Rugby World Cup 2019: Steve Hansen's halftime spray lifts All Blacks over Namibia

While All Blacks coach Steve Hansen was happy to walk away with a bonus-point win over Namibia, he wasn't pleased with his side's "poor attitude" during their 71-9 win.

Despite the one-sided scoreline, the All Blacks had to work hard for the result, leading only 10-9 after 35 minutes. 

The All Blacks ran in two more tries to reach at halftime 24-9 ahead, but that didn't stop Hansen from unloading on his players during the break. 

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"The first half was pretty disappointing," said Hansen. "We didn't turn up with the right attitude and Namibia made us pay for that.

"It's a good lesson, isn't it? Second half, there was pretty good stuff in it.

"It didn't happen in the first half, because we had a poor attitude. They had more intent than us and played better than us in the first half.

"We came out in the second half and sorted that out at halftime, and came out and played well."

While it's unclear exactly what Hansen said to his players, they responded by scoring seven second half tries. 

"It was what we needed," said replacement halfback TJ Perenara. "We pride ourselves on being better every day. 

"Regardless of the situation, we need to go out and be better than we were the week before, so the conversations at halftime were really good."

Hooker Dane Coles added that it was one of the biggest dressing-downs he had ever experienced during his 64-test career. 

"It was one of the better ones I've heard and rightly so, to be fair," he said. "We deserved it. 

"It was good, a bit old-fashioned. You don't really see that too much these days, but I think it was just what we needed to get things going.

"When that first word came out of his mouth, I knew something was on."

Hansen felt that the four-day turnaround from the match against Canada in Oita could have had an impact on his squad.

"The short turnaround means two soft training runs from a physical point of view, so it is easy to turn up not mentally right," he said. "It's one of the biggest challenges in sport.

"With opposition you know you should beat, players, coaches and management can get a little lost in the mental preparation, for want of a better word. 

"It is not a major issue, but a reminder that you have to be mentally right to perform at the level you want to perform."

The victory took the All Blacks to the top of Pool B before their final pool game against Italy in Toyota City on Saturday. 

Join us at 5:45pm Saturday for live updates of the All Blacks v Italy Rugby World Cup clash.

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