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England v New Zealand, Twickenham, November 21
McCaw calls for domination
Scrum.com
November 19, 2009
Richie McCaw is wary of an English backlash at their critics
© Getty Images
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Frustrated All Blacks captain Richie McCaw has called on his team to show its full potential against England on Saturday after a series of underwhelming albeit successful performances on their tour so far. The All Blacks have conceded just one try but scored just four as they failed to put away Australia, Wales and Italy, instead having to recover from slow starts to find some elusive form. "There has been a little bit (of frustration) in the games but as a whole we're still happy we got the right result. We're not far off and it'd be nice to nail those opportunities," McCaw said. "The Welsh were typical of the year really. We played some good rugby and gave ourselves chances. With a bit of luck we might have got some decisions, but you get down to the last 20 minutes and they're still in the game and you play a little more conservatively. "That's the way the game goes so if you nail those opportunities the game might be different towards the end." The All Blacks may have to overcome wind and rain at Twickenham on Saturday, but good results - and good performances - against the English and then the French the week after would leave McCaw feeling cheerful for Christmas. "If we get two good performances to finish the year off, I guess this part of the year we'd be happy with." McCaw admitted the fierce criticism in the British press this week after England's 16-9 win over Argentina would "load their gun for them". The All Blacks have won their last two visits by a combined 45 points, but they just scraped home 23-19 during the 2005 Grand Slam tour, and lost their previous visit 28-31 in 2002. "It's always pretty physical and traditionally they've taken their opportunities. Last year for 60 minutes of the game it was pretty tight, and in 2005 it could have gone either way. The experiences I've had here haven't been easy." © Scrum.com
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