By MARC HINTON - RugbyHeaven | Tuesday, 29 July 2008
As admissions go, this was something. The All Blacks coaches have conceded that not only were they out-thought by Robbie Deans last weekend in Sydney, but that they're struggling to come to terms with rugby's new experimental laws.
It was a "Mea Culpa" of quite staggering dimensions in Auckland. But given the abject nature of the New Zealand performance as the opening Bledisloe was won 34-19 by a superior Wallabies outfit, it was one that Graham Henry and his men clearly felt had to be made.
It was plain for us all to see that the All Blacks were tactically naive against a better-prepared and, yes, better-coached Australian side. The Wallabies played the kick-and-chase game to perfection; the New Zealanders ran the ball like headless chooks, and eventually ran out of gas. A glaring 22 handling errors ensued. Tackles were missed with increasing frequency.
Coming as it did on the back of a defeat to the Springboks in Dunedin, the second straight Tri-Nations defeat has seen Henry and his assistants Wayne Smith and Steve Hansen take stock.
Never men to show too much in the way of contrition, they practically got down on all fours and begged for forgiveness – or at least understanding – when they unveiled a markedly changed lineup in Auckland on Tuesday for the Bledisloe return.
Asked by RugbyHeaven if he accepted that his backline had lost the tactical backline against the Wallabies, Smith shot back with a staggering concession.
"Frankly, I think the coach lost the tactical battle. We're learning under the ELVs. I've been out-coached before and I'll be out-coached again. But every dog has his day, and I'm working hard to fix up my bits and pieces.
"We did lose the tactical battle because we played too much behind our gain-line," added Smith. "Whilst we made a lot of line-breaks, we want to keep those, but want to avoid ones where we turn the ball over and that's all about decision-making and picking the right times to go and when the time is to turn the pressure back on them."
Henry wasn't quite as direct in his self-assessment, but the All Blacks coach did concede that they were struggling to come to terms to life under the ELVs.
It was notable in Sydney that Deans, who had coached under the new laws throughout the Super 14, sent out a team much better versed in the best way to play test match rugby under them.
The All Blacks, in comparison, played like novices, despite the fact the players had all had full Super 14 campaigns under their belts.
"I think Wayne is dead right," added Henry. "The three guys sitting up front here have been involved in three games under the ELVs and we're learning too.
"What we can bring to the table is going to get better with more experience under these laws. You can study them all you like, you can read about them, you can watch the games on television, but until you go through a period of time playing under these new rules you're not going to cement it all in.
"We certainly didn't last week. Hopefully we've learned quite a bit from that so we can be more competitive this week."
The subject of the ELVs became quite a theme as Henry and co faced the media after unveiling a lineup that featured the return of Richie McCaw from injury, Conrad Smith back at centre, Leon MacDonald joining Mils Muliaina in a revamped back three and injury brackets at both halfback and hooker.
The message was clear: the All Blacks remain a work in progress under the new ELVs. Their coaches, too, are making adjustments as they go.
And so far they've been out-thought, and out-fought, by that old fox Deans. But as Smith noted, every dog has its day, and the All Blacks coaches made it more than clear that they have made some major tactical adjustments this week.
"We do a lot of work," added Smith, "but what we're finding out is there's a lot subtleties that you just can't cover off. You've got to learn those yourself. There's a lot of things you see and think, ‘man, we can't do that again'. We've done a lot of work but we're still improving under them."
There are clearly some major adjustments to the way the game is played under the ELVs. Henry talked about the new emphasis on the kicking game, Smith mentioned the ball-in-play element that had gone up considerably and Hansen spoke about the need for cool decision-making at flashpoints like free-kicks and quick lineout opportunities.
Added Henry: "The laws have been changed to try and satisfy the fans and have a more flowing game with more tries. We haven't got there yet ... It's probably the biggest adjustment for coaches going from one set of laws to another. These are quite major changes and they create a major difference in how the game is being played."
Hansen, ever the pragmatist, said it came down to players making the right calls in the heat of battle.
"What we've got to get good at is making good decisions when to take free-kicks and when to take quick throws. There are times you want to take them when the opposition aren't set and don't have a good defensive line.
"Like anything new, people want to tap and go because it's a free-kick, instead of just taking some time and making a good decision."
Just how quick a learners the All Blacks are we shall see on Saturday night. Or more's the point, just how adept their coaches are.
So far it's 1-0 to the wrong Kiwi coach. We await the response.
What do you think? Were the All Blacks coaches outsmarted by Robbie Deans? If so, what can they do this week? Post your comments below.
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