Frank Bunce: former All Black and rugby commentator on the All Blacks opening the Rugby Championship with a win over Argentina

The All Blacks have opened their Rugby Championship campaign with a 41-24 win over Argentina.

New Zealand took a commanding 31-10 lead at halftime, before Los Pumas threatened an early second-half fightback to close the margin to 31-24.

Former All Black and rugby commentator Frank Bunce says the team will be 'satisfied' by the win - despite some issues at the end.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from Newstalks ed B.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
All Blacks have got there in Cordoba for you.

Speaker 1 (00:15):
Are Blacks go back to number one in the world
for the first time since November twenty twenty one.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
Yeah, that's the byproduct of a forty one twenty four
win in Cordoba. This morning, let's bring in one of
the great All Blacks midfielders, sixty nine game fifty five
tests All Black center Frank Bunce. Once you would have
watched with interest. I know, as you do all All
Blacks tests, how happy you reckon the All Blacks coaches
will be overall with that performance before we drill down
into parts of it.

Speaker 3 (00:44):
Hey, hey, Finy, I think they'll be satisfied. I mean,
it's a it's a good win over a you know,
over a pretty tough, pretty confident Pumas team, and to
end over there as well. You know, obviously there were
there were parts that you know that we need to
improve on. But I think all and all they'll be

(01:05):
pretty so.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
First but of the second half, the twenty minutes from
halftime through until about minutes sort of let's say sixty
sixty five when Argentina did have momentum. What is the
best way to combat that on the field? What what
sort of conversation should have been going on as Argentina
started to get a bit of a head of steam up.

Speaker 3 (01:25):
I think you you just concentrate on your basics, you know,
the what you need to do defensively, you know, just
making sure you're all connected, you're all talking, you know,
you should, just making sure that you are where you
where you need to be, you know, at a time
because you know, as we know, all all games, all
test matches, and that there's there's ebb and flu. So

(01:48):
Argentina had that obviously, and we you know, we'd made
a few changes as well, So I think it was
just time to settle in and just just do it's
basics really, to be honest, a lot a lot of talking,
you know that there's a saying you know, the more
you talk, the less you actually have to tackle. So
just making sure you're making sure you're connected, you know,

(02:10):
and you know you know where where everyone is, and
and you just go through and trust what you do.

Speaker 2 (02:17):
Love that. Did you ever think that you know, they
got back to within seven Argentina did it? Did you
feel as though they might come over the top of
New Zealand or did you always feel confident that enough
of the right things were being said out there for
for New Zealand to negotiate their way through it.

Speaker 3 (02:33):
Yeah, no, I was. I was pretty confident. And the
way that we started to dominate, you know, our line out,
you know, really clicked, and and then that rolling mall.
You know, they had real, no real answer for that,
you know, so I think our forwards really were We're
starting to kick into into gear. So you know, there's

(02:55):
obviously never say never, but I was, I was pretty confident,
especially the way the forwards were going, you know, at
that point were always starting to go starting to rumble.

Speaker 2 (03:05):
How do you reckon Billy Propped is going in in
the thirdeen jersey?

Speaker 3 (03:11):
He well, yeah, he's doing he's not doing anything wrong.
You know, there's there's a few you know, odd mistakes
and stuff, but I think, you know, to be honest,
I think you can do better. He's a better player
than that. But it's it's a matter of matter of
of slotting in and and figuring out just test test
level Rugby is a is a different beast. You know,

(03:32):
He's no doubt got the ability and now he's just
got to find I think, find his game really and
and and become a lot more confident and uh, you know,
I think he you know, then he moves on and
leaps and bounds.

Speaker 2 (03:45):
How how did how long did it take you from memory?
And it's a little while ago, I know, but it
seemed like you got you adjusted to Test rugby fairly quickly. Yes,
you've played for some more, but when you came into
the All Blacks, it felt like you were the finished
article already. How long does it take?

