Cockbain: Kicking it at Kiwis is asking for touble

Wales lock Brent Cockbain believes to achieve any sort of success against New Zealand in their Pool D match in Sydney on Sunday will require him and his team-mates to keep the ball in hand.

All Blacks coach John Mitchell has named a full-strength team to face Wales, which means a back three of Mils Muliaina, Doug Howlett and Joe Rokocoko who can rip teams to shreds on the counter-attack.

“You have got to go through phases I think. If you kick toward their back division they will try and run it back at you and you are in all sorts of trouble,” said Cockbain.

“It is going to be a difficult proposition and it is a matter of defending and stepping up,” said the Australian-born lock, who knows full well the scale of the challenge his team face.

“I am not going to rant and rave about how we are going to beat them and we are going to do this and do that. It is just a matter of lifting on the day and giving it a crack,” he said.

“We have to go out there believing that we can beat New Zealand. It is a mammoth task. They are a fantastic side. They are the favourites for the World Cup.”

In terms of finding weaknesses, he admitted the All Blacks were a tough nut to crack and were strong throughout the game.

“They are a very physical side. They are strong in all facets of the game,” he said.

“They are strong out wide, their lineouts are good, their tight phases are good, they drive well.”

But he returned to their back line as the most potent threat to any Welsh hopes of an upset.

“The biggest thing I think that we have to try and counter is that they are all ball players, they are decision makers and they are all athletes.

“They all want to get their hands on the ball and we have to try and defend against that.”

Cockbain believes the pool stages of the tournament have eventually produced some good rugby, with teams and players settling into their patterns and getting over nerves.

With the exception of Fiji’s 19-18 win over the United States and the tournament opener between Australia and Argentina, the tightest and most entertaining matches have come in the latter stages of the pool phase.

That, says Cockbain, shows just how much pressure is on players.

“There is a lot at stake in a World Cup so there were a lot of mistakes, but teams seem to have settled down now and things are getting better and better as the quarter and semi-finals get closer.”

“The level of skill has picked up. I think in the early games maybe sides were playing it too hard.”