Fans fear Cup heading Australia's way

Drain layer Luke Michelle gave employees David Knight and Josh Beaumont (L-R) a couple of hours off work this morning. Photo / Michael Craig

Nervous New Zealand fans fear the Rugby World Cup is on its way back to Australia after the latest at-times unconvincing performance by the All Blacks.

Fans flocked to bars and pubs this morning to watch the All Blacks' final pool game against Tonga. But instead of witnessing a powerful last hit-out before the stakes ramp up in the quarter-finals, fans had to endure a spluttering display from Steve Hansen's side against Tonga.

A late flurry of points flattered the All Blacks' performance, who rode out 47-9 winners.

Nervousness was the primary emotion of fans in spoken to by the Herald on Sunday at Auckland's The Paddington bar and restaurant this morning, with many supporters concerned the All Blacks have been way below par through the pool phase and could again crash out of the tournament early.

Those concerns are compounded by many also saying Australia appear to be going from strength to strength.

"We're playing the bottom teams of the entire Rugby World Cup, so it's going to be really interesting when we run into the big boys," Ayla Brammall said.

Ayla Brammall and Luuk Sanders watch the game at the Paddington, Parnell. Photo / Michael Craig

"Australia have been doing exceptionally well so far, so It'd be really interesting to see us go up against our rival - if we get that far."

Brammall and her partner, Luuk Sanders, have risen early to watch all of New Zealand's pool games, saying it's just basic skills the men in black need to brush up on.

"I'm nervous about the quarterfinal. I'm not convinced the All Blacks are holding tactics back or are trying to time their run. They just really need to clean it up before the knockout phase," she said.

Likewise, drain layer Luke Michelle gave employees David Knight and Josh Beaumont a couple of hours off work this morning so they could all watch the game in a nearby pub. And they were not impressed either.

"I'm nervous about Australia, they're looking like the clear team to beat," Knight said. "We just look average."

Father and son Martyn and James Buckley also pointed to basic errors and said the Wallabies were the side that were impressing the most.

"The All Blacks are just very patchy at the moment. They show good glimpses but will then mishandle the ball. You can't do that in the World Cup," Martyn said.

His son was similarly worried about the opposition.

"Am I nervous about the rest of the tournament? Definitely. I'm worried about Australia."