Ant Strachan weighs in on All Blacks’ ‘aimless’ kicking strategy against Boks

Former All Blacks halfback Ant Strachan has criticised Dave Rennie’s side for their kicking strategy against the Springboks in Cape Town, labelling it “aimless” at times.

Both sides had clear intentions to play less with ball in hand, as Rennie’s All Blacks kicked 23 times at DHL Stadium, compared to 19 in the first Test at Ellis Park. The Springboks kicked 35 times on Sunday, 18 more than they did a week prior in Johannesburg.

The visitors often looked to Jordie Barrett and Ruben Love to kick deep, attempting to find the grass inside the Springboks 22. But Rassie Erasmus’ side seemed to have the All Blacks’ number when returning serve, retaining several aerial kicks after receiving an All Blacks kick.

Strachan, who played eleven Tests for the All Blacks, was confused by how the Kiwis approached the kicking battle.

“I couldn’t tell you exactly what our kicking strategy was, because when you go to kick the ball in behind, you normally try and kick to the grass,” the former All Black said on the DSPN Podcast in Cape Town.

“So at least the ball bounces, and you’ve got to move the defensive backfield around; it gives you time to put real good line speed pressure on. And I don’t know how many times we just kicked it straight to them, and we didn’t have a wealth of possession, did we?

“I mean, they had the ball a fair chunk of the time, and they did pretty well with it when they had it. But yeah, I thought at times we just gave the ball away.”

Strachan believes the better option, although it’s still an issue for the All Blacks, is to go to a contestable kick, to at least give the chasers a chance to win back the ball.

“You’re better off just going to high contestables, which is still another issue for us. We still lost the aerial battle, let’s be blunt, but a couple of times it was pretty good. Jordie Barrett was probably the one who was the most effective in the air.

“But yeah, I’m just not quite sure exactly what our kicking strategy was because I thought the execution was poor.”

The discussion, with broadcaster Martin Devlin and RugbyPass contributor Gregor Paul, detailed the difference between the All Blacks and the Springboks’ kicking games.

Strachan explained that the All Blacks shouldn’t stop kicking; it’s about where they use it and how effective they can be.

“The problem now, though, is in the international game; the kicking game is so critical now. If you’re in your own half, you’re a two- or three-ruck team, and you go to your air, right?

“It’s basically about just getting the ball away. But now they [Springboks] have such a wonderful ability to get the ball back; they are momentum shifters. You just mentioned before about the crowd, how they lift, and they just keep re-securing that ball the time.

“So it’s almost an attacking weapon for them. So if our kicking game, our contestable kicking game, is not effective, what we’re basically saying is we almost can’t use it, which is silly because you have to have it in your toolbox.

“We do have to just keep working hard at that; our nines can kick the ball well. Ruben Love can kick the ball well. Again, I just go back to the point. I just thought a lot of our kicks were aimless and just weren’t put in the right places.

“So we have to have a kicking game. They are better than us right now. But there’s no reason I say that our kicking game can’t improve, because you can’t just keep attacking all the time.”