New Zealand asked for the windows at their city centre hotel in Cardiff to be soundproofed after being kept awake on Saturday evening by roisterous Wales supporters but it is the Georgia players who should be having sleepless nights before Friday night’s meeting with the holders at the Millennium Stadium.
Various All Blacks have said this week that the performances in their opening two matches against Argentina and Namibia were below the level they set for themselves and it was a message reinforced by Richie McCaw on Thursday, even though finishing at the top of the pool is the definite side of probable.
“We need to take a step up performance-wise,” said New Zealand’s captain. “There has been an edge in training this week as we look to put right things that were a little bit off in the opening two matches. Do that and it should make for a good performance. When you have not played for a while, there is always the danger of rustiness and while you don’t like to use excuses, it was what let us down against Namibia last week.
“Playing a side like Georgia is something different for us. We understand who we are up against but the main focus is getting our game spot on. You do not need to be playing against a new side to keep you fresh. This is our third game in the World Cup and that means you should have an edge regardless of who the opposition is.”
It will be the first meeting between the two sides and while they will not have been contemplating defeat, the All Blacks asked for the hotel room windows to be soundproofed to ensure the players did not have another night’s disturbed sleep if Wales’s result against Fiji sparked celebrations in the streets of the Welsh capital.
“It has been an exciting tournament so far and we will need to step it up against Georgia, who have some pretty big men,” said the New Zealand assistant coach, Ian Foster. “They love the contact area, a phase of the game we were not happy with in either of our first two matches. It has been good to see some of the so-called lesser teams playing well. Some of them are playing excellent rugby and it’s important that we keep an eye on where the game is going and how those teams are doing.”
Georgia, along with so many teams at the World Cup, are coached by a New Zealander, Milton Haig, who has shaken up the side after the opening matches against Tonga and Argentina. “We now have depth in the squad and we drew up a plan a year ago about what our ultimate goal was in the tournament, qualifying for the 2019 event [which they will do if they finish third in the group, having beaten Tonga] and that makes our final game against Namibia very important,” he said.
The Georgia second-row Giorgi Chkhaidze is appearing in his fourth World Cup. “It is a big honour for me to be playing against the reigning world champions,” he said. “The only thing I can compare it to is when I faced England in 2003. They went on to win the tournament and it was the first time I had the experience of playing against a great team.”
New Zealand Ben Smith, Waisake Naholo, Conrad Smith, Sonny Bill Williams, Julian Savea, Dan Carter, Aaron Smith; Kieran Read, Richie McCaw (capt), Jerome Kaino, Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Charlie Faumuina, Dane Coles, Wyatt Crockett. Replacements Keven Mealamu, Tony Woodcock, Owen Franks, Victor Vito, Sam Cane, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, TJ Perenara, Malakai Fekitoa. Georgia Beka Tsuklauri, Giorgi Apciauri, David Kacharava, Tamaz Mchedlidze, Alexandr Todua, Lasha Malaguradze, Giorgi Begadze; Lasha Lomidze, Mamuka Gorgodze (capt), Shalva Sutiashvili, Giorgi Chkhaidze, levan Datunashvili, Levan Chilachava, Shalva Mamukashvili, Karlen Asieshvili. Replacements Simon Maisuradze, Mikhail Nariashvili, Anton Peikrishvili, Kote Mikautadze, Viktor Kolelishvili, Vasil Lobjanidze, Merab Sharikadze, Muraz Giorgadze.
