Disappointing defeats fuelled All Blacks' revival

PARIS : New Zealand are reaping the rewards of a major drive to turn around a series of disappointing results and can complete the task if they win the Rugby World Cup on Saturday, two of their key players said on Friday.

Flyhalf Richie Mo’unga and record try scorer Will Jordan said poor results for the usually all-conquering All Blacks over the last 24 months had fuelled an extra desire to get to the final in which they face South Africa.

New Zealand lost in Ireland and France in 2021, then a home series to the Irish this year and suffered a first ever home defeat by Argentina 12 months ago. Ahead of the World Cup in France, they suffered a record 35-7 defeat by South Africa in a warm-up test at Twickenham and lost to France in the tournament’s opening match.

"There’s been a huge amount of drive to turn it around and get it right. We've always been committed to being the best team we can be. We’ve been through some pretty tough times, particularly last year where things went a bit astray, but we've sort of come out of the fire of that," Jordan told reporters.

"I guess the big thing for us now is that consistency is back, and we’ve been able to put back-to-back performances together, which was probably what was missing before.

"So, the challenge for us tomorrow night is to be able to go three good games in a row. It's been a challenging period, but I think it's held us in good stead and helped us to be where we want to be now."

For Mo’unga the bonds built in adversity with his team mates were a massive spur.

"Through all that, we’ll look back in time on what a journey it has been and how exciting it all comes down to this last game," he said.

"The mindset might have been nerves going around and how daunting it can be, but now