No less than Ireland, quite what to make of New Zealand is open to debate. This follows a Rugby Championship which featured the highs of extending their unbeaten run at Eden Park to 51 matches against the Springboks in Ardie Savea’s 100th Test, before their heaviest defeat ever a week later to the same opponents in Wellington.
That perhaps tells us more about the state of modern Test rugby, where pretty much anyone in the top 10 can beat another on a given day, and often with wild swings in results, sometimes with huge margins.
In any event, head coach Scott Robertson is perhaps mindful that a history-making tour would atone for another runners-up finish to the Boks. So, although their opening game against Ireland at Soldier Field on Saturday (kick-off 3.10pm local time/8.10pm Irish) is a trek to Chicago, their end-of-year tour has an old school feel to it, as games follow against Scotland, England and Wales in their traditional homes.
Speaking at the All Blacks’ hotel on a breezy but beautiful day in downtown Chicago, Robertson again made no secret of his ambitions for the month ahead.
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“We’re going for a Grand Slam. Opportunities don’t come around that often, and when they do, you’ve got to take them,” said Robertson, who has been outlining the prize at stake for his 36-man squad, namely a first Grand Slam in 16 years and just the fifth by an All Blacks side in history following the sides of 1978, 2005, 2008 and 2010.
The All Blacks are also acutely aware that they are back at the scene of the crime, namely Chicago, where their century-long, 29-match unbeaten record against Ireland came to an end in 2016.
“It was a pretty historic day, wasn’t it? You reflect back, and when it’s always the first time in history, you don’t want to be that team.
“But it’s happened now, and you accept it. What were our learnings from that week? You ask a couple of players and coaches that were in and around what happened that week, and what did we learn from it, to make sure that we get it right this week.
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“We’ve had 10 games since [against Ireland]. We have [won] five each.
“Test footy is pretty tight, and the Lions have got a hell of a team,” said Robertson with an understandable slip of the tongue that many of us were tempted to make during the summer.
“How many Irish players were in the Lions team? 16? That’s pretty hefty. They won a series away, which is very tough for the Lions, so they’ve got a group of men that have played Test footy, so they’ll be ready. They’ve got good cohesion and they’re well coached, so we expect the best out of them.”
Nevertheless, the All Blacks look well placed to exploit any Irish rustiness.
“I think it’s just important we focus on ourselves, really. We know their strengths. We know they’re a team that’s extremely organised and well-structured and take you deep into the phase count. We expect that again and expect the best of them.”
The All Blacks improved on last year’s first Rugby Championship under Robertson, winning four compared to three matches. He pointed out that his side led in all games, and admitted they had been working, individually and collectively, on improving their second-half displays as well as their set pieces.
“But we’re not far away. It might seem like it with the results, but we’re really confident when we get our attack right and defensively we’re physical and highly disciplined. We’ll match anyone and that’s the exciting part, just doing it consistently.”
Reflecting on last year’s 23-13 bloodless coup in the Aviva, Robertson said: “It was a game of small margins like most Test matches are. We completed our sets really well, kicked well, our discipline was good. There was just a couple of little moments we were pleased with it. We stayed in the game for a long time and it was a hell of a night at Aviva for us.”
Robertson said all of his 36-man squad “are available”. They landed last Saturday after a few training days in Auckland. There will be opportunities for off-field activities this week and both squads attended the Chicago Blackhawks ice hockey game on Sunday.
Although the weather is a good deal cooler and less predictable than in 2016 and 2018 [when Ireland beat Italy], the innately good-humoured Robertson had one other message to his squad.
“Embrace the city. It’s got big shoulders, hasn’t it? That’s what they say. There’s a good little coffee shop down there that we saw on the board, [about] the industrialism. It was actually quite cool to learn about the history and the background of Chicago. We’re on a beautiful autumn day here. We’re not minus 20 with the wind coming off the lake, so I just probably respect how much hard work’s been given to the city over a long period of time. And then just embrace the week, but also the focus is on Saturday.”
