All Blacks' big margin hid how close match was

 Sam Cane lifts some weights at the Les Mills gym in Dunedin yesterday. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON
Sam Cane lifts some weights at the Les Mills gym in Dunedin yesterday. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON
It is a simple game - when one ignores the scoreboard or what is happening on the other side of the paddock.

All Black openside flanker Sam Cane admitted yesterday the All Blacks got carried away with how well they played in the first test against the French. They may have won by 50 points but that disguised how close the game was.

Cane also said the side got too excited when French fullback Benjamin Fall received a red card early on in the second test at Wellington

``They would have been disappointed coming off the field last week [in Auckland] and looked at the scoreline. For more than 50 minutes of that test they were actually leading,'' Cane said.

``We fell into the trap of thinking that was a dominant performance because of the scoreboard when in reality it wasn't.

``We had to work hard for long periods in that game and we got rewards at the end of the game.''

Cane said the side remained focused for the whole game in Auckland but got put off its game when Fall was dismissed early on in the test last Saturday.

``When they received a red card we just thought ``things will happen now'' and when they didn't we got frustrated and things got worse from there. We have looked at the issues, addressed them and will be working on them.''

Cane said as part of the side's leadership group the messages sent to the players were not always correct last Saturday night.

``If we had our time again we would deliver a few messages differently. Just because they are one man down and there is space out wide ... you've got to go through them first and make it really obvious.''

The side ended up trying too hard to play an up-tempo game and pushing passes. It needed to earn the chances and gain space.

Cane revealed the coaching staff on the sideline did not have a great impact on tactics on the field as the players made the decisions.

``It is pretty much only if there has been a try scored. A trainer might come up one on one to us and say something. They wait 30 seconds to a minute before coming on if the players have not come up with a solution to the issue.''

Cane may well have a new partner on the blindside flank as Liam Squire is struggling with a shoulder injury from the test in Wellington and Vaea Fifita suffering from a concussion.

That has left the All Black loose forward cupboard relatively bare and there might be a spot open for Highlanders forwards Shannon Frizell and Jackson Hemopo.

Cane said Frizell was raw but eager to learn.

He had a cheeky nature to him and would be all the better for having spent two weeks in the All Black camp.

 

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