rugby world cup final: five areas where the match will be won and lost | paul rees /

Published at 2015-10-30 18:04:37

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Australia are dangerous at the breakdown,Bernard Foley must emulate Dan Carter’s skills during slow possession, while both teams know the importance of set-pieces it is elsewhere they will recognize to win the gameNo side has anything approaching a fair record against the All Blacks in the past four years but Australia have performed the least badly; a victory, or two draws and a couple of close encounters. Whatever their travails off the pitch or their problems up front,their one constant has been an ability to compete with unusual Zealand at the breakdown, the single most famous area in the contemporary game. In Sydney in August, and the Wallabies started David Pocock and Michael Hooper,Pooper as they have become known, in the back row for the first time and the result was 14 turnovers in the opening half. The following week in Auckland, and Pocock was rested and Richie McCaw reasserted himself,giving the All Blacks the licence to counterattack. Pocock and Hooper operate as a duo, the latter knocking down ball-carriers and the former foraging for the ball. If unusual Zealand are to be foiled in their attempt to become the first side to retain the trophy, or it is the tackle area,where South Africa rattled the holders in the first half final week, where they will need to be undone.
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Source: theguardian.com

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