ALL BLACKS the Magic of the Greatest Rugby Team

All Blacks run away from French with seven-try second-half explosion

2018-06-30T00:49:00.005+10:00

MARC HINTON21:43, Jun 09 2018 With the teams tied, New Zealand turn the match on its head with France down to 14 players in Auckland. It took 40 minutes, and a little help from English referee Luke Pearce, for the All Blacks to shake off their rust and launch what is hoped will be their bold new era of attacking play. As promising starts go, this is a peach. In the end an exhilarating seven-try second 40 minutes on Eden Park indicates Steve Hansen's All Blacks have started their 2018 campaign mightily impressively, powering to a 52-11 victory over a French side which faded badly after leading 11-8 at halftime. But this scoreline should come with an asterisk. It should note that the All Blacks' second-spell explosion was ignited by a highly dubious yellow card call by Pearce on French lock Paul Gabrillagues in the 51st minute. At that stage it was 11-11, and replays showed his highish hit on Ryan Crotty, which might have bounced up off the ball, probably deserved just a penalty. Of course the All Blacks needed no second invitation from there. They scored twice while the big lock was in the bin, and from there the floodgates opened, French heads dropped and that highly touted defence turned from best in the world to decidedly turnstile. Pearce's decision was further exacerbated shortly afterwards when All Blacks flanker Sam Cane escaped with just a penalty after collecting French wing Remy Grosso high with his arm in what appeared a far more dangerous incident. For all that the All Blacks were hugely impressive when they got their game going in the second half. They may have needed some luck, but they were very much good enough to seize it and turn it to their advantage. Ryan Crotty is tackled high by France's Paul Gabrillagues in the second half at Eden Park Hooker Codie Taylor had a mighty game for the All Blacks up front, scoring one try and popping up all over the place on a busy night. Luke Whitelock fared well at No 8, Scott Barrett likewise at lock and skipper Sam Whitelock went the distance in a gutsy display. Anton Lienert-Brown shook off a couple of early errors to post an impressive shift in midfield, Ryan Crotty was excellent alongside, and Ben Smith and Rieko Ioane showed their class when things opened up. Jordie Barrett would be happy with his night's work too. The New Zealand bench was nothing short of fabulous, from big Karl Tu'inukuafe big impact at scrum on debut to a showcase display off the pine from Damian McKenzie. They took the game to another level, as they so often do. A lot of what had been talked about in the leadup came to pass in a tight first 40 minutes that saw the French take an 11-8 lead into the sheds. Yes, the visitors' defence was very good; yes, the All Blacks were decidedly rusty; and, yes, this was not the one-way traffic that some had predicted. It shouldn't surprise us, but still does. The All Blacks get together six days before their opening test of the year. It takes time – in this case 40 minutes – to shake off the rust. Through the first 40 the New Zealanders committed a half-dozen handling errors, missed 10 tackles and failed to turn 65 percent possession and 63 percent territory into anything better than eight points, and a single try. The French brought plenty to the opening exchanges and were not only well organised on defence but occasionally inventive enough to offer some hope. Wing Grosso had them out to a 5-0 lead in the seventh minute when he swooped on a Ben Smith pop-up pass from a ruck turnover and dashed clear. Slowly but surely the All Blacks worked their way back. Penalties were exchanged, then the Barrett brothers celebrated their historic night as the first trio of siblings ever to start a test for New Zealand by featuring in their side's opening try. Scott slipped a nice pass to Jordie for the initial break and when Ryan Crotty went to deck, Beauden's beautifully timed run to the blind netted a key five-pointer. The All Blacks should have had another soon after when Crotty and Anton Lienert-Brown unlocked that tight defence on the shadow of halftime, but Aaron Smith's support line was found to obstruct a defender under TMO scrutiny. That meant Morgan Parra's 54-metre monster penalty four minutes from the break had given the visitors an unlikely lead, and this test a real shot in the arm as a legitimate contest. Then this thing got turned on its head. Gabrillagues got his yellow card 10 minutes into the second spell and, of course, the All Blacks punished them, with two tries while the lock was cooling his heels. The first went to Codie Taylor, out wide from a peach of a left-footed grubber kick from Beauden Barrett, and the second to Ben Smith when the All Blacks took a quick throw and quick hands and some stellar play from Crotty and Taylor down the right touch put the wing over. From there it was a procession. Ioane (twice), McKenzie, Ngani Laumape and Ardie Savea all crossed as the All Blacks ran riot. As an opening statement, very very impressive. All Blacks 52 (Beauden Barrett, Codie Taylor, Ben Smith, Rieko Ioane 2, Damian McKenzie, Ngani Laumape, Ardie Savea tries; Beauden Barrett 2 pens, 3 cons ) France 11 ( Remi Grosso try; Morgan Parra 2 pens). Ht: 8-11.

All Blacks run away from French with seven-try second-half explosion

2018-06-14T23:51:00.001+10:00

MARC HINTON21:43, Jun 09 2018 With the teams tied, New Zealand turn the match on its head with France down to 14 players in Auckland. It took 40 minutes, and a little help from English referee Luke Pearce, for the All Blacks to shake off their rust and launch what is hoped will be their bold new era of attacking play. As promising starts go, this is a peach. In the end an exhilarating seven-try second 40 minutes on Eden Park indicates Steve Hansen's All Blacks have started their 2018 campaign mightily impressively, powering to a 52-11 victory over a French side which faded badly after leading 11-8 at halftime. But this scoreline should come with an asterisk. It should note that the All Blacks' second-spell explosion was ignited by a highly dubious yellow card call by Pearce on French lock Paul Gabrillagues in the 51st minute. At that stage it was 11-11, and replays showed his highish hit on Ryan Crotty, which might have bounced up off the ball, probably deserved just a penalty. Of course the All Blacks needed no second invitation from there. They scored twice while the big lock was in the bin, and from there the floodgates opened, French heads dropped and that highly touted defence turned from best in the world to decidedly turnstile. Pearce's decision was further exacerbated shortly afterwards when All Blacks flanker Sam Cane escaped with just a penalty after collecting French wing Remy Grosso high with his arm in what appeared a far more dangerous incident. For all that the All Blacks were hugely impressive when they got their game going in the second half. They may have needed some luck, but they were very much good enough to seize it and turn it to their advantage. ANDREW CORNAGA / WWW.PHOTOSPORT. Ryan Crotty is tackled high by France's Paul Gabrillagues in the second half at Eden Park Hooker Codie Taylor had a mighty game for the All Blacks up front, scoring one try and popping up all over the place on a busy night. Luke Whitelock fared well at No 8, Scott Barrett likewise at lock and skipper Sam Whitelock went the distance in a gutsy display. Anton Lienert-Brown shook off a couple of early errors to post an impressive shift in midfield, Ryan Crotty was excellent alongside, and Ben Smith and Rieko Ioane showed their class when things opened up. Jordie Barrett would be happy with his night's work too. The New Zealand bench was nothing short of fabulous, from big Karl Tu'inukuafe big impact at scrum on debut to a showcase display off the pine from Damian McKenzie. They took the game to another level, as they so often do. A lot of what had been talked about in the leadup came to pass in a tight first 40 minutes that saw the French take an 11-8 lead into the sheds. Yes, the visitors' defence was very good; yes, the All Blacks were decidedly rusty; and, yes, this was not the one-way traffic that some had predicted. It shouldn't surprise us, but still does. The All Blacks get together six days before their opening test of the year. It takes time – in this case 40 minutes – to shake off the rust. Through the first 40 the New Zealanders committed a half-dozen handling errors, missed 10 tackles and failed to turn 65 percent possession and 63 percent territory into anything better than eight points, and a single try. The French brought plenty to the opening exchanges and were not only well organised on defence but occasionally inventive enough to offer some hope. Wing Grosso had them out to a 5-0 lead in the seventh minute when he swooped on a Ben Smith pop-up pass from a ruck turnover and dashed clear. Slowly but surely the All Blacks worked their way back. Penalties were exchanged, then the Barrett brothers celebrated their historic night as the first trio of siblings ever to start a test for New Zealand by featuring in their side's opening try. Scott slipped a nice pass to Jordie for the initial break and when Ryan Crotty went to deck, Beauden's beautifully timed run to the blind netted a key five-pointer. The All Blacks should have had another soon after when Crotty and Anton Lienert-Brown unlocked that tight defence on the shadow of halftime, but Aaron Smith's support line was found to obstruct a defender under TMO scrutiny. That meant Morgan Parra's 54-metre monster penalty four minutes from the break had given the visitors an unlikely lead, and this test a real shot in the arm as a legitimate contest. Then this thing got turned on its head. Gabrillagues got his yellow card 10 minutes into the second spell and, of course, the All Blacks punished them, with two tries while the lock was cooling his heels. The first went to Codie Taylor, out wide from a peach of a left-footed grubber kick from Beauden Barrett, and the second to Ben Smith when the All Blacks took a quick throw and quick hands and some stellar play from Crotty and Taylor down the right touch put the wing over. From there it was a procession. Ioane (twice), McKenzie, Ngani Laumape and Ardie Savea all crossed as the All Blacks ran riot. As an opening statement, very very impressive. All Blacks 52 (Beauden Barrett, Codie Taylor, Ben Smith, Rieko Ioane 2, Damian McKenzie, Ngani Laumape, Ardie Savea tries; Beauden Barrett 2 pens, 3 cons ) France 11 ( Remi Grosso try; Morgan Parra 2 pens). Ht: 8-11. PHOTOSPORT Rieko Ioane fends off Teddy Thomas during the first test between the All Blacks and France.

