New Zealand defence coach Scott McLeod said on Monday that the Springboks vs. Ireland game set the standard for the rest of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
"I was hugely impressed with the intensity of the game. Set-piece pressure was huge from both sides. The defence and the movement and the collisions for as long as it was was immense. A lot of us were really impressed with watching that game. It's definitely the standard."
"That's what impressed me the most, the speed of play but the collisions were clean. They were very clean and accurate, there was no infringing around that area. And that's a bloody hard thing to do that speed, with those collisions and bodies are flying everywhere and both teams did that very, very well."
He said the All Blacks' players are "buzzing" from watching that South Africa v Ireland game: "It definitely gets them buzzing. They can see it and they can feel it in the speed. It's not something we've talked about as a group at all but the players have seen it and they've talked about it amongst themselves. There is a buzz, that excites them, that's the level they want to play at."
Scott McLeod was confident that his players could reach the standard set by the Springboks and Ireland: "Absolutely. We tested that a little bit last week. We got into each other and today we trained at pace. And we are just trying to keep healthy. So we are trying to balance that, between healthy athletes and training at that intensity and speed." On the match between Ireland and South Africa:
“That’s what fans love to watch - games like that. Two great teams going at it and also there were some moments in that game where you would hold your breath for longer than usual.
“As players, we try to watch those games and watch it as a player and get some detail and see what they’re doing, but it’s hard not turn into a spectator and actually be on the edge of your seat watching those games because that’s how rugby should be played, how the game flowed so well."
“There were no calls around head-highs (tackles) or shoulder to heads or anything, it was clean contact and it was fast ball as well. Those are the games I love watching and I think everyone can agree on that.”
He also said that if you want to play against the best you have to play rugby at that level: "If you want to play with the best you’ve got to play at that level. We’ve shown glimpses throughout the year and this is where you need to do it because this is the tournament we all want to perform at."
“We know what the standard is now, and we’re pretty excited coming off that bye week to really show what we’ve got and the level we want to play at.”