All Blacks 'expected to win well'

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The All Blacks' midfield combination might still be a puzzle. However, one thing that is certain is that the side is always expected to win and win well says centre Anton Lienert-Brown.

Ryan Crotty, Sonny Bill Williams, Jack Goodhue and Anton Lienert-Brown are the four centres in the All Blacks squad. Thus far, Crotty and Williams have been the preferred choice when it comes to midfield combination.

The duo of Crotty and Leinert-Brown has been the second most used combo.

However, with Crotty only having played a little over sixty minutes before the showpiece in Japan and Williams in a hurry to recover from his minor calf strain, is seems like Leinert-Brown is certain of taking up a spot in a starting line-up against the Springboks on Saturday.

Whether he will play alongside Williams or Crotty still remains a mystery.

Despite Steve Hansen's various options, centre Lienert-Brown knows all too well about the pressure that comes with the wearing the black jersey.

*Article continues below...

"We're always expected to perform, we're expected not just to win but to win well," he said.

"I've felt that since day one that I've been in here so you can feel a little bit of added pressure [being at a World Cup] but I know that being in this environment for a while now that the pressure is always there.

"We don't just get that from the outside, within we put that pressure on ourselves because we want to perform at the highest level," he said.

*Article continues below...

Commenting on the Saturday's World Cup opener, Lienert-Brown said the team followed a traditional preparation process which never became 'boring'. Tuesday was a day of working on skills to ensure that by the big training session on Thursday the side was prepared to give everything.

"We know the importance of repeating things over and over again to try to be the best in the world at them. We pride ourselves on our skills so those things can't get boring for us," he said.

The All Blacks will name their team on Thursday.

Source: @AllBlacks