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Harsh lessons from All Blacks review: 'They've got guys smashing us at the ruck and us parking up having a holiday'
A typically honest review has laid bare the fixable flaws the All Blacks must swiftly resolve before confronting the Wallabies for the second Bledisloe at Eden Park. No surprises the onus has been put squarely on the forward pack to respond from their smack on the nose.
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The first test of the year was supposed to reveal the All Blacks pack setting a new, improved platform after being steamrolled by the physically dominant English forwards in the World Cup semifinal defeat.
The big men involved in that defeat should still be hurting.
Instead, the dramatic 16-all draw in Wellington unearthed the same lingering, issue. The All Blacks pack was passive in much of their core duties – leading to accusations of a soft underbelly from some quarters.
With the lack of ball they did receive there were few dominant carries bending or buckling the Wallabies line, while on defence the hunger to knock over green and gold runners wasn’t evident across the board, either.
While the scrum and lineout operated well, Dave Rennie’s blueprint of targeting the breakdown worked a treat to disrupt the All Blacks ruck ball.
With presentation and protection sloppy, Aaron Smith struggled to whip his usually crisp pass which left Richie Mo’unga under pressure and the All Blacks backline largely on the backfoot.
“When you see clips with their intent – they’ve got guys smashing us at the ruck and us parking up having a holiday that’s personal pride stuff,” All Blacks hooker Dane Coles said bluntly after arriving from the team review session.
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“At international level, that’s your bread and butter. We need to raise the intensity in that area and be better.
“It’s frustrating we didn’t bring that. It’s a big part of the game. The beauty of rugby is you get a chance to fix that and put it right.
“It’s been made a focus point so it’s up to us as individuals to find what it takes to bring that out on Sunday. There’s no real recipe or secret word, everyone will have to go to that place so that comes out in the game.
“When you’re coming off a performance like that, regardless of where we’re playing, we need a response. There’s plenty of motivation to work hard and get better for Sunday.”
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While much has been made of Rieko Ioane's infamous dropped ball over the tryline on Sunday, there is a key reason to retain him in the All Blacks side this weekend. #BledisloeCup #NZLvAUS https://t.co/vO6lEI9Jxr
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 13, 2020
The most frustrating part of the flat All Blacks’ performance is they knew Rennie would bring tactics to fly into the breakdown and take players out off the ball, as he did to other Super Rugby teams when leading the Chiefs from 2012-17.
And, yet, the All Blacks still did not front physically as required.
“Yeah definitely, that’s Chiefs,” Coles observed. “You could see he’s been in their ear pumping them up like he used to Sam Cane and [Tawera] Kerr-Barlow. He’s got a good understanding of how to create chaos at the ruck. We’ve seen that before with the teams he’s coached in New Zealand. He’s definitely making his mark felt.”
At this level the All Blacks should not need a reminder to get their mental approach to dominating the breakdown right. Like an uppercut landing flush on the chin, there’s now no excuse not to put those lessons into action.
“If you don’t show up with the right intent mentally it’s going to be a long day,” Smith said. “We were aware of the things Rens brings to his teams around breakdown, physicality and their mindset. We didn’t bring the All Blacks level of intent. There’s some pretty simple messages there we can all fix.
“It’s something we know now. We’ve had our smack on the nose and it’s up to us to respond.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Dear Robbie, Please return to the Crusaders next season. Sincerely, Scott
1 Go to commentsDid the big E call the Irish the ‘White Can’ts’? That would’ve been good
28 Go to commentsDalton Papalii will be lucky to be selected on the Matchday 23. Ardie Savea, Ethan Blackadder, Luke Jacobson, and Peter Lauki are all as good or better openside flankers
9 Go to commentsScott Barrett is a lock and they have a much longer shelf life than a loose forward. Far more likely that Barrett will still demand a starting position based on performance at age 33 at RWC 2027 than Savea, whose explosive athleticism will have declined and he will in all likelihood have been surpassed by Hoskins Sotutu, Wallace Siti, Peter Lauki and Brayden Iose.
9 Go to commentsExtremely frustrating to get yet more speculation over whether or not Eben actually counted 12 players or not, but honestly big respect to McCloskey for keeping it classy and not pointing out Etzebeth’s hypocrisy. The Irish are a popular team outside of Ireland because they do their talking on the pitch, and its honestly a PR masterclass that they’re keeping it that way following Etzebeth’s provocation.
