17 Oct 2011

Heroic All Blacks must do it all again, warns Henry

4:31 pm on 17 October 2011

All Blacks coach Graham Henry says the team can't get ahead of themselves after qualifying for the Rugby World Cup final with a 20-6 victory over Australia at Eden Park.

The All Blacks, who have twice lost World Cup semi-finals to the Wallabies, were superior in every department on Sunday night.

Radio New Zealand's rugby correspondent says they never looked like missing out on a meeting with France next weekend in what will be a repeat of the 1987 final - the only time the All Blacks have won the title.

New Zealand was in control for most of the game and overpowered the Wallabies, scoring one try, four penalties and a drop goal to the Australians' one penalty and a drop goal.

Henry says he thought the performance was outstanding and the players were heroic on the field.

Everyone who took to the field gave 100%, he says.

However he says the job is not done and the players have to reproduce the superb performance at the end of this week.

Henry says they now need to build again for Sunday's final.

There are no major injury concerns in the New Zealand camp.

NZ team to beat

The All Blacks are the bookmakers' favourites to win the tournament and Wallabies coach Robbie Dean agrees New Zealand should now take the Cup.

Dean says the All Blacks are clearly the team to beat.

He says the New Zealanders are hungry for the win and have a lot of support around them.

He says it will take some stopping for France to beat them on Sunday.

However, All Blacks' captain Richie McCaw says France love giving themselves a chance and he's sure they'll be pumped up for the final.

France have been the All Blacks' bete noir at the World Cup, beating them in the 1999 semi-finals and bundling them out of the quarter-finals in 2007.