Jason Holland addresses All Blacks' kicking woes against England

The All Blacks‘ attacking identity has again come under the spotlight following the team’s latest loss. But while attack coach Jason Holland concedes the decision-making and execution weren’t perfect, he says it doesn’t rest on just one or two individuals in camp.

The kicking game in particular has faced scrutiny in the wake of the loss, namely the two penalty kicks to the sideline from Beauden Barrett that missed touch and flipped the momentum in the game.

Holland addressed the mistakes made and their impact on the game, given that the All Blacks held an early lead before surrendering 25 consecutive points between minutes 24 and 54.

“You go 12-nil up, you’ve got your skills going well, you’re holding onto the ball, and then we make some fundamental errors, which we can’t afford to make, around skills and holding onto the ball,” the coach reflected after training on Tuesday. “And then we give England a bit of a sniff.

“Then, understanding when they’ve got momentum and they’re putting us under pressure, why? And what that means around a couple of things: how we kick and when we kick, around pressure on us vs pressure on them and how we could’ve isolated people with a little bit more kicking on our terms vs hurried kicks under pressure.

“And just skillsets. Three or four errors around simple skills really turn a Test match, don’t they? And that was a big part as well.”

While highlighting the kicking game, Holland wouldn’t let the blame fall solely on his halves duo of Cam Roigard and Beauden Barrett, each of whom made nine kicks in the contest.

“I think it’s a collective thing. I think a lot of times, probably in the public, in the media, we’re quick to jump on nines and 10s when, obviously, they’re a big part of it, but we see it as a real collective that you need lots of eyes to feed in information and to help others to make decisions.

“And we see it as a collective, from us as coaching staff, all the way through. Mate, if I’m a nine or a 10, and I’ve got a 12, a 13, and a winger talking to me the whole time and giving me great information, then life becomes a lot easier.”

The former Hurricanes head coach said the review of the loss was thorough, and that the squad was now dialled in for the Wales challenge ahead.

“I think we definitely have the understanding, it’s just around being nice and clear under pressure and going to the plays or the parts of the field to kick or whatever that may be on our terms, and understand that in the moment. So we’ve all got to keep working hard at helping the boys to perform under pressure, and understand exactly what that looks like.”