Richie McCaw and the All Blacks withstood immense pressure to win the 2011 World Cup on home soil after earlier disappointments. Photo / Paul Estcour
Richie McCaw and the All Blacks withstood immense pressure to win the 2011 World Cup on home soil after earlier disappointments. Photo / Paul Estcour
Pressure can break even the best teams, says Richie McCaw.
There was a bit of anger and angst in Sydney the day before the Bledisloe Cup clash. Total humiliation in the Ashes will do that to the Aussies — make them angry about life.
There is nothing more un-Australian than a total mental collapse in the sporting arena. Pick any sport and the Australians, usually, will find a way to hang in there, bring the best out of themselves.
Obviously something has gone spectacularly wrong with their cricket team and, inevitably, there will be a soul searching review into what.
He joined a few team-mates to watch the first innings horror show. "The thought I had actually ... guys under pressure and that's what happens. Pressure does funny things to good players if you allow it to get on top of you and that's often what happens. The English got their tails up and the other team didn't and it can be pretty nasty."
McCaw's intention was not to invite ridicule and smugness. With the World Cup kicking off next month, he was reminding New Zealanders, and perhaps his team-mates, that a treacherous path lies ahead.
Richie McCaw looks stunned as the French eliminate the All Blacks from the 2007 World Cup.
The All Blacks, after all, are no strangers to sporting collapse on the biggest stage. They have been there and done that many times. Pressure has been the thing that has got them.
It was old legs in 1991 and crook guts in 1995. But in 1999, 2003 and 2007 it was pressure and, by goodness, it was pressure that almost squashed them again in 2011.
The All Blacks are well placed to have a good World Cup this year. They have experience, x-factor, a touch of youth, strength in depth where they need it and a smart coaching team.
They have confidence built up over a long period of time which has seen them barely lose in the last four years. Everything bodes well.
But what McCaw made clear is how easily things can change. The World Cup is a different beast because it comes with a whole different set of pressures and expectations.
The All Blacks, as holders and the world's No1 team, are going to be most people's favourites. No one would say they don't have the capacity to win it. It's there for them.
If they prepare well, select well and play well then it's hard to see them being beaten.
They are the best team in the world and, therefore, it's neither arrogant nor complacent to say that, if they play to their potential, they should be crowned champions.
Richie McCaw was also on the receiving end of an upset in 2003.
But the fact that's true heaps yet more pressure on the All Blacks. Just as the Australian cricket team disintegrated, so too could the All Blacks.
It's probably a stretch to believe they will fold quite as badly as the Australian cricketers. McCaw was alluding more to the potential threat of not nailing the little things that matter.
Will they throw the ball straight at the lineout if they have one minute left to salvage victory? Can they make their tackles when one line break will see them dumped out? Can they kick a long-range goal to win it?
Will their pass and catch remain good if they are chasing points in the last 10 minutes?
For the last four years, the All Blacks have emphatically proven that the answer is yes — they can execute perfectly under pressure.
A World Cup, though ... it's a bit different. It will be more intense than anything they have encountered since the last tournament.
There will be a few key plays in each game when the pressure will be intense and the team who execute best will win.
His advice for the Silver Ferns, who began their World Cup campaign on Friday night was to buy into that simple theory.
"In tournaments, they come down to some moments that you have got to get spot on," he said. "There is no doubt New Zealand have the ability to win on the day but they have got to make sure they back themselves to do that."