28 Go to commentsGood option for the lineout lost there.
1 Go to commentsIt’s not like Saffas have a long history of spouting absolute shite at any & every occasion. Oh wait… The dangers of an inferior third world education strike again.
28 Go to commentsI’m so glad we’re revisiting this. Really needs to be dissected further. I’m also so glad that a guy in the stands who wasn’t anywhere near the field when any of it would have been said (and even confirms this) has taken the lead and commented as Ireland. Definitely cleared it all up. This article would be hilarious if it wasn’t so misleading.
28 Go to commentsits such a shame he hasn’t achieved more success at club level. He’s really not been a potent finisher for a while now, but he’s still excellent in the kick chase. That’s the kind of skillset that generally only gets appreciated when you’re playing in premiership and european finals. I’m not sure whether the challenge cup counts given the quality of the competition seems lower than in previous years, but his duel with Mapimpi should be enthralling.
1 Go to commentsThe point is the irish players were arrogant,call it like you want sugar coat it aswell but they were you could see it in their way they handeled themselfs on the field when they got something right so dont tell me it was not arrogance it was,you can fool other people but not me,and to say to one of our players see you in the final put a nail in the coffin for this bullsh@t,just be grown men and accept it that you were arrogant,you could if seen it from a mile away, and then you lost to the allblacks what a cocky move that didnt work out for you ,Eben was right when he said u were arrogant,the point is you will deny it because you lost it all just grow some balls and move on we had won you lost accept it.
28 Go to comments“summer tour of North and South America” so its a summer tour of america?
1 Go to commentsEverybody is giving the Irish players the benefit of the doubt in ‘what they meant’, but none of these pundits or commentators offer the same courtesy to Eben. I don’t think Eben went, 1, 2, 3… etc. What might have happened is he didn’t count and when the 3rd or 5th guy said he went, hang on why are so many of them saying this… and then started to concentrate on it more and more as players continue to say it. So no, he didn’t count it, he realised many Irish players said it and made an assumption based on that… The Irish team was VERY confident at the time and I do believe they believed they were going to win the World Cup, which borders a bit on the arrogant side…
28 Go to commentsI can see how some of the Irish players would have said”see you in the final” as a gentle comment after a victory. It’s open to interpretation but it’s clumsy language. I don’t know the fella but I assure you Eben doesn’t have an axe to grind with Ireland. He has never been the media seeking pro. Oh and BTW it is I’ll be our winter in July so won’t be wet.
28 Go to comments*McCloskey*: _I saw this clip. Like, I wasn’t playing that game; I was in the stands…so you don't know sh!t in other words, infact you know just as much as Goode on this matter. I will believe the guy who was on the pitch when things were said as appose to two people speculating over what was said._
28 Go to comments@ turlough dream on buddy. Your boys are in for one tough time down in sa this summer…
28 Go to commentsI think Goode is looking to establish a platform for himself. Eben said “Probably” so that suggests he wasn’t counting. It’s an estimate Goode. I think even with your short and uneventful experience with the Sharks you probably realise winding up Saffas will get you some airtime. It’s a none event. Move on
28 Go to commentsRugby has never been as structured and synthetically pleasing as it is at this moment. The game is simply beautiful and messing with it too much will ruin it for everyone. I can't help but feel that over the past decade or so many rules have been changed to accommodate a certain hemisphere and counter another. Perhaps I am wrong but I somehow don’t think so.
2 Go to commentsNoted some excellent defensive steals from the Rebs last week against the Reds, largely J Canham, I think. It’s not a Rolls Royce but they are a real threat with their defensive line out at the beginning matches. What do you make of Canham Nick, WBs squad material?
86 Go to commentsCoin flip between Ardie and Scott Barrett. Both have their pros and cons, and both would probably be decent. Ardie has way more passion on the field, but that hasn’t always translated into the best decisions. They will both turn 34 at the next World Cup, so both will most likely have their best days a few years behind them. It’s hard to imagine now, but looking at young players coming through Ardie will probably be under the most pressure to retain his place in the team. Beauden Barrett also an outside chance if Razor sees him as the first choice 10.
9 Go to commentsQuality stuff from Flats. Rugby can’t replace football nor should we want it to. I think the ‘product’ (awful term sorry) now is absolutely fantastic. Growing the game shouldn’t be at the expense of losing its brutal beauty.
2 Go to comments