Hansen wary of Wallaby backlash
All Black coach Steve Hansen has cited last year's World Cup final scare as a reason why they cannot take the struggling Wallabies lightly at Eden Park on Saturday.
Former All Black coaches Graham Henry and Wayne Smith as well as former Wallaby coach Alan Jones and flyhalf Mark Ella have written off the chances of an Australian upset following their 27-19 loss in Sydney last weekend, with Henry suggesting the Wallabies are in for a thumping.
Hansen, however, said last year’s tense 8-7 win over France in the World Cup final at the same venue serves as a vivid reminder about the potential pitfalls of complacency.
"Just go back six months and we had a few people saying the same things about the French and we beat them by a point," said Hansen.
"Australia will be pretty disappointed with how they played last week … We've got to expect that they'll raise their game, their intensity and their accuracy of their game, so therefore we'll have to do the same.
"We've got plenty that we can improve on," he added.
Hansen reaffirmed his expectation of an improved performance by his charges this weekend, saying that last Saturday’s opening round fixture and continuity in team selection in itself should contribute to this goal.
"We haven't played for a wee while so we felt it was important to get our combinations going and give the group that started a re-start. We were happy with how they went but we're expecting them to go up a level," said Hansen.