Speaker 3 (04:02):
Oh? I certainly wasn't I me to to get confidence
in yourself, you know? And then you know these everyone's different.
You look at Wallace Attiti, you know who just he's
a staff from the moment he takes the field. But
you know, the other people just take a little bit
of time to you know, just to get used to

(04:24):
the pace of the game, the rhythm, you know, which
if I find out what you you know, what you
can and can't do, and what you need to do
in preparations as a huge thing. And as I say,
everyone's different. So it took me, took me a number
of test matches before I got my confidence, and you know,
might have looked possibly on the outside, you know, as

(04:46):
though I really knew what I was doing and I
was into it, But there was a there was a
lot of work going on behind the scenes.

Speaker 2 (04:52):
And certainly a lot of work to do for a
scenes on both sides of the ball, and and you know,
we always think of the good scenes as as those
like yourself, Joe Stanley and others who set up there
outsides with ball in hand. But then we think about
defensive strategy and the way you get up in people's
faces and make tackles. As he's learning, has trade the lead,
should he be focusing on one or the other more?

Speaker 3 (05:17):
Uh, it's hard, especially at test match at that level.
You know, I think you go through everything. He's obviously
got strengths, and you know, and he's obviously got weaknesses
or parts of his game that you know that that
he knows himself that he can improve on. I don't
know what they are, to be honest exactly, but you know,

(05:39):
I don't think you can concentrate concentrate on your weaknesses.
I guess you know, make yourself. You know, you've got
to become competent at the things that you're you're not
so good at you know, because there's no real place
to hide, you know, at that level. But you know,
he's he's he's got all the goods. He's definitely got
all the goods. So it's just a matter of just

(06:01):
a matter of finding, you know, finding yourself, I think.
And he's got to work in you know, they're they're
chopping and changing, you know, people that he's playing with
the game itself has changed. You know, there's there's so
many there's so many different facets that you know, it's
it's hard to pinpoint.

Speaker 2 (06:19):
So just back to the overall performance, is that your blacks.
I mean they get the win, right, they get the
bonus point, you know, mission accomplished as far as that
is concerned. But they're always on this quest for constant
improvement and looking at how they can do things better.
If if there were one or two things that they'll
be looking to do better in the second test in
a week from now, any idea what they might be

(06:40):
focusing their attention on across the week.

Speaker 3 (06:43):
I think you know, early on, they it's a lot
of the timing, well not a lot of it, but
you know, some of the timing was was out, especially
you know with the Becks, and and you know, we
we we saw drop bore, we saw we saw some
some poor passing, timing, you know, miss timing and things

(07:04):
like that. I think it I think it's it's reasonably
small things, you know, and we haven't had a game
for a little while. We've got a few new names
in there, so it's it's kind of settling. But I
think I think accuracy really because we you know, we
started pretty well, got ourselves in a little bit of strife,

(07:26):
you know, but but took what Argentina had to had
to give and I don't think, you know, at any
stage really were we under under too much pressure. So
in terms of going into next week, I think accuracy
really is one of the main focuses.

Speaker 2 (07:43):
Did you did you say that? I don't know if
you saw the game, but that result out of Joe
Berg this morning, Australia coming from twenty two nil down
to put thirty eight unanswered points on the spring box exactly.

Speaker 3 (07:54):
Man. No one was expecting it. And I think was
it your show yesterday with that guy he was he
was betting one hundred and fifty bucks.

Speaker 2 (08:01):
Yeah, he could have beat the thirteen plus of one
two and a half grand exactly.

Speaker 3 (08:05):
That's that's actually what came to mind first the first thing.
But ah, guy, we go, ah, what do you take
the soccer?

Speaker 2 (08:13):
I think, yeah, he won't that one as well, which
was okay, but yeah he would have won. But then
who would have taken that bit though, Buncy, you know
exactly exactly.

Speaker 3 (08:21):
You may have gone because you know, you weren't actually
fronting up with the money. That's right, you know, so
it wasn't yours to lose in the first place. But yeah,
no one would have picked it. I'm pretty sure, you know,
even the you'd have to say, even some of the
you know, the Wallaby supporters. I doubt if a lot
of them would have would have beat any money on it.

Speaker 2 (08:42):
I reckon, you're right, I reckon, you're right. Se It's
up a fascinating rugby championship. Hi, Frank, always good to
chat mate. Thanks for taking the time here, not a problem.
All the best, Frank Bunce one of our best on
the thirteen jumper, with some salient thoughts there on the
All Blacks performance this morning.

Speaker 1 (08:55):
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