McCaw rests as All Blacks tackle Tonga

EVEN without a limping Richie McCaw the All Blacks go into their final group game against Tonga tonight insisting they are ready for the World Cup knockout rounds.

Their final Pool C game is their last chance to erase any anxieties before the competition goes into sudden death. But they will be without their inspirational skipper, who is out with a sore thigh.

The All Blacks eased into the quarterfinals unbeaten after three games, but without ever looking the impenetrable fortress they are meant to be.

They are expecting a much-needed workout from the Tongans up front, and in the backs a repeat of the one-man “shooter” defence – two areas of concern when they played Georgia last weekend.

Coach Steve Hansen has repeatedly emphasised that the lesson learnt from the ill-fated 2007 campaign was that pool games were not for posting record scores but to rehearse for scenarios to be faced in the knockout stages.

He is confident that any problems are being rectified and a thorough workout against Tonga will top things off.

“We’ve worked incredibly hard on the training pitch, but it may not have reflected in the quality of the performance that everyone expects from us,” Hansen said.

“It’s more a reflection of how hard we’ve been working off it, probably harder than we’ve ever worked before as a team in the last four years.

Hansen stressed McCaw’s injury was not serious and there were no alarm bells. – AFP