All Blacks credit 'composure' in overcoming spirited Uruguayan opening quarter

The All Blacks‘ mammoth round-four win over Italy put the team in control of their own destiny heading into the last round of pool play at the Rugby World Cup.

Needing a bonus point win to secure their place in the quarter-finals, New Zealand dished Uruguay a hefty 73-0 defeat. All 73 of those points came after a stalemate opening quarter of the match.

When No 8 Luke Jacobson came up just short contesting the Uruguayan lineout, Los Teros surged forward to get front foot ball just a minute into the match and well within the All Blacks half.

A handling error returned the ball to New Zealand but only after Uruguay had pushed into the All Blacks’ 22. The tight opening sequence was a sign of things to come as both sides had tries disallowed in the game’s opening quarter.

Los Teros’ unrelenting start posed a sizable challenge for the All Blacks to overcome, which they managed to do in the 19th minute through Man of the Match Damian McKenzie.

The floodgates were then opened as 19 points followed before the halftime break.

“It was quite a tough test match,” captain Sam Cane said after the win. “Especially in that first half. We were made to really work for it.

“In that first 20 minutes, we showed some good composure and patience to not allow (errors) to creep in and we started getting some rewards.

“I thought Uruguay, they have been outstanding this World Cup. I have enjoyed watching their passion and ability to throw the ball around so congratulations to them on a really good World Cup.”

Having pushed Pool A’s only undefeated team, France, right into the final quarter of their match in round two, Uruguay’s physicality was no surprise to the All Blacks.

Throughout the week, head coach Ian Foster referenced that France Test numerous times in assessing the threat of their opposition, noting the similar scoreline in both Uruguay and New Zealand’s losses against the tournament hosts.

The coach was pleased with the way his team responded to the challenge.

“Really proud of it,” he told the press. “I thought Uruguay really honed in in that first 20 and they showed a massive degree of spirit and managed to slow the game down.

“We held our composure very well and were quite clinical, a little bit different from last week in that we had to grind our way through that contact area, it was hard to get quick ball but, pleased with the patience.

“We expected that sort of game, we talked about how this was going to turn into a bit of a bun fight at the breakdown.

“We flagged earlier we were really impressed with their work in the pool and it took us a while to break them down, they put a lot of energy into that period and reaped some rewards but it is how do you sustain that for 80 minutes?”