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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Robert Kitson in Paris

All Blacks dismiss favourites tag and look to erase World Cup ‘scars’ of 2019

All Black Ian Foster World Cup New Zealand Argentina Sam Cane Sam Whitelock the All Blacks
New Zealand's coach Ian Foster looks on during a training session at the Omnisport Croissy Stadium
Ian Foster overseas training in Croissy-sur-Seine. ‘We know if we’re not right it’s going to be a sad old night,’ says the New Zealand head coach. Photograph: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images

There have been days when the All Blacks must have feared they might not make the sharp end of this Rugby World Cup. And yet here they are, sitting up like enthusiastic meerkats and exuding renewed optimism. Even on a grey, damp afternoon in the leafy western suburbs of Paris, there is a discernible fresh glint in New Zealand eyes.

And why not? Argentina have caused occasional problems in recent times, not least during their famous wins in 2020 and again in 2022, but are the Pumas really going to take down a resurgent New Zealand in a World Cup semi-final? Not if the All Blacks can replicate the cutting edge and defensive discipline that edged out Ireland in the same stadium in the quarter-finals last weekend.

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