New Zealand have enough Smiths in their squad to make a hotel receptionist more than suspicious but the contribution of one of them during the World Cup has almost gone unnoticed as the holders have carried on as normal by defeating opponents through scoring tries.
Wayne Smith, the New Zealand head coach for a year from 2000 who was part of the triumvirate with Graham Henry and Steven Hansen that masterminded the 2011 World Cup success, rejoined the coaching team in the summer with responsibility for defence. He had fended off interest from England three years before.
The All Blacks have conceded four tries in six matches this tournament, a record bettered only by Wales who let in three during their five games before going out to South Africa in the quarter-finals, with Smith, who forged his reputation as an attack coach, making his mark.
“Smithy has been excellent,” said the full-back Ben Smith. “He gives us a great insight into how other teams will be looking at us and what they will be seeing. He is having a big input in the team and we have been good in defence. He has good individual skills and you can talk to him about position specific things to help your game.”
The hooker Keven Mealamu, one of a number of All Blacks who will be making their final Test appearances on Saturday at the end of his fourth World Cup, was in the 2011 squad who won the tournament and has worked with Smith for nine years.
“It has been good having Smithy back in the camp and he has added to the coaching group,” Mealamu said. “He has had a big influence, smart in the way he can see things players do not pick up on, and has put some good systems in place. He has a good rapport with the players and makes sure that we nail our roles and defence is all about attitude. It has been handy having someone back with such an attention to detail and it will not get any easier for us in the final because Australia have a number of different attacking threats and pose a their own problems but we will have a plan for them come Saturday.”
The All Blacks are spending the week at England’s former training base in Bagshot, unperturbed that its three previous occupants, the hosts, South Africa and Argentina, are listed among the also-rans. Australia turned down the chance to move in, preferring the bustle and coffee shops of Teddington to a more remote location, but New Zealand are single-minded in their pursuit of making history by becoming the first side to defend the World Cup.
“It is all about preparing as well as we can and that makes it like a normal Test week,”Mealamu said. “It is an exciting challenge we are walking towards and we have an opportunity to do something that has not been achieved before. This is not 2011 so you handle things differently.
“The more you understand that, the better you cope with it. We are lucky we have been in this position before and know what people are feeling so we can learn from that, but it is not the same. We are in a good space at the moment and those of us who are coming to the end of our international careers are focused solely on preparing well for Australia. We have not sat down this week as a group to chat about what this weekend marks: there will be time to reflect afterwards and all that matters is Saturday.”
New Zealand have lost only three matches since the last World Cup. The last defeat came against Australia in Sydney in August when the Wallabies, starting a Test with David Pocock and Michael Hooper for the first time, won 27-19 and outscored the All Blacks by three tries to two.
“We know Pocock is a good player, but there are so many parts to the game that if you concentrate on one person you will end up not doing anything else,” Mealamu said. “He has been a big part of their World Cup but they also have other strengths which are just as important and we have to cover everything.”
Mealamu,who has been on the bench in the knockout stage, will be making his 375th first-class appearance at the age of 35 if he gets on to the field, a remarkable number in the modern age. “I feel blessed,” he said. “After 2011, I thought it would be amazing to play in another World Cup and to be here is really pleasing.”
