5 Aug 2009

Jeff Wilson says All Blacks will be back

4:29 pm on 5 August 2009

The former All Black Jeff Wilson says rugby fans calling for the coaches' heads and for changes to the team after the back to back losses in South Africa have short memories

Wilson, who's now North Harbour's assistant coach, says while the All Blacks made mistakes under pressure they still could have won in Bloemfontein.

And he says critics should give the Springboks credit for playing so well in Durban, remember that previous All Black teams had bad runs, too, and ackowledge how tough it is to stay at the top all the time.

Wilson says it's a big season and a lot of players have had a lot of rugby already and some looked a bit tired.

But he says they, and the coaches, are there because they deserve to be and they'll be doing everything they can over the next couple of weeks to freshen up, then rip into Australia.