ADVERTISEMENT

Hansen revels in 'ideal game' for All Blacks

Steve Hansen feels New Zealand will benefit from having been pushed by Argentina, before a second-half blitz put the Pumas to the sword.

___5477549___https:______static.pulse.com.gh___webservice___escenic___binary___5477549___2016___9___10___19___steve-hansen-dane-coles_g1nsq47ah5671gnnsxzhiqw8t_2

New Zealand coach Steve Hansen reflected on the "ideal game" for his side after they came on strong in the second half to thump Argentina 57-22 in the Rugby Championship.

The Pumas put the world champions under significant pressure for more than 50 minutes in Hamilton on Saturday, claiming the lead on three occasions.

However, a one-sided final half-hour saw the All Blacks run in 33 points without reply to secure an ultimately emphatic victory.

"Just an ideal game for us, wasn't it," said Hansen. "We've come off two pretty successful weeks against Australia and then [we were] put under a lot of pressure in the first half and had to find some answers.

ADVERTISEMENT

"We were looking at ourselves a little bit, I would say, coming in at half-time. We regathered our thought processes, went back out and were a lot more effective in our roles and executing the jobs we needed to do. That put a lot of pressure on the Argentinians and we managed to come away with it."

Hansen believes the All Blacks will benefit from the initial challenge provided by the Pumas.

"It's the same thing we say all the time, we've just got to go away and work better and prepare better," he added.

"There'll be one or two guys that will have a good look at how they played and be a little bit disappointed. That will get them a little bit more motivated to go a bit deeper in their preparation, which will be good.

"As a team, we'll have learned something else about ourselves. As a leadership group, Kieran [Read, the All Blacks captain] and his guys will be able to sit down and have some good conversations about a few things. It was just an ideal game for us."

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!

Unblock notifications in browser settings.
ADVERTISEMENT

Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:

Email: eyewitness@pulse.com.gh

ADVERTISEMENT