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What Tony Johnson is hearing about the vacant All Blacks assistant role
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Tamati Ellison: All Blacks on 'same page but maybe not the same line'
By Ned Lester
The All Blacks‘ third loss of the calendar year sparked considerable backlash across the Shaky Isles, and while the team largely sought the positives, some concessions have been made.
Defence coach Tamati Ellison has come under heightened scrutiny, in particular, with the 33 points conceded in the England defeat coming with the backdrop of September’s 43-10 pummelling at the hands of the Springboks.
The assistant coach cut a typically relaxed tone when reflecting on the loss this week, offering some context on the challenge England posed and what the upcoming Wales game could have in store.
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“We played Aussie, the Argies, and then the Irish, all within kind of the same time period, teams that overload edges and swing and short pass,” Ellison explained to former All Black Israel Dagg on the Sport Nation radio station.
“Then the Scots and English are quite deliberate. They’ll carry hard and low to try and generate quick ball for the drivers to play flat and on top of you. So adjusting to that, we obviously got a couple wrong in the transition straight off the line out on the weekend, which was disappointing. It wasn’t anything special, we were numbered up. It was more tackle execution there.
“We were more deliberate here, and maybe the weather dictates that. You’re not moving the ball three, four, five passes on a play. It’s a one-pass play to try and play flat and fast on top here, then use a kick.
“But the Welsh are actually probably the highest ball-pass-play team in the Six Nations. So they like to move the ball, get it to the edges. That’s where they feel like they can hurt teams.”
The former All Black emphasised the key to defence being effort, both in the collision and around the field; the latter being a heightened factor as the new escort rules bring the contestable kicking game more to the fore.
Ellison was then asked point-blank whether he thinks the team’s coaches and players are on the same page.
“I think so, I really do. There are times when you might be on the same page, but maybe not on the same line, so you have to make adjustments there and make sure you have conversations.
“But also, it takes time to build deep trust as well. So making sure that once that trust is built, we’re vulnerable enough to have those conversations, then it’s a lot easier to get onto the same line, and then we’re singing.”
The All Blacks have just one Test remaining in 2025 to inspire some more positivity in the fanbase about the team’s direction, and have flipped the selection script for the occasion.
Wales will face a brand-new starting XV, with 13 changes from the side that lost to England. Ellison said the selections aren’t the only thing different about the response to the loss.
“It’s been a little bit different to the couple of losses we had earlier this year, just because it’s so quick; you travel, and get up here to Cardiff, and we’ve got to make sure that we’re at All Blacks standard in our preparation this week.
“You have to learn fast, so the mindset has been what learning can we take from the game and what’s important this week, to set the 23 up.”
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