Coach Dave Rennie was satisfied with Saturday's 47-17 victory over Italy, but knows the All Blacks will need to be more ruthless if they're to beat an in-form Ireland next weekend and protect their Eden Park record.
"It's a pass mark, but we'll need to do better next week," Rennie said.
"I thought we were pretty passive defensively in the first 10 or 15 minutes, but really good beyond that. We started to get time and tackle and a lot more line speed, and so that was positive."
Leading by just four points at halftime, the All Blacks scored three tries in the first 15 minutes of the second half while Italy had a player red carded for a headbutt, effectively killing off the visitors chances of a comeback.
Two of those tries were to wing Will Jordan, who bagged a hattrick on last night to become the All Blacks all-time leading try scorer with 50 test tries.
However, the hosts struggled for continuity in the last third of the game in Wellington, failing to score any more points until after the fulltime siren.
Rennie was pleased with the way his side started the second half, but frustrated by the way they ended it.
"I thought we were excellent after half-time, and probably disappointing in that last sort of 25 minutes where we were just loose. We just needed to be a little bit more accurate."
Rennie said the Italians, who started strongly, scored the first try of the match and were only trailing 14-10 at halftime, played like he expected them to.
"We knew first half they'll be full of energy and they'll fill the field and it'll be harder to break down, but second half, as you saw, there's a lot of them down and we were able to play at a tempo that they struggle with, so it's disappointing that we didn't ram that home in the last sort of 20-odd minutes."
Rennie knows the All Blacks, who now have wins over France (34-32) and Italy to kick off their season, will need a more clinical and ruthless performance if they're to beat Ireland next week at Eden Park in Auckland.
Ireland, like New Zealand, are coming off two wins to start their Nations Championship campaign, pipping the Wallabies 33-31 last Saturday before beating Japan 36-20 this weekend.
Rennie said the All Blacks gave Italy plenty of problems when they got their attack right and was pleased with the improvements the team has made on defence.
"We need to be better against Ireland than we were tonight (against Italy), but it was nice having an extra seven days to prepare for this one and get a little bit of repetition.
"We just felt, maybe in the first half the guys with the ball, you've got to look like a ball carrier when we're going short and going backdoor and at times we look like a distributor, which makes it easier to defend.
"So, little things to tidy up. We're creating a lot. We just need to be better."
Defence coach Tana Umaga agrees and knows they will have to lift their performance against Ireland.
"We have to improve. There's no doubt about it. They've (Ireland) taken every opportunity every time they've come and played the All Blacks (in New Zealand), they don't fear it."
Rennie said he and the players are well aware of what's coming in Auckland and the All Blacks will have to be a little less obvious when on attack.
"They're a great side, Ireland. Very well cached. They'll be pretty confident on the back of a win in Australia last week, so it'll be a good challenge for us.
"They're a really smart defensive side and so we're going to have to force them to make decisions."
The All Blacks will be looking to protect their 52-test unbeaten streak at Eden Park next weekend, with the hosts having not lost at the ground since 1994.
Umaga said Ireland will be determined to snap that streak.
"Ireland, they love breaking down firsts (and making history). We've got to be at the top of our game and tradition won't get us through."
This story was first published on rnz.co.nz |  |