All Blacks back to clinical best as they demolish Springboks by record margin

2017-09-17T23:17:00.000+10:00

MARC HINTON

Last updated 07:38, September 17 2017

Steve Hansen, of course, saw this coming in his crystal ball. But surely not this soon, and not this decisively.

Earlier in the week the All Blacks coach had urged us to have patience, and promised that his hot-and-cold All Blacks would flip the form switch when it mattered. He nigh on guaranteed it.

Well, how about the first clash of the season against the old enemy Springboks at a full (30,021) QBE Stadium in Albany? This eight tries to nil, 57-0 clinical, record-breaking demolition of the South Africans was their best display of the season, without a shadow of doubt. More sustained than Sydney. More emphatic than the series opener against the British and Irish Lions.

It was sublime and scintillating and sensational. Rugby of the highest quality – from one team at least.

It was the All Blacks at their absolute best. The starters laid the platform superbly and the supersubs came on and finished the business, going right until the final hooter.

It was also the New Zealanders' fifth straight victory over the South Africans, their eighth on the bounce at home and their 10th in the last 11 matchups. It puts them in a near unassailable position in the Rugby Championship, with their fourth straight victory taking them to 19 points, with the second-placed Boks stuck on 11. They can engrave the trophy now.

"We're very, very proud of it," said Hansen of his team's biggest ever win over the Boks. "We're trying to get better all the time, and have been working on different things. We came in tonight pretty clear in how we wanted to play, and a lot of those things came off."

On a stellar night for many in black, was Rieko Ioane their best? The 20-year-old continued his brilliant play this season, adding another try and looking razor-sharp in all he did. His 12 carries yielded a game-high 171 metres, with 11 defenders beaten.

"He showed a lot of gas," observed Hansen afterwards. "He has become a crowd favourite and every time he touches the ball the whole place lights up. But he has got that ability to really scoot."

Aaron Smith and Beauden Barrett were both also up somewhere near their best, with Barrett's goalkicking accuracy (eight from nine) hopefully silencing his critics permanently, and his distribution spot-on. Nehe Milner-Skudder, with two tries, was also busy and dangerous in all he did.

Up front the scrum survived a few early anxious moments, the lineout smashed a wobbly Springbok one and Sam Cane, Brodie Retallick, Dane Coles and replacement Scott Barrett showcased their special abilities. The bench were on the money.

The All Blacks produced a magic first 40 as they pounced on practically every opportunity created, ran in four tries and raced out to a 31-0 lead.

The tries were all highlight reel stuff, too, with those instinctive halves Smith and Barrett all over them with their creativity.

The first, to Ioane (his seventh in seven tests) came when Smith reacted with lightning quickness from a penalty, took the tap and put in a pinpoint left-footed kick into space for the wing to race on to.

From there the catch-your-breath moments came regularly. Milner-Skudder snaffled an intercept, found Beauden Barrett, and then took a no-look, back-flick pass from the No 10 to finish what he started; Scott Barrett (on for Liam Squire who failed an HIA) scored when Coles and Milner-Skudder turned a short Barrett crosskick into a gilt-edged opportunity; and big Retallick finished the first-half scoring thundering down the middle to finish an opportunity created by Ioane's speed and dazzling feet and Coles' fabulous support play.

Of course, we wondered whether there would be a dialling off of the effort in the second half. It had happened before.

But this time they stayed on point, with their line intact, and adding four further tries over the second 40. Milner-Skudder dotted down for his second off Beauden Barrett's superb cutout pass and Ofa Tu'ungafasi came off the bench to produce a power score (his first in test footy) off the back of a short lineout.

Lima Sopoaga got on the board by finishing a blockbuster run from Anton Lienert-Brown (sitting Handre Pollard on his bum in the process) and Codie Taylor completed the rout off a lineout drive.

At the end skipper Kieran Read, himself on top of his game, admitted the nil conceded was as satisfying as the 57 scored. "The Boks threw everything at us in that first half, and it was a pretty intense half. I don't know how we were up by so many points. We probably got four opportunities and took all four of them. Our defence stayed strong and to not let them in over the second half was a credit to that."

A final thought: how deliciously good was it to have a test controlled so expertly and efficiently, without a hint of controversy, by Nigel Owens who confirmed his status as the best referee in the business.

All Blacks 57 (Rieko Ioane, Nehe Milner-Skudder 2, Scott Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Lima Sopoaga, Codie Taylor tries; Beauden Barrett pen, 7 cons), South Africa 0. Ht: 31-0.

- Stuff

All Blacks onslaught overwhelms Springboks in Rugby Championship Test at Albany

2017-09-17T22:17:00.002+10:00

Sep. 16th, 2017

The Springboks, meanwhile, will lick their wounds after falling to their first Test defeat of 2017.

Stacking the breakdown early and denying the All Blacks time and space to run free, the burly South Africans appeared keen to start a war of attrition.

But their tactics didn't work for long, as the All Blacks shook off a slow start to spectacularly score twice within the space of four minutes.

Ahead 3-0 in the 17th minute, Smith took a quick-tap penalty and dinked a cute left-footed kick into the corner, where Ioane burned off his opposite to score.

Four minutes later, it was Barrett's turn to impress.

Winger Milner-Skudder pinched an intercept on the right edge, before playing a clever one-two with his first-five to score the All Blacks' second, suddenly putting the wind in their sails.

Further tries to Scott Barrett and Retallick - the latter a length-of-the-field effort - ensued, taking the All Blacks into the break 31-0 ahead, before second-half efforts to Tu'ungafasi, Milner-Skudder, Taylor and Lienert-Brown.

NZN/Newshub.

All Blacks thrash Springboks by record margin

2017-09-17T22:09:00.001+10:00

16 Sep, 2017 9:30pm

By: Gregor Paul

New Zealand 57 – 0 South Africa

THE RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP

16 SEP 19:35

REF

NIGEL OWENS

QBE STADIUM

This All Blacks team is certainly on to something. They'd hinted as much in the last few weeks but for the first time this year, they delivered the package they were after.

They put together a performance that will probably sit somewhere close to being the blueprint they want to use for the rest of the season and possibly beyond.

And for good reason. They were devastating. This was the All Blacks up against it apparently, struggling for cohesion and confidence against a side that is unbeaten this year and climbing the rankings fast.

It wasn't close. The scoreline ended up being ridiculous - the sort of number kids make up in the playground to reflect their imagined dominance and yet there it was: New Zealand 57, South Africa 0.

Who ever imagined that would be the final score. The 57 was crazy but the zero to South Africa was insanely difficult to take in. A record of course and with it a degree of humiliation that the Boks may struggle to live down or get over.

