McCaw: ‘No more excuses’

Editor

New Zealand captain Richie McCaw has called on his side to go up a gear when they take on Georgia this Friday in Cardiff.

Despite victories over Argentina and Namibia in their first two games the All Blacks appear yet to hit top gear in this year's Rugby World Cup.

McCaw acknowledged that there were now no more excuses two games into the competition.

"Performance-wise, we need to take a step up. We have all had a run in the first two games so there are no excuses for not being ready to go," he said.

"There has been a bit of an edge this week in terms of putting right the things that were a little bit off in those opening two games. If we get them right we will hopefully get a good performance.

"When you haven't played for a while there is always a bit if rustiness. You don't like to use it as an excuse but I think that was what let us down last week against Namibia.

"The guys were trying hard but were making some crucial mistakes. You can't afford to let that happen."

New Zealand will take on Georgia for the first time ever in the two sides' history, with McCaw revealing it would add a different element to the contest.

He added: "We understand who we are up against but the main focus is about us getting our game spot on. The excitement we have got from that is enough.

"Still, playing against a side like Namibia or Georgia is something different and add to that the Millennium Stadium and it's pretty exciting.

"We are certainly looking forward to it."