All Blacks v Uruguay preview: Flat-track bullies New Zealand looking for another large World Cup win

For the All Blacks, the task is simple: win with a bonus-point, and they are in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.

And let’s be honest, they should have little trouble in dispatching Uruguay on Thursday despite their opponents’ impressive campaign so far.

New Zealand don’t seem to have any issues in comfortably defeating tier-two countries, unlike other top nations. Even hosts France struggled against Los Teros earlier in the Rugby World Cup, but we can’t see Ian Foster’s men having the same problems.

The All Blacks are, in many ways, the ultimate flat-track bullies, as they showed against Italy. When they play inferior opposition on paper, Foster’s charges have the ability to keep their foot on the throat and somehow maintain that intensity and skill level when the game is over as a contest.

No other side in World Rugby would have racked up 96 points on the Azzurri, which just shows how impressive that display was last Friday. And yet, it is not a result that puts them back alongside Ireland, South Africa and France as the World Cup favourites.

New Zealand are certainly in the conversation for the title; they never really left it, but we will only know about their true capabilities once the quarter-finals come around.

At the moment, the three-time world champions have yet to show they can problem-solve when the pressure comes on, which is why Italy’s lack of resistance in Lyon could count against them as the tournament reaches its knockout stages.

We just hope that Uruguay can start well and keep it close, showing all the qualities that put Les Blues under duress; otherwise, another large win beckons for the All Blacks.

What they said

All Blacks prop Ofa Tu’ungafasi believes that Uruguay will be “easy” opponents when the teams clash in Lyon.

“For as long as I’ve been playing, one of the toughest challenges of the week is preparing for a team that you know will be easy to overcome,” Tu’ungafasi said.

“When that happens, you tend to leave stones unturned; you take it easy on some areas.

“For as long as I’ve been in this environment… no matter who we play, our attention and our focus is to go out there and play to our standard and have a performance that we can be proud of.

“And it’s no different for this week, last weekend and previous weeks: we raise our standards and try to be better.”

Meanwhile, Uruguay head coach Esteban Meneses insists that it is a “dream” to be preparing for a match against the mighty All Blacks.

“Today, sitting in this situation of analysing them is a dream. It brings the challenge of maximising Uruguay’s strengths as a team and finding a way to neutralise theirs, as they do the simple perfectly,” Meneses said.

“We have studied them and will want to have the ability to try to neutralise them in the game for as many minutes as possible.

“It is a professional challenge, a luxury, and I am very grateful to be in this situation. Uruguay has to be aware of its strengths and how to maximize them during the 80 minutes.

“Our great challenge as coaches is to put them under pressure, acknowledging who we are playing, playing to our terms and not theirs, which is where they are really strong.”

Players to watch

After the demolition of Italy, you would suspect that most of the 23 is in place, but there are still opportunities for individuals to put their hand up. First, Damian McKenzie gets a chance, this time in the full-back role, to display his playmaking qualities. The Chiefs star was absolutely magnificent off the bench against Italy and offers something slightly different to Beauden Barrett in that position.

He is joined in the back three by Leicester Fainga’anuku, who starts his second match of the World Cup. Those wing spots appear to be locked down, especially on the left where Mark Telea has been outstanding, but, like McKenzie, Fainga’anuku offers a point of difference. The 23-year-old has real physicality and is also strong at the breakdown, so if you need an extra body to make the hard yards in the tight or a player to be a turnover threat in the wide channels, he is your man.

Get to know All Black number 1200, Leicester Fainga'anuku 🖤

🎥: @skysportnz pic.twitter.com/uCNBM5CdsC

— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) July 9, 2022

Up front, there are two notable names in the back-row in the form of Sam Cane and Shannon Frizell. Captain Cane makes his first start of the tournament, and the openside will need to prove his fitness to Ian Foster if he is to start ahead of the impressive Dalton Papali’i in the quarter-finals. As for Frizell, they will just be desperate that he doesn’t get injured as the blindside has become crucial to how that back-row operates. The 29-year-old is playing due to only just returning from injury himself, but it might be a case of giving him 50 minutes and then saving him for the quarter-final.

That All Blacks back-row will certainly have to be on their toes when they face Uruguay and their star flanker Manuel Ardao. The turnover king has genuinely been outstanding at this World Cup and is playing at an extremely high level. One thing Italy failed to do was halt any New Zealand momentum, but Ardao might have a bit more success thanks to his skills at the contact area.

Equally, number eight Manuel Diana has matched up well physically to the likes of France and Italy in Pool A and has made ground with ball in hand in both of those encounters. Diana is not a huge number eight, but he is robust in the carry and naturally powerful in close quarters, so that allows him to get across the gain line more often than not.

Those two certainly need to perform if they are to get their star player, scrum-half Santiago Arata, into the contest. Arata is a genuinely world-class talent who most teams in world rugby would love to have, but there is only so much he can do behind a pack going backwards. However, against France, the forward eight stepped up well, which allowed Arata to show his qualities, and they will need to repeat that effort on Thursday.

Prediction

Uruguay will almost certainly put up more resistance than Italy, but the All Blacks are rarely troubled in games such as this, so they should rack up the points. Conceding anything under half-a-century would be an achievement for Los Teros. New Zealand by 50 points.

The teams

New Zealand: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Leicester Fainga’anuku, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Luke Jacobson, 7 Sam Cane (c), 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Sam Whitelock, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ofa Tu’ungafasi
Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Ethan Blackadder, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Caleb Clarke

Uruguay: 15 Rodrigo Silva, 14 Gaston Mieres, 13 Tomas Inciarte, 12 Andres Vilaseca (c), 11 Nicolas Freitas, 10 Felipe Etcheverry, 9 Santiago Arata, 8 Manuel Diana, 7 Lucas Bianchi, 6 Manuel Ardao, 5 Manuel Leindekar, 4 Ignacio Dotti, 3 Diego Arbelo, 2 German Kessler, 1 Mateo Sanguinetti
Replacements: 16 Guillermo Pujadas, 17 Matias Benitez, 18 Ignacio Peculo, 19 Juan Manuel Rodríguez, 20 Santiago Civetta, 21 Agustin Ormaechea, 22 Felipe Berchesi, 23 Juan Manuel Alonso

Date: Thursday, October 5
Venue: OL Stadium, Lyon
Kick-off: 21:00 local (20:00 BST, 19:00 GMT)
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (England), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)

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