But it was reflective - a truly accurate representation of the game. The All Blacks had South Africa sussed from the start and there was never any issue putting them away and as the game developed, the gulf between the two became apparent.

South Africa were made to look ponderous, dated even. They appeared to be playing old rugby where they took so long to bash the ball up the middle of the field and recycle.

It was pedestrian, one dimensional and in stark contrast to the All Blacks who looked to be playing almost a different game. One that was light years ahead - as if it had arrived from a different planet.

The All Blacks played with precision and pace. They were controlled, thoughtful and yet instinctive in the sort of quantities the Boks couldn't read or defend.

The All Blacks gave nothing away on defence, reduced the Boks' lineout to a rabble, held their own in the scrum, drove the mauls as if they were old hands at it.

What the All Blacks essentially did was find the balance they needed: struck the sort of layered game that makes them impossible to contain and did it all with the sort of pace and intensity that befits their obsession with the basic skills.

All Blacks winger Rieko Ioane scores against South Africa during the Rugby Championship test match at North Harbour Stadium. Photo / Brett Phibbs

They didn't reinvent themselves by any means - the difference between the All Blacks in Albany and the All Blacks in New Plymouth was the injection of composure, patience, ruthlessness and a desire and an ability to stay at the top of their game for longer.

There was no lull, no bad patch where they drifted mentally or went away from their core roles and lost their cohesion. The attacking intent and excellence has been visible all year, just not in long enough sustained periods.

It all came out in Albany though. The bench came on and added plenty. What was truly fascinating was to see the Boks scrum being destroyed in the last quarter.

There was no being seduced by the scoreline as happened in Sydney. There was no getting ahead of themselves in the second half and trying to make it all happen by taking huge risks.

They held their shape, their structure and their vision. They remained accurate to the death and that's why they hammered the Boks.

Probably no side in world rugby could have done much better faced with an attacking onslaught like that.

The future has arrived and it looks considerably brighter for the All Blacks than it does for the Springboks.

New Zealand 57 (R. Ioane, N. Milner-Skudder (2), S. Barrett, B. Retallick, O. Tu'ungafasi, L. Sopoaga, C. Taylor tries; B. Barrett 7 cons, pens)
South Africa 0

2015-12-10T23:26:00.003+11:00

World media hail All Blacks' killer instincts as they hang tough to beat Boks

It was labelled an "ugly win" but the All Blacks' killer instincts weren't lost on the global media as they covered off New Zealand's dogged World Cup semifinal victory over South Africa.

Having lapped up the scintillating try-scoring spree against France last week, the media found praise for the All Blacks' ability to eke out a win in contrasting circumstances at Twickenham.

"It was typical of the British weather to arrive after the European teams had been knocked out of the World Cup," The Guardian's Paul Rees noted.

"The result was a hard, uncompromising wrestling bout that was more Six Nations than Rugby Championship, the holders finding a way of winning ugly and keeping alive their ambition of becoming the first side to retain the trophy."

DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES

All Blacks halfback Aaron Smith gets the ball away during Sunday's gritty 20-18 Rugby World Cup semifinal win over the Springboks in London.

Rees praised the way the All Blacks had solved their first half problems to fight their way back into the game and eventually the final.

Stable mate Dan Lucas' conclusion was similar: "New Zealand claimed a hard-fought, tense, but deserved win. The key period was at the start of the second half, when Carter slotted a cool drop-goal to reduce South Africa's lead in spite of their man advantage, before Barrett crossed for the second, ultimately match-winning try," he wrote to sum up The Guardian's live coverage of the match.

"South Africa deserve credit for a big defensive performance, winning the battles of the scrum and breakdown largely thanks to their immense power. But they brought little else to the match, in truth, and didn't deserve it."

The Independent described the clash as "a tight and nervy affair" with New Zealand holding their composure.

The Telegraph labelled the match "tight, gruelling and engrossing", befitting the greatest rivalry in the sport.

They were impressed by the All Blacks' continued ability to "turn the screws when it matters most".

GETTY IMAGES

Dan Carter's left boot was hugely influential in the World Cup semifinal win over the Springboks in London.

"New Zealand once again showed their ability to raise their game and maintain their composure just when their opponents should have been able to go in for the kill by actually reducing their deficit while Jerome Kano was in the sin bin.

"In fact it was the All Blacks who dominated those 10 minutes, with Dan Carter landing a sweetly-struck dropped goal to cut the deficit to two points.

"The psychological edge it gave the All Blacks inflicted serious damage to the Springboks, and it was little surprise that New Zealand were able to take the lead moments after Kano's return when Beauden Barrett crossed for a try. Dan Carter's conversion ensured there had been a critical 10-point swing in a contest of such small margins."

But The Telegraph noted there were problems for both sides in a match of huge intensity.

"The ending summed up the match. South Africa desperately attempted to run the ball from their own line, predictable and physical, bashing into contact at every opportunity, but lashing out at the reality, just as they had been throughout the match. There was no way through. Eventually a knock-on came and New Zealand were through to the Rugby World Cup final.

"The favourites and reigning champions had, though, been seriously rattled by the South Africans, whose physicality at the breakdown, powerful driving maul and scrummage had caused huge problems."

The Times reported that the All Blacks' victory was delivered on the back of "a commanding second half performance".

"South Africa did not have enough field position to build any consistent pressure and they wasted two attacking opportunities as New Zealand closed out the game expertly at the death," The Times said.

They also noted how close the game was and pointed out a crucial moment that ultimately proved hugely costly.

"The difference on the scoreboard was the re-taken conversion that Dan Carter was granted after Bryan Habana had prematurely charged him down as he lined up the kick following Jerome Kaino's try. Carter missed the first effort but landed the second."

Respected South African rugby writer Gavin Rich was generous in defeat.

"The All Blacks overcame the levelling effect of the wet weather and a determined Springbok defensive effort to take what looked like an inexorable step towards a third World Cup title," Rich wrote for Supersport.com.

"Make no mistake, the New Zealanders deserved to win. They scored two tries to nil, they won virtually all the statistical counts that are meaningful with the exception of the penalties, and camped for most of the match deep in South African territory. They also won the big points, and four crucial steals at lineout time helped them prevent the Boks from exerting the sustained pressure that was needed.

"However, the jubilation and clear sense of relief with which the All Blacks greeted the final whistle told the story of how nervous the Boks made them when they simply refused to go away and were still in with a chance of winning the game in the final five minutes."

South African website Sport24 lamented the Springboks' lack of flair.

"It was a nail-biting encounter contested in wet conditions, but two tries from the Kiwis proved the difference in an intensely physical encounter. The All Blacks deserve plaudits for taking the game to the Boks, and in the end made 398m on attack compared to a meagre 146m from South Africa," noted writer Herman Mostert.

"As predicted, the Boks stood up physically, but their lack of invention on attack ultimately again proved their undoing."

The Australian media, waiting to see if the Wallabies can get past the Pumas in Monday's semifinal to join the All Blacks in the title match, lauded the tight Twickenham affair.

"The hype around this first World Cup matchup in 12 years between the teams that have combined to win four titles was exceeded as they wrestled in an atmosphere thick with tension," Fox Sports reported.

"Despite both teams enjoying advantages in key areas, they managed to cancel out each other's edge.

"The All Blacks enjoyed a majority of possession and territory, but the Springboks tackled to a standstill.

"The All Blacks scored two tries, but their ill-discipline gave the Springboks six kicked penalties.

"The All Blacks stole four lineouts, but the Springboks earned a scrum tight-head and vital scrum penalties."

The Sydney Morning Herald felt "New Zealand pushed through one of their sloppier first half performances and a halftime deficit to take the match.

"The usually clinical All Blacks gave away penalty after penalty.

"But it was a battle of two rugby heavyweights, despite the errors, and the winner of the second semifinal will have no easy task preparing to stop Steve Hansen's experienced side."

- Stuff

2015-11-26T23:31:00.002+11:00

Zinzan Brooke: All Blacks will keep getting better

Even when Australia rallied to come back into the game at 21-17, I was looking at their body language and they looked spent. There were situations where they were committing six or seven players to a ruck to deal with one All Black while the rest of New Zealand are spread out in a defensive line.

