Shaun Edwards shares some of his research on the All Blacks and their "claustrophobic intensity" in The Guardian.
"It's an odd feeling. In less controversial circumstances these notes would have been used preparing for a World Cup final. After the quarter-final against Ireland, I sat down and started jotting down everything I knew about Graham Henry's 2011 All Blacks; how they play and how to play them. Most of the notes came from the New Zealand quarter-final against Argentina, who exposed a few nerves for 60 minutes, but the remainder were compulsive additions from the Australia semi-final when we already knew we were out of the competition and that the Wallabies would be our opposition for the third-place shoot-out.
"Over the second batch of notes, and after a chat with some of the All Black coaches, has been added "claustrophobic intensity" – not a terribly catchy phrase I agree, but the line those coaches planted in their players' minds before they sent them out against Australia. It just about sums up what happened in the opening quarter of that Eden Park semi-final and I suspect Sunday's final is likely to go the same way."
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