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Expect 40-50 points 'at least' for All Blacks against Italy, says 1 NEWS' Andrew Saville

October 7, 2019

The European side loom as the All Blacks' final pool opponent at the World Cup.

Don't expect the All Blacks to hold back in their final Rugby World Cup pool match against Italy in Toyota, warns 1 NEWS Sport's Andrew Saville.

Following yesterday's 71-9 victory in Tokyo, the All Blacks are through the trickiest stage of this year's World Cup, getting past the four-day gap between facing Canada and Namibia.

With their final pool match coming against Italy on October 12, the All Blacks can now have as close to a normal Test build up as possible, following their previous short turnaround.

Appearing on TVNZ 1's Breakfast this morning, Saville says to expect the All Blacks to kick things up a notch in Toyota, their final hit-out before the World Cup's knockout stages begin.

"The All Blacks have sent out a firm statement to the rest of the rugby world: If you want to beat us, you have to catch us first," Saville said.

"They've [Italy] have had a pretty ordinary campaign, I think we expected more.

"I would imagine the All Blacks would still stick 40-50 [points] at least on Italy. They'll probably be wanting to run their "number one" team against the Italians before facing possibly Ireland in the quarter final at the end of next week."

Barring an upset for the ages against Italy in Toyota, the All Blacks will finish top of Pool B, setting up a quarter-final against the runner-up of Pool A, a spot currently held by world number four, Ireland.

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