Some of that is to do with the brutal path that Australia have had to take to reach the final. To take on England, Wales, Scotland and Argentina in consecutive weeks was a mighty tall order. They deserve all our respect and admiration to fight the way they did.

You could see from the opening kick-off what New Zealand's intention was when Kieran Read smashed Israel Folau. A couple of phases later Conrad Smith did the same to Michael Hooper. It set the tone straight away. This is the intensity we are going to deliver.

It is not just physical pressure that the All Blacks exert. They do not give you any outs, any leeway. Every line-out, every kick-off, every breakdown is contested. It is an enveloping, suffocating pressure. Some teams can live with that for 50-60 minutes but rarely the full 80. That is why they pull away in that last quarter. It also helps that you have the experience of Dan Carter and Richie McCaw to call upon in those tight situations. When others are slipping because of physical and mental exhaustion, they raise their game.

ALL BLACK GREATS

All those guys who are moving on like Dan, Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Tony Woodcock, Keven Mealamu and in all probability Richie will go down as All Black greats. I think in years to come, people will talk of the privilege of watching them live. Certainly, I count myself blessed to have been at Twickenham on Saturday to see their last games.

I feel uneasy with conversations about who is the greatest or what an all-time All Black XV would look like. First of all, it is difficult to compare different eras seeing as how much the game has evolved. More importantly, it goes against the grain of being an All Black to put one guy above another. The collective has always come first.

It is almost paradoxical but to become a great All Black you have to forget about your individual needs and desires. That is why I think it is unfair to compare Richie McCaw with say Josh Kronfeld. They are part of the same club.

That is why I was so impressed by the way Richie has delayed his decision about his retirement to stop making last week all about him. He has taken control of the situation and will make his decision on his own terms.

NO ONE IRREPLACEABLE

It goes without saying that the All Blacks are going to miss those guys. It is almost 700 caps worth of experience they will be losing, however in New Zealand you learn that no one, including Dan or Richie, is irreplaceable. The same conversations happened after Tana Umaga and Michael Jones retired, but they were replaced. Someone always comes along.

That is because the conveyor belt is always creating new superstars. I watched a lot of ITM Cup rugby and there were some ridiculous talent waiting to come through. Akira Iaone, the Auckland No.8, will be pushing Kieran Read for his shirt very soon. Ardie Savea, the brother of Julian, is also an openside with a huge future.

Steve Hansen has also planned for this moment. Sam Cane, who would be a starter for most other teams, has been groomed in Richie's shadow for the past three years. He is a part of their leadership group and will be ready to step up if he holds off the likes of Savea. Likewise, Beauden Barrett and Malakai Fekitoa have learnt the ropes from Carter and Nonu.

That is why people expecting New Zealand to dip will be disappointed. Just as the crossbar was raised after 2011 so Hansen and his other coaches will raise it again in 2016. Crucially, they can still call upon the power of the shirt.

All teams have pride in representing their country, but in New Zealand it means something more to pull on an All Black jersey. The expectation of wearing the black jersey places a significant value, meaning and responsibility for you as a player and for us as nation. When the All Blacks lose, it is not just the 23 players who hurt but the whole country.

For most New Zealanders it is not whether the All Blacks win or lose but how much they beat the other team by. That expectation would crush other teams but it lifts the All Blacks. So whoever eventually fills Richie's and Dan's shoes will be expected to live up to their standards straight away. The kings are dead, long live the kings.

- The Telegraph, London

2015-11-26T23:13:00.001+11:00

ALL Blacks World Champions Again

Four years of absolute All Blacks dominance of world rugby was capped with the retention of the Rugby World Cup in a captivating 34-17 win over Australia at Twickenham on Sunday NZ time.

They scored three tries to two and overcame a loss of momentum midway through the second half to become the first side to win the Webb Ellis Trophy three times.

All the preparation, and exposure of players, during coach Steve Hansen's reign was brought to bear on an Australian team which had only 12 months in which to organise themselves from the rabble they had become.

The Australians tried hard but the expertise developed by New Zealand paid reward with replacement back Beauden Barrett scoring the try which put it beyond all doubt with a length of the field run.

Australia had come back in the second half with two tries to get within four points, but a dropped goal by Dan Carter, the man of the match and player of a lifetime, with 11 minutes remaining gave New Zealand the space to push on. He landed a 49m penalty goal to push beyond the seven-point mark and finished with a right-footed conversion of Barrett's try for 19 points.

Then a turnover as Australia threw everything at them saw fullback Ben Smith, who had moved to the wing, kick the ball to wide open spaces and that allowed Barrett to apply the after-burners to out-pace the defence, see the ball sit up after he toed it ahead, and he was over for the try.

It was a fitting finale for Carter, but around the field throughout the game captain Richie McCaw met the expected challenge from Australia at the breakdown in his usual manner by unleashing an outstanding display of leadership to cap his career.

Up 16-3 at the half-time break, New Zealand replaced centre Conrad Smith with Sonny Bill Williams who made an immediate impact. After New Zealand turned over early Australian ball, Williams made ground and produced a superb off-load for Nehe Milner-Skudder. Then from the ruck Williams provided more ball, and second five-eighths Ma'a Nonu found the slightest gap and headed off on an angled run, stepped replacement Kurtley Beale and then set sail for the goal-line to score in wing Drew Mitchell's tackle and put the fullstop on his own brilliant career.

Two runs by Mitchell and Beale gave Australia attacking impetus for the first time in the game. In attempting to hold Australia out, fullback Ben Smith was ruled to have lifted Mitchell beyond the horizontal and was sin-binned. From the penalty it was No.8 David Pocock who was over on the back of a maul.

New Zealand failed to cover ball after Williams made a sideline break into the Wallabies 22m area and two kicks, one long and a short one into the box by halfback Will Genia made good use of Smith's absence and the ball was secured on the bounce by first five-eighths Bernard Foley with centre Tevita Kuridrani going in.

But Carter steadied the ship, New Zealand regained their composure and the pressure was applied to the Australians whose mistakes ensured the All Blacks finished the stronger.

New Zealand attacked at every chance throughout the first half, and while there were errors in that approach, they were undaunted and as the minutes ticked down the gaps began to appear.

The chance came after 38 minutes when a fine lineout drive by flanker Jerome Kaino set in motion a flowing movement which featured strong runs from lock Brodie Retallick and hooker Dane Coles. But at the crunch end the class of the All Blacks was seen as halfback Aaron Smith doubled around centre Conrad Smith, who moved infield, and then found McCaw. He drew the defence perfectly and provided wing Nehe Milner-Skudder with enough space to get over unchallenged in the corner.

It was a tough opening quarter with bodies lying everywhere, fortunately for New Zealand the attrition rate was nil with No.8 Kieran Read needing to have an ankle taped after landing badly from an early lineout take. Australian prop Sekope Kepu made two marginal tackles, was penalised for both, the second of which winded Carter.

Australia lost lock Kane Douglas after 14 minutes when he fell badly after securing a New Zealand re-start. Then later in the half second five-eighths Matt Giteau was concussed when attempting a tackle on Brodie Retallick.

But powerful from the outset, New Zealand marked the severity of the occasion with some emphatic first-up tackles with flanker Jerome Kaino and Nonu making some impressive statements.

Mistakes were more noticeable from Australia who were reeling at stages. Halfback Will Genia made two key mistakes, getting off-side at a ruck which Carter scored from, and in having a ruck clearance charged down.

New Zealand brought wing Julian Savea into play as often as possible with some strong running off short passes.

Scorers: New Zealand 34 (Nehe Milner-Skudder, Ma'a Nonu, Beauden Barrett tries; Dan Carter 2 con, 4 pen, dropped goal) Australia 17 (David Pocock, Tevita Kuridrani tries; Bernard Foley 2 con, pen). HT: 16-3

Ten magnificent moments: NewZealand vFrance

2015-11-26T23:00:00.000+11:00

ALLBLACKS.COM 18 OCT 2015 GETTY IMAGES

The intensity went up several notches as the All Blacks recorded the biggest ever Rugby World Cup knockout phase victory with a sublime 62-13 drubbing of France in Cardiff.

