Stuart Hogg column: New Zealand’s wingers terrify me! They can make the difference in the World Cup final
Last week, Argentina were good; New Zealand were just incredible. They blew them away time and again. I thought that the All Blacks would turn over the French in the first game, and that would then give the hosts a kick up the backside and galvanise them. Whereas that is what has happened to New Zealand. They got thumped by South Africa a couple of weeks before the World Cup, then they were beaten by the French. They had two big defeats against two of the best teams in world rugby and everyone said they weren’t good enough any more. They’ve almost said, “we’ll show you.”
They are a very clever side, New Zealand. They’ll have analysed Argentina and the opportunities against them. You look at Will Jordan’s hat-trick try, an off-the-top-of-the-lineout to Ardie Savea. The tail of the lineout chase Savea, who drops it off on his inside and Jordan runs 90 metres to score a try with a lovely bit of individual brilliance.
They’ll have looked at opportunities all throughout the week. Looking at those opportunities is one thing; being able to execute them under pressure is another. I thought they were clinical in everything they did.
