News

Thomson on a steep learning curve

August 11 2008

All Black rookie Adam Thomson has said he has put his Carisbrook nightmare behind him after a poor showing in the defeat to South Africa.

As New Zealand gear up for Saturday's vital clash with the Springboks Thomson took a moment to look back on a game where he was totally outplayed.

Thomson was subsequently dropped from the match day twenty-two for the defeat against Australia, before earning a recall to the bench for the following week's reverse victory over the Wallabies.

That dark night in Dunedin was just Thomson's fourth Test, and his third start, and whilst he still queries some of the rulings from the match officials he realises the experience is part of an important learning curve.

"I think I was reasonable around the park apart from giving away too many penalties," Thomson told Yahoo!Xtra.

"And you can't get away with that at Test level.

"I have had a good review of those and a couple I thought might have been a bit harsh, a couple were just silly penalties I can't afford to be giving away.

"I have had a good review of that and talked them through.

"It is something I have patched up in my game and something I will be working on in the future."

His latest outing was as a second half replacement in the 39-10 victory over Australia, and he now has his sights set on a place in the twenty-two to take on South Africa at Newlands this coming Saturday.

He went on to explain the biggest lesson he took from the Carisbrook clash was that the margin for mistakes in the Test arena was drastically smaller than Super 14 rugby.

"It is about being clinical at that level and decisions are very important," he said.

"It is just about making the correct decision under pressure and at the right time. It is something that I have addressed and I am looking to work on."

After a stellar Super 14 campaign for the Highlanders Thomson was a surprise inclusion in Graham Henry's first post World Cup All Black squad. And now, as the Cape Town Test looms large on the horizon, he feels the 39-10 thumping of the Wallabies has played a key role in the All Blacks' mental state.

"It was very important," Thomson said.

"There was no secret that there was a lot of pressure on us to perform. Having two losses, there was a lot of talk in the media about the way this All Black team has gone.

"We really felt that we had to put a performance out there and definitely take the win against the Wallabies, who are going well.

"We are very happy with the way we played. It wasn't just a win, it was a clinical win and pretty much put them away."