It was clear from the outset the All Blacks were intent on burying any Millennium Stadium demons and booking a semi-final showdown with South Africa at Twickenham. Ruthless and clinical across the park, the rampant All Blacks crossed for nine tries against a shell-shocked French side. Check out ten magnificent moments from #NZLvFRA

Brilliant Brodie

With the score locked up at 3-3, Brodie Retallick broke the early deadlock by charging down a Fredrick Michalak clearing kick. With no one in front, the towering lock gathered the bounce to run in for the first try. In a double blow for France, Michalak left the field with a hamstring injury to leave France without their key pivot.

Hurricanes combine
In a moment reminiscent of the Hurricanes blazing Super Rugby form, Conrad Smith and Ma’a Nonu united in midfield to draw three French defenders and put Nehe Milner-Skudder into space. From there it was a magical finish for the Manawatu speedster as he effortlessly stepped a French defender and ran away for his fifth Rugby World Cup try.

Carter creates
Dan Carter unleashed his bag of tricks as the All Blacks swung onto attack in the 28th minute. Running onto the ball at speed, Carter dummied and fended his way through a half gap before flicking a reverse pass to Julian Savea to coast in for the All Blacks third try.

Shades of Lomu

In a try that started with a piece of acrobatic brilliance from Ben Smith to regain a high ball, Savea was unleashed at pace down the side line. With three defenders between Savea and the try line, the giant wing bumped off all three in a try that brought back memories of Jonah Lomu’s blockbusting form at the 1995 Rugby World Cup. The try also brought up New Zealand’s 300th Rugby World Cup try.

Stretching the defence
With inspirational number eight Louis Picamoles off the field for a yellow card infringement, the All Blacks were clinical and patient in stretching the French defence from side to side before Jerome Kaino went over in the corner to extend the lead to 34-13 in the 49th minute.

Savea equals record
Dane Coles stymied a period of sustained French attack by ripping the ball loose from a French runner. Dan Carter was quick to pounce on the loose ball and shift to Savea who contrasted his previous bulldozing try with one that was all about pure pace. It was Savea’s third try in the match and eighth at the tournament – equalling the record of Bryan Habana and Jonah Lomu for eight tries at a World Cup.

Fabulous Faumuina
With the score at 41-13 in the 65th minute, replacement prop Charlie Faumuina encapsulated the All Blacks dynamic game plan by bursting through a gap and offloading perfectly to Kieran Read to run in the All Blacks seventh try. Dan Carter added the extras to extend the lead to an imposing 48-13.

Offload heaven

The All Blacks brought up 50 points courtesy of two spectacular off loads from Sonny Bill Williams and Ma’a Nonu. First in on the action was SBW with a trademark off load to Nonu who repeated the dose for replacement halfback Tawera Kerr-Barlow to score under the posts.

TKB double
With the All Blacks piercing the line at will, replacement prop Joe Moody found a gap and produced the off load of the game to Kerr-Barlow. The Chiefs halfback ran in his second try after just seven minutes on the field. In doing so he became the first ever replacement player to score two tries in a World Cup knockout match.

Almost Nonu

Just like he had done for his 100th test against Tonga, Ma’a Nonu produced another master performance and left his best play for the end. With time almost up on the clock, Nonu spied a gap and put the foot down. Showing incredible pace, Nonu dived for the line only to have the ball knocked free from his hands by the cover defence.

Force of Black

2015-11-24T22:51:00.000+11:00

Interactive: 100 years of All Blacks dominance

By Dylan Cleaver. Data analysis by Harkanwal Singh

6:00 PM Tuesday Sep 22, 2015

The All Blacks have won 197 tests and lost just 37 during the professional era. Photo / Getty Images

The most phenomenal achievement of the All Blacks has been to maintain their primacy once the game went professional.

Conventional wisdom of the day went something like this: the All Blacks were, in terms of attitude and preparation, a professional team in an amateur era and once the game went fully professional, the rest of the world would quickly catch up.

"It was something I can distinctly remember talking about with the guys," said Justin Marshall, All Black halfback from 1995, the last year of amateurism, to 2005. "It was a genuine concern.

"Here we had this provincial championship that was the envy of the world, and we were diluting that to play Super 12, where the South Africans and Australians would be exposed to the skills and habits of our best players on a weekly basis."

"We thought the gap would close very quickly."

For a while it looked as though that prophecy might turn out to be true. Australia enjoyed a golden age during what we might call the John Eales era, and it took until 2011 for the All Blacks to win a World Cup in the professional era.

But the All Blacks test record has remained largely unimpeachable since 1996, despite more riches available in France and England in particular.

New Zealand rugby cannot compete on price with clubs in England, France, Ireland and Japan, but through strict eligibility clauses and clever harvesting of the All Black "legacy" they have managed to retain most of their best players and keep winning. Their record hit perfect status in 2013, with 14 tests and 14 wins.

In the amateur era, the All Blacks won 71.2 per cent of their tests, while drawing a surprisingly high 5.1 per cent of tests.

This is an outstanding record, obviously, but you could also argue that rugby meant more to the national psyche of New Zealand than any other team they encountered outside South Africa. That passion and unstinting dedication to the sport meant New Zealanders were more innovative and 'professional' than their opponents.

In 1995, rugby was undergoing seismic shifts. The World Cup in South Africa was a unifying, uplifting tournament and in Jonah Lomu rugby had its first truly global superstar.

Pay TV services, such as Sky, were aggressively pushing into new markets and sport was the common battleground.

Kerry Packer didn't have rugby and he wanted it, much like he wanted cricket in the late-70s. Ross Turnbull was sent out as Packer's envoy and he very formed a breakaway to match that of the original World Series Cricket. Popular legend would have it that the late Jock Hobbs managed to talk the All Blacks' two brightest stars - Josh Kronfeld and Jeff Wilson - into staying loyal to the then NZRFU and the proposed World Rugby Corporation folded in on itself from there.

Establishment-back rugby was instead sold to Rupert Murdoch and pals, turned professional and became what could be known as the test-match age. Tours, the likes of which made the All Blacks, Springboks and lions famous, were effectively over and instead hemispherical tournaments took precedence.

A tour to or from the Springboks was once an almost mystical - or in the case of 1981, hysterical - experience, New Zealand now found themselves in the Republic more times than they would ever care to wish.

South Africa is an interesting case in point. By far and away New Zealand's toughest 'amateur' opponent, the All Blacks' post-professional record against South Africa has improved.

John Kirwan fends off Jeremy Guscott as the All Blacks face the British and Irish Lions in Wellington in 1993.

Before 1996, New Zealand and South Africa met 42 times: the Boks won 21 of those tests with three drawn. They have played 48 times since 1996 with the All Blacks winning 34 times and no draws.

So the All Blacks have won 52 times in 90 tests - a very good record against our traditional arch-rivals and one that has only got better since rugby went professional.

In fact, it is indicative of New Zealand's professional record as a whole.

That is a win percentage of 83.1 per cent in the professional era, more than 12 points better than their amateur record. Even accounting for the fact that World Cups mean you face more minnows in the modern era than you did in the past, it is a stunning result.

As you can see by the final table below, the All Blacks professional pre-eminence has lifted the overall win percentage to a tick under 77 per cent.

The obvious question is, why? Why hasn't the advent of professionalism raised the bar uniformly among rugby's test-playing elite. Why hasn't New Zealand's inability to match the amount of money in bigger markets hurt them. We are not, it should be noted, in professional rugby's infancy any longer.

The answer is elusive, but there are some sound theories.

Money only gets you a stake at the table. It's what you do with it that counts. In other words, the English and French leagues might be awash with pounds and euros, but is that money actually helping the national side? It's just as likely to be lining the pockets of second-tier international players than assisting England or Les Bleus get better.

Second, professionalism does not take into account the intangibles.

To use a loose example: Scotland's players are just as professional as the All Blacks now in most respects. They train hard and have access to the latest sports science theories and practices. They should not, theoretically, be any more tired in the final 20 minutes of a test than the All Blacks.

