How the All Blacks changed their attacking game after losing to Argentina
Since the All Blacks mid-season loss to Argentina in Christchurch where they kicked just 15 times, there has been a definitive shift in the way the All Blacks attack which continued through the Northern tour.
Whilst they brought in the appetite to run it from deep against South Africa at Ellis Park, after the defeat to Los Pumas they came to the conclusion they should use their skilled kickers a lot more to unlock defences.
Attacking kicks have always been in the toolbox for the All Blacks, but they’ve never had this many capable options of delivering it. Dan Carter used to have the ball on the string, but his outsides were rarely asked to boot to ball in the manner that today’s backs are.
The importance of kicking options across the backline has become paramount to the All Blacks plans for a revival and will likely dictate selection going forward given how this is forming a larger part of how the team wants to open up the field, given the success they have had so far.
David Havili has a skilled kicking game but so does Jordie Barrett, so either of them are going to be preferred options at 12 over Quinn Tupaea and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.
If the younger Barrett is in the midfield, Beauden Barrett is the obvious choice at 15 as he is a maestro off both feet. If both are at 10 and 15, Havili can play 12 and still bring a kicking game to the midfield.
With Richie Mo’unga and Aaron Smith in the halves, there are accurate kickers everywhere across the backs to implement a varied kicking attack to combat a well-oiled defensive line.
Left wing Caleb Clarke was the main target early at Twickenham against England, with three cross-field kicks coming his way within the first 15 minutes from three different kickers no less.
Richie Mo’unga, Beauden Barrett and Jordie Barrett were the marksmen tasked with landing a pinpoint kick pass to the No 11 which meant that all three early kicks came from different spots, highlighting the variety of options at the All Blacks disposal.
This wasn’t necessarily a ploy to target England’s right wing Jack Nowell, it was just a continuation of the play that they have used against anyone for a fast-break exit.
In Melbourne against the Wallabies, Jordie Barrett identified the space on the edge and found Clarke on the full in open space for a nice break downfield.
Centre Rieko Ioane and Clarke couldn’t connect on that occasion, with the No 13 taking an inside support line which nearly led a collision between the two.
With wingers often defending space deep in the backfield, the All Blacks are simply taking the space on offer despite being inside their 22.
It is a bold tactic that few if any other international teams will try to replicate being in such a high risk area of the field.
The Blues pair were finally on the same page early in the second half against England, running a switch around the edge after Clarke’s catch leading to an explosive long-range try for Ioane.
The execution by Clarke couldn’t have been better, timing the pass perfectly to hit his centre on the fly at full pace, and the anticipatory line by Ioane was excellent to get into a position to make a play.
The All Blacks coaches would have been pleased to see Clarke complete the play after a similar opportunity went begging in the first half from the first cross-field kick by Mo’unga.
The left winger pulled in Mo’unga’s kick with an acrobatic leap, and although Jack Nowell (14) covered the space, England were stretched quickly with a lagging disconnection forming between Nowell and Manu Tuilagi (13).
Clarke instinctively stepped inside Nowell which created a potentially seam to run forward into and commit multiple defenders.
The 23-year-old had the attention of three England defenders who might’ve all committed to contact at a similar time, but Clarke’s instinct was to try and cut back inside and beat another defender with the step.
This has been a frustrating part of Clarke’s game: the lack of intent to offload or find a runner in support once in space to show the vision to take the best option available.
Clarke opting to beat another defender killed the momentum of Rieko Ioane (13) and allowed the next inside defender, Owen Farrell, to catch up from the inside.
Ioane was completely unmarked on a support line inside Clarke, screaming out for a pass to keep the movement alive, but the pair almost collide once Clarke tried to step again.
It is these half chances that Clarke has to find a feel for, sensing lanes opening up for his support players and knowing when to sacrifice himself and promote the ball to take advantage.
His brilliant play in the second half to link with Ioane showed he is capable of making such plays which is a great sign he can take his game to the next level and become less one dimensional.
The missed chance by Clarke showed the All Blacks still have plenty more to capitalise on, but that they are creating many opportunities from their attacking kicks.
Earlier in the tour the kicking game delivered a fast start against Scotland, leading to the opening two tries.
The first set-piece play of the game against Scotland was a miss-hit kick pass by Havili that went behind Mark Telea, but the Blues winger still managed to turn it into a break after rescuing the play. From an ensuing penalty at that next ruck, Scott Barrett barged over for the first try.
On Telea’s own try minutes later, back-t0-back kicks were used to dismantle Scotland by the Barrett boys who perfectly illustrated how to manipulate a backfield defence to create breaks.
On a short side with nothing really happening, Beauden Barrett thread a grubber kick in behind the Scotland defence where the space was offered.
With no active sweeper scanning for short kicks in behind, this was a vulnerability in the Scottish defence the All Blacks would have prepared to target.
The perfectly weighted grubber off the left foot was placed where Scotland were vulnerable and centre Anton Lienert-Brown received the dream bounce to regather the ball and spark the initial break.
He was able to commit Darcy Graham and put Caleb Clarke (11) away down the sideline, which further weakened Scotland’s backfield when Stuart Hogg (15) had to cover Clarke.
The All Blacks had the Scots on the ropes with no backfield coverage after Clarke was brought down.
Fullback Jordie Barrett (15) stepped up on the next phase to capitalise on that weakness with another kick, punting a low drifter wide into the path of Mark Telea.
Barrett’s skidding punt perfectly sat up for Telea, over the top of Duhan van der Merwe (11) and into the vast open space on the right hand side.
The debutant winger scooped and scored in one motion to put the All Blacks up by 14-0 very early.
It was a perfect illustration of backfield manipulation, stretching Scotland touchline-to-touchline through two regathered kicks.
There were no missed tackles or bad reads by Scotland, just an inability to cover space and the exploitation of that through sublime skill from the Barretts.
The All Blacks took their attacking kicking game to greater heights in 2022 once Joe Schmidt joined the coaching group, putting a bigger emphasis on using kicks to generate opportunities.
This was also a better use of the skills that players like Richie Mo’unga and David Havili bring to the table.
When you can’t break a defensive line, you can always go over it. If you don’t score directly off a regathered kick, the defence is usually scrambling to get back onside which negating their ability to rush and allowing for more phase play on the front foot.
Having that extra string in the bow has been a part of their improvement since the poor showing in the Ireland series.
The way defences are constructed has forced the All Blacks to rely on a skilled group of kickers to do that. This is one of their key variations that they will look to utilise in 2023 which other teams do not currently have.
England in 2019 had as many skilled kickers in their attack with Ben Youngs, George Ford, Owen Farrell, Henry Slade and Elliot Daly, but have since lost touch with that style of play.
The All Blacks are the only side looking to use attacking kicks, grubbers, chips, cross-field kicks, from positions all over the backline in any area of the field.
If they continue to get it right, it will help add another dimension to their attacking arsenal as they look to rebound from an ordinary 2022 season by their standards.
Comments on RugbyPass
This looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to commentsIt’s the massive value he brings with regard team culture/values, preparation, etc. Can’t buy that. I’m hoping to see the young locks get their chance in the big games though.
10 Go to comments