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All go at Etihad for Bledisloe

All Blacks captain Richie McCaw is anticipating a fast-flowing Bledisloe Cup opener against Australia in Melbourne on Saturday night.

Wednesday, 28 July 2010

Sportal.co.nz

All Blacks captain Richie McCaw is anticipating a fast-flowing Bledisloe Cup opener against Australia in Melbourne on Saturday night.

He noticed Australia had not tried to kick the ball out too often, something the All Blacks have also employed this year, and if both teams went into the game with a similar attitude it could be a truly fast game.

McCaw toed the party line from the All Blacks camp about the quality of the surface at Etihad Stadium and said there was nothing that could be done about it and it would be the same for both teams. He had experience of similar turf problems at Millennium Stadium (Cardiff) and Wembley (London) but once games got under way you just had to put that to the side.

The man rated the best flanker in the world had also noted the effort of his rival on Saturday, the quickly rising David Pocock.

He thought he had an effective game.

"He put a lot of heat on the South African ball and he's become quite good at picking his time and having quite an impact. There were a couple of times the South Africans were on attack and he managed to force a penalty or the odd turnover and the way the game is going it is the odd one like that can really change things in the game," he said.

McCaw said he didn't think the South Africans were as accurate as they could be, they had tried to be physical but didn't get the opportunity which brought Pocock into the game.

"He get nice and low and can be a hard man to move if you allow him to be physical and get into that space," he said.

Pocock was a similar player to both long-time rivals George Smith and Phil Waugh and it was all about winning the advantage line against those types of players, he said.

McCaw rated his fellow Crusader Kieran Read's form this year as 'outstanding'.

"It's good fun playing alongside someone like that," he said.

Having regular time in the No.8 jersey this year had helped his development in the role. Last season he was mixing between blindside flanker and No.8 without time to settle in the role.

"Most of the Super 14 he had a good crack there and when you play regularly in one spot I guess you get used to it. And the combination with myself and Jerome [Kaino] helps to and he's just getting better and better," he said.

McCaw said he had been freed up in his own role as a result of Read's confidence growing.

"I think the big thing with loose forwards is that you are not all in the one spot at the same time. You get to be all over the park and I think that's when you have a good combination as you understand that," he said.

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