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All Blacks desperate for physical challenge
New Zealand fly half Dan Carter says the All Blacks need a physical showdown against Pool C rivals Scotland at Murrayfield on Monday morning (Australian time) to ensure they hit the knock-out stage of the World Cup in top gear.
The All Blacks have so far racked up a massive 27 tries and 184 points in their first two pool fixtures against Italy and Portugal, conceding only 27 points in both horrendously lop-sided matches.
Their fourth and final group opponent before the quarter-finals is Romania, themselves beaten 24-18 by Italy.
"It'll be a challenge," Carter said. "We've got Scotland this week and they're going to be the toughest opponents in our pool.
"So I'm sure they'll be pretty physical and that's just what we need a couple of weeks out from a quarter-final.
"It'll be good for our boys to get a bit of a feel for that.
"We expect an extremely physical game - they've got some pretty big forwards, which should be good, it's just what we need.
"And in the last couple of years, they've really tried to use the ball so there's a couple of areas they can be dangerous."
But Scotland, who beat Portugal 56-10 in their opening match, face Romania on Wednesday morning (Australian time) at Murrayfield before hosting the All Blacks just five days later.
"Obviously, we'd like to play their best team," said Carter.
"But that's a decision they need to make and that's not going to change anything in the way we prepare for the game.
"We don't think too much about other teams. We're looking to improve each week and progress so come play-off time, we're playing our best footie.
"I guess we started pretty well (against Italy and Portugal) but we're looking to improve."
-AFP
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