New Zealand coach John Hart has refused to get carried away following the All Blacks' 54-7 trouncing of France in Wellington on Saturday. "The real battle begins now," he said as he looked forward to the Tri-Nations opener against South Africa on July 10th.
"Wales haven't done us a favour," he said in reference to the Welsh side's shock 29-19 win over World Cup champion South Africa in Cardiff.
"Our panel had certain targets for this phase of the season and we've achieved those, but there is another step up for the Tri-Nations." he added.
Inside centre Daryl Gibson was Hart's man of the match and along with Alama Ieremia and Pita Alatini will form the midfield combination for the World Cup in October-November.
"We've got three players who give us variety, three players who have got good hands and good steps. So we're getting away a bit from the midfield being a barging type," Hart said.
He also felt the move of Jeff Wilson to full back enhanced the All Blacks' play while Christian Cullen had more freedom on the wing than he did at full back. Cullen (two) and Tana Umaga (three) scored five of the seven All Black tries and will again keep Jonah Lomu out of the Test side to play South Africa on July 10th.
Meanwhile French substitute JeanJacques Crenca has been suspended for six weeks after pleading guilty to stamping All Black Daryl Gibson during Saturday's test. Crenca admitted the charge at a judiciary meeting arranged after the match, and the ban will come into effect from August 2nd when the French club competition begins.
While refraining from commenting on the incident after the game, French coach Jean-Claude Skrela said he wants to learn from this record defeat.
"We need to reach a new level if we want to rival teams like the All Blacks. Physically the power, speed and skills here (in New Zealand) are far higher than in the Five Nations."
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