Tamati Ellison: All Blacks defence dialed in for ‘beautiful’ Ireland threat

All Blacks defence coach Tamati Ellison has praised Ireland’s evolution on attack as “world-leading”, saying the global trends have followed their old-school counter to modern rush defences.

Ellison, who is tasked with defusing the Irish attack this week in Chicago, labelled Andy Farrell’s style of play a “beautiful brand of rugby”, but said his team has settled into their defensive structures over the past four months and is in good shape on that side of the ball.

While he stopped short of saying New Zealand had an upper hand thanks to their mid-season form, Ellison was pleased with the improving level of understanding and execution he’s seen from his men.

With that said, there were some big scorelines conceded in the recent TRC campaign, and the two losses incurred forced the coaches to reframe their messaging.

“We learnt through the Rugby Championship that we needed to be a bit more positive in reinforcing the things we’re doing really well,” he told reporters in Chicago when asked about his review of the All Blacks’ defence in the Rugby Championship.

“When scores blow out, you can tend to move away from the process a wee bit, and get dictated to by the scoreline. So, we’re just making sure that we’re connected with the leaders and we’re all driving the same thing during the week.

“I’m not sure if it was a positive or negative (review); it’s just getting better regardless of the scoreboard, that’s the key part.”

The coach added that the team’s growth had now allowed them to look at the finer details of their defence, shifting from the macro to the micro aspects of their game plan and execution.

“There are parts of our game where we’re really putting our money down. We’ve had a few Tests now, so we can really dial into the fundamental parts of the collision.

“We’ve got our structure now, we’ve got people in the right places and continuity of selection, so it allows you to grow in other areas.”

Regardless of how far New Zealand have come, though, Ellison knows Ireland will have a few tricks up their sleeve as they look to unravel it all. He said the “short pass game” is the World No.3 side’s biggest weapon.

“They’ll swing and overload edges with their skillsets. They turn, they trust their game, they’ll kick well on the edges and out of hand, nine and 10.

“And they’ll be mapped well. Andrew Goodman is a good coach; he does his homework, and he’ll have some specials for where he feels like there’s weakness. So we’ve got to make sure our structures are really strong.”

That short passing game earned more praise when Ellison reflected on Ireland’s ascendancy as one of rugby’s top contenders over the past decade.

“They’ve definitely grown. I think they were world-leading in some of their attacking shapes, and a lot of teams have copied that for sure…

“There was a period in New Zealand where we looked to the long, flat ball, and playing on top of teams. As defences came higher on the edge, being able to draw people off their line with the short-pass game, it was a throwback to the older days and a time gone by.

“They’ve brought that back for sure, and others have probably copied that in recent years.”

The former All Black was involved in 2012’s historic 60-0 pummeling of Ireland in Hamilton, and returned to the Test environment for 2024’s 23-13 win in Dublin. Reflecting on the latter of those two contests, he said the recipe for New Zealand’s success was clear.

“I think our discipline was good. We were pretty clear on our plan defensively, and the boys trusted that.

“They’ll probably be pretty disappointed on the individual side, if they reflect, but our discipline was a big part last year.”