Dubai: Defeat to South Africa in the Rugby Championship last weekend will inspire New Zealand heading into next year’s World Cup, according to former All Black lock Ali Williams.
Fly-half Beauden Barrett missed four conversions to hand the Springboks a 36-34 victory in Wellington on Saturday in round four of the six-stage series. “It makes you look in the mirror and realise the mirror is giving you the wrong answer,” said Williams, on the sidelines of the Emirates Airlines Dubai Rugby Sevens Long Lunch at Festival City on Thursday.
“We’re not as good as we think we are and that’s exactly what they want, a true reflection of where they are.
“Loss inspires you because it’s not fish and chip paper the next day, it’s until you prove yourself again in New Zealand, and that’s a good thing, it’s a great pressure to have and brings out the best in people.
“They won’t change a lot but they will look at themselves individually and collectively and say how they are going to get better, because we can’t let those things happen.”
The 2011 World Cup winner who played 77 times for the All Blacks between 2002 and 2012, added that Barrett would gain most from the experience.
“He didn’t have a great game but he will learn from it and take it on the chin. If that was Dan Carter or Johnny Wilkinson, they would have closed the game out, but he didn’t do that and will be kicking himself. I don’t doubt his ability it’s just a learning curve.”
Elsewhere, Williams’s former All Black coach John Mitchell joined the England set-up as the defence coach under head coach Eddie Jones this week. Williams and former England utility player Austin Healey — who was also at the long lunch — both agreed it was an interesting partnership.
“Historically those boys (Mitchell and Jones) don’t stay in roles long, and that’s where England has probably taken a punt. He’ll bring something new no doubt, a tough edge,” said Williams.
“But can they work together? I’m sure they can. The biggest danger to rugby is ego, if you push that aside you can achieve incredible things, but if you can’t it’s a challenge.”
Healey said: “England have gone from being the best side in the world alongside New Zealand to who knows where, and that’s the story of Eddie Jones, everyone thought he’d be brilliant for two years and then hit the buffers and that’s what has happened.
“I said he’d be brilliant for breaking the status quo, but for him to be a long term success he has to break his own status quo of constantly playing mind games with people.
“That’s why bringing in Mitchell is probably one of the best decisions he’s made, because Mitch doesn’t stand for any of that. His best quality is honesty and that might slow Eddie down a bit. There’s a personal strength in Mitch that can maybe act as that pragmatist and say hold on a minute, we don’t need to be doing that.”