They also have access to top quality coaching so, in those realms of rugby that remain technically driven and largely static - that is to say, the set pieces - they should be as strong and close to as proficient.

The All Blacks celebrate winning the Bledisloe Cup in 1988.

But you'd back the All Blacks to beat Scotland every time. Why? Because they have players that can win you games through a piece of brilliance; Scotland don't.

"It wasn't until I played overseas that I realised the true advantage New Zealand has," Marshall said. "It's our forwards: their ball skills, intelligence, speed at which they play and the way they read the game is miles ahead of anywhere else.

"Yes, South Africa are physical, but they still try to run over you. I look at somebody like Schalk Burger and it's really only in the past few years that he has tried to add ball-playing to his tremendous physical assets.

"England haven't caught up yet and probably won't for a while to come."

In terms of France and England, Marshall believes the promotion-relegation element of their top leagues work against the ideals of open, running rugby. As soon as a couple of games are lost, coaches go into their shells and revert to low-risk rugby, which stifles innovation and ball-playing.

"Speed, power, endurance - New Zealand forwards are probably no stronger here and might even be a little weaker, than some teams. We're just more skillful than the rest."

- NZ Herald

2015-11-24T21:38:00.001+11:00

Six star turns: New Zealand v Georgia

Naholo has arrived

It took just 72 seconds for Waisake Naholo to make a splash on his Rugby World Cup debut. Following clean line out ball on the half way line, Naholo’s timing was perfect as Dan Carter put him into space. Showing scintillating speed, he beat the mid-field defence before pushing away the final defender to dot down for the quickest try of the tournament so far.

Georgia strike back

In a frenetic opening five minutes, Georgia struck back when a loose All Blacks carry was scooped up by Georgia and eventually towed through by fullback Beka Tsiklauri. Displaying some fancy football skills, the Georgian fullback chipped the ball again as Dan Carter and Waisake Naholo made a despairing dive to shut the play down. With only Brodie Retallick in pursuit, Tsiklauri got the bounce to scoot in for a great opportunist try.

Forwards playing as backs

The All Blacks flexed their ball-playing muscle with their fourth try in the 21st minute. With forwards lined up in the back line, Kieran Read showed the vision of a first-five to skip the ball long to captain Richie McCaw. Playing like a seasoned second-five, McCaw stepped inside to draw three defenders and slip a pass to Dane Coles to finish the movement in the corner like a flying wing.

Georgian defence

Although the All Blacks crossed for seven tries, the Georgian defence was strong throughout and forced the All Blacks into making handling errors and disrupted set-plays. Led by giant captain Mamuka Gorgodze, Georgia were ferocious in the contact area and up fast on the All Blacks back line. One of the tackles which typified the Georgia defence was when first-five Lasha Malaguradze rushed off the line to put a big shot on Ben Smith and stop a certain over-lap try out wide.

Captain courageous

When Richie McCaw left the field in the 60th minute, the Millennium Stadium crowd rose to its feet and clapped the All Blacks legend to the side line. Even though the All Blacks hadn’t dominated like many would have expected them to do, the crowd realised the inspirational performance of the All Blacks skipper. Prominent with ball in hand, constantly threatening at the break down and a lion on defence, McCaw showed once again why he is one of the greats of the world game.

A hat trick for Savea

Blockbusting wing Julian Savea blazed to the top of the world cup try-scoring charts with three tries to take his overall tournament tally to five. In a worrying sign for opposition defensive coaches, it’s safe to say that Savea has found his try-scoring touch after a slow start to 2015 by his prolific standards. While his finishing was sound, the ‘Bus’ also went looking for work throughout and will be looking to add to his tally as the tournament approaches the knockout stages.

2015-08-02T17:04:00.001+10:00

LYNN MCCONNELL 25 JUL 2015 GETTY IMAGES

'A variation on an old song', was coach Steve Hansen's description of the lineout move that produced a match-winning try for captain Richie McCaw in the 27-20 Investec Rugby Championship win over South Africa in Johannesburg on Saturday.

The try, scored with seven minutes of the game remaining, had seen the All Blacks open up a gap in the middle of their lineout through which McCaw poured to score.

"We practised it all week…and it was good enough to get the job done," Hansen told SKYSport.

He had been proud of the 'ticker' the players showed, but he wasn't happy with parts of the game but mental fortitude in the second half got the side over the line.

South Africa were the No.2 team in the world, a good team, and for long periods of the game they dominated New Zealand, Hansen said.

The last few games between the sides had been massive and if they were both good enough to get past the quarter-finals they could meet in a World Cup semi-final which would be another big game, he said.

"Our blokes showed a lot of fortitude. At halftime at 10-10 we didn't deserve to be in the game. Frankly we played poorly, we got dominated but they came out in the second half and really showed a lot of character and started to put things together and scored some nice tries.

"That's what you get when you believe in yourself I guess," he said.

Hansen said the side were still a little rusty. Some new material had been introduced to the game plan but that wasn't quite right and was reflected in the first-half turnovers.

"We were worrying about the second job rather than the first. We'll tidy that up and improve a lot," he said.

Lima Sopoaga had rewarded the faith of the selectors, he had kicked goals when he needed to.

"He'll grow arms and legs out of the performance and we're in a tough situation – we've got four very good five-eighths and another one injured so we'll have to make some tough decisions," he said.

Captain Richie McCaw said he called rank when the winning lineout move was discussed earlier in the week.

But the side had struggled during the first half when beaten to the punch in the contact area. However, they worked their way back into the game and after some vital moments on defence they had survived and then secured points when they escaped South Africa's hold.

"We hadn't been down their end for a long time and you just have to feel what is happening during the game. We defended for a while then we got back down the other end and you put them under pressure that can be the turning so that was what happened," he said.

"What a wonderful place to play against the old foe in South Africa, that's the way Test footie is meant to be so [I'm] just pleased to have a good memory from today," he said.

McCaw was impressed with debutant Lima Sopoaga. He kept his cool under pressure, especially during the first half, and he looked like he had been playing for a while, he said.

Sopoaga said it had been unbelievable to run out onto such a great stadium amid a sea of green [supporters] and all there was in support was his team-mates.

"It was just so awesome and I can't be happier right now and yeah, pretty stoked for the lads," he said.

While he had been naturally nervous ahead of the game, he was also excited by the opportunity and all he had done was his job, and he had the support of the side all through the week ahead of the game.

"It's a tough place to come, but when you win you always remember these moments for the rest of your life," he said.

"We knew it was going to take an 80-minute performance and slowly we just had to break them down and break them down and eventually we got the win."

2015-07-21T18:57:00.001+10:00

New Zealand All Blacks' depth envied the world over

Imposing: New Zealand's All Blacks perform the haka to Argentina before their Rugby Championship match at AMI Stadium in Christchurch. Photo: Reuters

I was asked recently whether back-to-back World Cup wins could be on the cards for the All Blacks. The follow-up question was a cracker. They have an ageing team, do you think they will have the legs through to the end of October?

My response drew immediate laughter, because if you ever underestimate a champion team it will bite you where the sun don't shine.

To answer the first question, yes, but then you throw in the variables.

A back-to-back result has never been achieved. Then there are the anomalies on the way – shock losses, pivotal injuries, even stage fright – that can all see dreams fade away.

To answer the second question: old legs? Maybe, but what they do have is an abundance of talent.

Just look at the Test against the Pumas; a trio of Smiths didn't take the field on Friday night nor did Julian Savea.

Now, I have to ask are any other teams going around in world rugby that strategically omit star players and still put an impressive outfit on the park. The answer to that is no.

That coach would feel the wrath of the public and inevitably be making his own noose.

Mind you, there are four players with more than 100 Test caps and one in the 90s. Now there is some direction.

Yet the personnel that you bring in sometimes not only has parity with those before mentioned players but could well be perceived as a stronger combination, and sometimes a different skill set. Ma'a Nonu and Sonny Bill Williams in the centres scare off just about any opposition, but I'm sure Conrad Smith sits comfortably on the sideline watching these guys run around.

