team on D-Day. «.« We showed that we have character by beating the world number one “, continues Barrett. Force of habit: Reaching the semi-finals for the ninth time in ten editions, Ian Foster’s men will start the match as heavy favorites against Argentina next Friday evening. After the titans’ duel against Ireland, recovery will be the key word.” Obviously we’re going to have to recover over the next few days because it’s taken a toll. We will recover and prepare», cane slips. With a fourth world title more than ever on the horizon.

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