KEY POINTS:
All Black coach Graham Henry believes his squad's poor Tri-Nations form is due to some players thinking too far ahead to the World Cup.
The admission came yesterday as Henry spoke of his side's lack of mental edge against the Wallabies in Melbourne after what he considered only
a pass mark start to the tournament against the Springboks in Durban.
"I don't think they had played insufficient football to be off the pace. I think we were not right there [Melbourne], no excuses, we just have to take it on the chin and get on," he said.
"I'd say so [their heads were not right], not a hundred. If you have a side sitting in Melbourne for two weeks waiting for you and you have been to South Africa and you are coming back to play, you can't afford to be 85-90, you have got to be a hundred to play and we weren't."
Champion first five-eighths Daniel Carter said he would be lying if he said his mind did not drift towards the World Cup but he used all sorts of techniques to focus on the task at hand.
Henry's criticisms offered an unhealthy resonance about the last World Cup when the All Blacks raised their game to win a quarter-final against the Boks but could not sustain those standards in the semifinal against the Wallabies.
"We are not happy with where we are at," Henry said.
He did have the luxury of making seven changes to his side though, knowing the All Blacks will have the artillery to beat an average Springbok side in Christchurch on Saturday.
He said he had made some changes to give the less employed in the squad some matchplay; a decision at odds with the original intention to play the best side all the way through the Tri-Nations.
Players who fell into that category were Doug Howlett, Reuben Thorne, Piri Weepu, Keven Mealamu and Keith Robinson who had recovered from his calf muscle strain.
Isaia Toeava had overcome his shoulder problem and proved his fitness during a heavy contact session. He needed to play and reproduce his consistent improvement while Conrad Smith had one club game, after his hamstring troubles, and would get an opportunity.
Henry scaled the Melbourne defeat down to a hiccup but then proceeded to list issues that put that description out of kilter.
"Every now and again you need to analyse everything you are doing. Hopefully, we have done that reasonably well and can expect a better performance this week and next," he said.
"We did not use the ball well in attack. We did not attempt to use the ball particularly well, which is more to the point. Defence was poor at times. I could go on but I won't bore you with that.
"We have got a lot of areas we need to spruce up on so it was a timely reminder."
Henry did not know whether the Tri-Nations performances were a sign about the World Cup but agreed some of his squad may already be considering their fate at that tournament.
"I wonder if some of their heads are in September-October. Some below-par internationals leading into the Tri-Nations may be a factor. I think it is a combination of several things."
It only took a few players to lose their focus and the All Blacks could be off the pace by 10 per cent. Henry thought the side had regrouped and that their concentration had been sorted out but the only proof would be how they played at the weekend.