I think the incredible legacy this team has is that no player is bigger than the jumper, so that when the coach rotates positions, it is taken with a grain of salt. There seems to be a bigger picture of what will benefit the group.

It shows that these players are by no means expendable but more so invaluable to the team because of their belief in the system and within themselves.

That is a luxury that the Wallabies don't have right now and so too just about every other team in world rugby. Everyone is striving to find their best XV.

So what do you take out of the AllBlacks victory on Friday night.

Patience would have to be the first point. The score was 11-6 just before half-time and I bet Argentina would have thought if they can just get into the sheds five points down that would be great. But a Nonu try dashed those hopes.

Then there is the old call of points before half-time and just after and why they are so crucial.

The 42nd minute saw Charles Piutau dot down and six minutes later veteran Keiran Read crosses the strip ... game over for the Pumas. With that patience comes experience.

As I said, there were four centurions in this side and every bit of their nous gets drawn on at crucial moments.

Yet it's about getting opportunities for those who are racking up the numbers, remembering that here is a team littered with World Cup winners.

So in theory the opening game of the Rugby Championship was in fact just a tough hitout rather than the edge-of-your-seat thriller.

The All Blacks, however, were pushed at times especially in the scrum, but we knew that. Argentina crossed the line twice, so it does show that their defence is penetrable. You just have to find the way to get there as there are no easy options.

The second point is their ability to increase the tempo of the game. It has long been a trait of the men in black. I experienced it, as did teams before me and this current crop will cop the same pressure. Sometimes there is no way of stopping the beast.

What the game did show with the omission of Aaron Smith and Savea is their importance to the team. Smith is the power button. He ignites the attack and drives the forwards.

His passing speed gets the momentum going. He is the key to this team. If you have any chance of shutting down the All Blacks, limiting the impact of his game is paramount. Easier said than done.

The other is Savea. His running ability is setting new standards inrugby.

His carries are so effective, dominating the contact area and he has an innate ability to get across the chalk. Combine this with Aaron Smith and there are strong influences close to the ruck and on the width. He is formidable in every way.

2015-07-21T18:22:00.000+10:00

New Zealand All Blacks cruise to victory over Argentina Pumas

New Zealand 39 Argentina 18

All Blacks record 37th straight victory on home soil

The All Blacks have sent a message in the first round of the Rugby Championship with a comfortable 39-18 win over Argentina in Christchurch.

Given the circumstances, no one's jaw sagged when the All Blacks overwhelmed Argentina 39-18 in Christchurch on Friday night.

The All Blacks weren't perfect – they are sure to look over their defensive structures after Argentina captain and hooker Agustin Creevy scored two tries from lineout drives in the second half – but there would have been a high-level of satisfaction about the way they allowed Richie McCaw and Dan Carter to farewell AMI Stadium as winners.

Try time: Charles Piutau scores a try against Argentina in Christchurch. Photo: Reuter

The New Zealanders collected five tries, one to McCaw himself, and even replacement hooker Codie Taylor – having minutes earlier had a try disallowed – got into celebration mode by scoring a five-pointer on Test debut

But with all due respect to Taylor, or anyone else on the park, this wasn't about them. It was all about sending McCaw and Carter out on a top note.

No, it wasn't that but for long periods it was pretty close. A messy period mid-way through the second half resulted in the All Blacks losing their momentum, and that was when Creevy scored his tries, yet they regathered their thoughts and dominated the final 17 minutes to wrap up the result.

One of the major highlights was the way rookie wing Waisake Naholo, before he limped off in the second half, proved he could look so comfortable at this level; he went close to scoring a try, took the high ball well and ran with supreme confidence.

Fullback Israel Dagg, especially in the first spell, showed glimpses of his raw talent too – a warning he shouldn't be wiped out from World Cup contention.

The scrum was OK but All Blacks forwards boss Mike Cron will seek improvements before his pack meet the Springboks in Johannesburg next weekend.

A script writer penning a storyline about McCaw's final outing in the Garden City would have wanted to avoid making it too corny, but the man himself was determined to make that task as difficult as possible.

The iconic flanker burst over in the first half when a sweetly timed lineout move off a Jerome Kaino delivery empowered him to charge over – with some assistance by Kieran Read – for his 27th Test try.

Not surprisingly the 17,500-strong crowd had no hesitation in jumping to their feet – and to hell with any spilled beers or split pies – to shout their approval.

The midfield combination of Sonny Bill Williams and Ma'a Nonu was reasonably slick in the first half, yet it was their individual touches that made them stand-out. The giant SBW was something of a slow-burner for the Chiefs this year, no doubt a byproduct of a back injury, but he sparked up in the Canterbury chill by galloping hard at the line and issuing those trademark one-handed offloads.

Nonu spilled an early ball, and maybe that was a reflection of the dew, before slowly ratcheting up his game to the point where he was unstoppable during a short burst to the line.

That summed-up the tourists' night. They huffed and puffed for the first 30 minutes, but being forced to defend for such lengthy periods eventually took a terrible toll as they simply looked like they were trying to play out the clock.

Flankers Juan Manuel Leguizamon and Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe kept chipping away at the coal face, and hooker Creevy threw himself about but eventually they had few answers on attack.

All Blacks 39 (Richie McCaw, Ma'a Nonu, Charles Piutau, Kieran Read, Codie Taylor tries; Dan Carter 4 con, 2 pen) Argentina 18 (Agustin Creevy 2 tries; Nicolas Sanchez con, 2 pen). HT: 18-6.

First Take: The great escape

2014-10-18T23:45:00.000+11:00

Wynne Gray

Wynne Gray is a Herald columnist

11:55 PM Sunday Oct 19, 2014

Dane Coles scores a try. Bledisloe Cup. Australian Wallabies v New Zealand All Blacks. Photo / Andrew Cornaga.

All Blacks 29
Australia 28

The All Blacks travelled early to Brisbane to give themselves every chance of being ready for last night's test.

They wanted to deal with the three hour time difference and get acclimatized to the humid conditions in that city which have numbed their performances in the last few visits.

The plan looked to be working in the first 10 minutes as the All Blacks pounded through an array of attacks and it seemed just a matter of time before the Wallaby resistance would crumble.

However they were up for this Breathless in Brisbane rumble and when they got some possession they had no thoughts of kicking for territory, they attacked across the park.

That ambition gave them the opening try to Nick Phipps and the last of the half to Bernard Foley as both players nipped over from short range when the All Black defences fell away. It was not the only time the tourists lost their shape on defence with too many individuals dropping off tackles.

Pressure also got them at the breakdown where referee Craig Joubert warned Richie McCaw that the next team foul would have someone in the bin.

Sandwiched between two try concessions, the All Blacks worked their moves to squeeze Cory Jane in at the corner and Dane Coles across on the other flank.

They had the Wallabies measure at the scrum and were making them work extra hard at the lineout but the Wallabies, who had been under immense pressure all week after successive defeats and team unity ructions, were in an irrepressible attacking mindset across the park.

Those attacks were giving the All Black defenders some serious problems and they were lagging 12-15 at the break. Not long after the Wallabies extended that margin through some marvellous teamwork.

James Slipper, Tevita Kurinfrani and Israel Folau broke tackles and made the metres to create a huge overlap on the blindside for Adam Ashley-Cooper to score in his 100th test.

The halftime hillock for the All Blacks was morphing into a mountain.

Would they be able to lift the pace and trample the Wallabies in the last 30 minutes or were the Wallabies the equal of their trans-Tasman rivals in this frenetic test of endurance and skills under pressure?

The All Blacks blinked under the pressure when replacement lock Patrick Tuipulotu took out his opposite in the air at a restart and went to the bin. Steve Hansen rolled the dice and brought Sam Cane on to help the energy levels.

They stayed in the scrap, Aaron Smith danced to a try from a quick tap, Malakai Fekitoa muscled across in the last minute with Colin Slade's conversion to decide the test. It was straight and true: a great escape once again.

- NZ Herald

Last minute win for All Blacks

2014-10-18T23:40:00.001+11:00

Gregor Paul

Gregor Paul is the Herald on Sunday's rugby writer

11:55 PM Saturday Oct 18, 2014

Save

Cory Jane scores a try. Photo: Andrew Cornaga.

