TURIN, Italy (Reuters) – New Zealand fullback Will Jordan was happy with how the All Blacks battled to overcome Italy in their final autumn series test on Saturday, on a cold night with a warm atmosphere in Turin.
The All Blacks struggled to put Italy away, going behind early on before taking a 17-6 lead into the break and only scored again 10 minutes from the end to eventually run out 29-11 winners, a start contrast to their 96-17 win at last year’s World Cup.
“A rare test match, like zero degrees here in Turin. Greasy ball, pumped up home crowd, fired up Italy side, perhaps looking for a bit of redemption after what happened last year,” Jordan said.
“So yeah, we didn’t have it all our own way. An arm wrestle tonight, but nice to be on the right side of it.”
New Zealand beat Japan in October before November wins over Ireland and England were followed up with last weekend’s defeat to France, and Jordan says his team have made progress after losing the Rugby Championship to South Africa.
“A little bit of frustration out there, but we leave this tour with four wins, and some good moments for us,” Jordan said.
“Got a bit of growth to do, but we’re turning in the right direction.”
Jordan, who scored New Zealand’s second try just before the break, was impressed with how Italy battled as they were backed by a passionate home support.
“Yeah, they fronted. We knew it was going to be physical, their loose forwards in particular. Real threats over the ball,” Jordan said.
“Thought they competed well. This crowd was extremely loud. They put us under pressure. So it’s good for us to feel that different style of game up in the north.”
The game marked the final appearance in an All Black jersey for both Sam Cane and TJ Perenara, both heading to club rugby in Japan, with Cane leaving the pitch to a standing ovation and Perenara leading the haka one last time.
“Two special guys in the All Blacks. Been huge part of the group since I’ve been in the team and even before that,” Jordan said.
“Sam, just a real warrior, always put his body on the line. Always gave his everything for the black jersey.
“TJ, someone I love playing with, not necessarily love playing against, but that’s the ultimate compliment. He’s a real competitor. He drives high standards amongst the group.
“Awesome to go out on a nice note tonight and really grateful for what they’ve done for this jersey.”
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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