Kashiwa, Japan: Champions New Zealand underwent a punishing first World Cup training session in Japan on Wednesday before promising to come out firing against South Africa in their blockbuster tournament opener.
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The treble-chasing All Blacks, who face the Springboks in a potentially explosive Pool B clash on September 21, began their workout at 8 am local time in Kashiwa, northeast of Tokyo, to avoid the brutal afternoon heat.
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“I’ll give you a quick summary – it’s very hot,” said New Zealand assistant coach Ian Foster, noting that temperatures hit 38 Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday.
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“We changed the timing of our training just to adapt to the heat in the afternoon. It’s common sense – but we’re loving it.
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“We had a number of players who we held back last week with niggles. We’re pleased with the progress we’ve seen and that’s put us in a good spot,” he added, confirming that fly-half Richie Mo’unga should recover from his sore shoulder in time to face South Africa.
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“It’s the first time in three years we’ve had a week of training without a game at the end. That’s probably why we got a bit of a bounce today with a really solid session. The guys are feeling really good about what we’re doing.”
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The All Blacks, who smashed Tonga 92-7 last weekend in a World Cup warm-up in Hamilton, also meet Italy, Canada and Namibia in Pool B.
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But their showdown with the Springboks, who held the All Blacks 16-16 in Wellington six weeks ago and beat them to the Rugby Championship title, is set to be a classic and could set the tone for the World Cup.
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“We love the draw because it’s meant we’ve turned up and there’s no excuses, no waiting for us to get used to the intensity – it’s right there in front of us,” insisted Foster.
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“We’re about to face a very confident South African team, but they’re going to face a very determined All Blacks team – we know South Africa are going to be 100 percent prepared and we’ve got to make sure we are too.”
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