All Blacks 29
Wallabies 28

These All Blacks simply don't know when they are beaten. This was Dublin all over again. Maybe it was even braver because the opposition were better and had given them nothing all night.

They had to pull the rabbit out of the hat when it looked like they surely couldn't. And then, fourth-choice first-five, Colin Slade had to nail a tough conversation. What a kick.

What a game and the All Blacks can wake up this morning and be proud of their courage and commitment. They can look at themselves in the mirror and smile because they know they have once again dodged a bullet.

First Take: The great escape

They will know they inflicted the cruellest blow on a Wallaby team that was probably the better side over the piece. They will know they didn't play anywhere near well enough.

Their skill execution was again poor. They didn't dominate up front and were cleaned up at the tackled ball... and yet they won.

The uplift in skill execution they were after never materialised and, if they are honest, they will know they played with a level of predictability that failed to cause the Wallabies defence enough problems.

The All Blacks talk endlessly, and rightly, about trusting and encouraging their skills. The ambition is beyond fault but there is a balance to strike.

When they carved up the Wallabies at Eden Park, they didn't do it from running deep inside their own territory.

There was more patience and structure to their work. They took the time to blunt the Wallabies first - let them know they didn't have it physically, before then showing them they didn't have it aerobically either.

The modern parlance is to say the All Blacks earned the right to play their wide-wide game and somehow that notion of paying dues has gotten a little lost in the last two tests.

It was the same at Ellis Park, where the All Blacks' preferred exit strategy from kick receipts was to recycle off a forward hitting up and then shifting wide.

That composure and control has gone missing from their game. They have sacrificed accuracy for speed and paid the price. Their execution was largely poor in most facets.

Their biggest worry is the breakdown, where they were again dominated. They couldn't get that quick ball, couldn't wipe out the Wallabies and clean that space for Aaron Smith to whip the ball away.

Without that fast ball, they are not the same team and needed to adapt quicker than they did to play more to their strengths and less to the Wallabies'. It was only in the final 10 minutes that they worked a lineout drive - a tactic that was so effective for them the last time they met the Wallabies.

Still, they got there in the end and they got there against an Australian team that bore no resemblance to the shambles they appeared to be during the week.

It didn't take long to get the answer as to whether the week from hell had split or galvanised the Wallabies. Being under siege suited them rather well, as it happened, and stiffened their resolve to play with what once upon a time, in a more innocent age, would have been known as gay abandon.

The frenetic pace of the game was as much to do with their adventure as it was the All Blacks' and, for the first 60 minutes at least, they looked the more comfortable.

They had obviously watched the way the Springboks had managed to attack the All Blacks at the tackled ball and did pretty well either halting momentum, winning possession or earning a penalty.

They must wonder why they can't deliver that sort of aggression more often, why can't they play with such fervour and purpose every time.

Australia 28 (N. Phipps, B. Foley, A. Ashley-Cooper tries; B. Foley 2 cons, pen, White pen) New Zealand 29 (C. Jane, D. Coles, A. Smith, M. Fekitoa tries; B. Barrett pen, 2 cons; C. Slade con). Halftime: 15-12.

10 things the All Blacks need to do to win World Cup

2014-10-18T23:32:00.003+11:00

Gregor Paul

Gregor Paul is the Herald on Sunday's rugby writer

12:45 PM Saturday Oct 18, 2014

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The coaching staff don't doubt he'll come right physically and be the player he's always been. Photo / Getty Images

The All Blacks have 10 tests before they head to England to defend the World Cup. Gregor Paul of the Herald on Sunday looks at what they need to achieve.

1 Get Carter

The options at first-five are building for the All Blacks. They have a world class operator in Aaron Cruden, an emerging force in Beauden Barrett and a handy enough emergency choice in Colin Slade. But the one they want most is a fully fit Daniel Carter and the clock is ticking on that front.

Carter is only a maybe to actually play on the tour and that's a concern - not for his individual form. The coaching staff don't doubt he'll come right physically and be the player he's always been.

But they want him to be back in the groove of running the All Black game plan. They need him to be familiar with the overall strategies and comfortable calling the shots.
If he can't play on the tour, he'll be down to five tests next year to familiarise himself and to a lesser extent, have his teammates get used to him.

2 Drive through

You don't need to be Nostradamus to see that on the softer grounds of England and with the pressure of knock-out rugby, the driving maul is going to be a big part of next year's World Cup.

The English, French and South Africans love a bit of mauling and would back themselves to score nine times out 10 from a short-range attacking lineout.

That's where the All Blacks need to get to. When they played Australia at Eden Park, they scored two identical tries from driving mauls. But that was against Australia. They need to become that effective against top quality packs.

3 Clash of the titans

On one level the All Blacks will relish having access to Sonny Bill Williams and Ma'a Nonu. But they are big personalities and it may not be easy to balance their game time and keep them both happy. Nonu has been an All Black regular since 2008 and given his soul to the team.

He was hurt in 2010 when he was dropped for the final game of the year. He'd done so much while Williams had barely been around for five minutes. How would Nonu feel if history repeats?Or, what if Williams can't force his way into the No 12 jersey and spends another World Cup on the periphery as he did in 2011? Can they play as a combination?

And how are expectations going to be managed? Both players need to fully understand and be happy with their role by the time the World Cup starts.

4 Hooked in

Third choice hooker Nathan Harris needs to be nudged along his development path. The All Blacks can't afford to go to England next year with Harris having played just eight minutes of test football. Not when Mealamu is turning 36 and his calf has such a recent chequered history. The games against USA, Scotland and Samoa are ideal to get Harris back on the track and used to throwing into a test lineout.

5 Can they kick it?

The All Black kicking game is in need of a major rejuvenation. From being such a strength in 2013, it has been relatively poor in 2014. Some of that may be fixed with the return of Carter but across the backline, a general improvement in execution and imagination are required.

6 Polish the rough diamond

The All Blacks are one team when Aaron Smith plays - and probably another when he doesn't. We can't be certain because Smith tends to play almost 80 minutes every test.
The next option is TJ Perenara and while he's a superb athlete, he's loose and erratic.

Perenara has 10 games to lose the rough edges and become the sort of player everyone would trust to play out the last 20 minutes of a knock out World Cup game.

7 The dominators

It doesn't always follow that a team coming into the tournament on the back of impressive form will win. The All Blacks proved that in 2011 when they opened the event on the back of consecutive losses. Still, it would be preferable if the All Blacks can win their next 10 and establish they are absolutely the most dominant side in world rugby.

Most of the serious contenders to have an inferiority complex when it comes to the All Blacks. The All Blacks will be keen to beat England in a few weeks at Twickenham and then South Africa in July next year. These two are the respective biggest threat.

8 Champagne Charlie

There's no question in comparison with Owen Franks, Charlie Faumuina is the more natural athlete and ball player. But he has to be fit. He has to be capable of getting the best out of himself.

The All Black game plan needs the props to be contributing beyond the set-piece. Franks has stagnated a little in that regard and wins his jersey mostly on account of his experience and scrummaging prowess. If Faumuina can improve his conditioning in November, throughout summer and Super Rugby, he could become the better option.

9 Big calls

The team has a core of senior players, many if not most of whom are not going to be All Blacks in 2016. On that list are most likely Mealamu, Richie McCaw, Carter, Nonu and Conrad Smith and maybe a couple of others. Whether they are planning to retire, shift overseas or even, unlikely, hang on in New Zealand for more - they need to sort their plans out declare their intentions long before the All Blacks play their first test next year against Samoa on July 8.

10 Keep something back

The big picture for the All Blacks won't change over the next 10 tests. Hansen's vision has been to create a triple threat game so as the All Blacks have the option of running, passing or kicking to exploit the space. Where they can add an element of surprise is in the detail. They should hold some specific set plays back for the World Cup. It was, after all, a rehearsed lineout move that created their only try in the 2011 World Cup final.

THE BIG 10

• October 18 v Australia (Brisbane)
• November 1 v USA (Chicago)
• November 8 v England (London)
• November 15 v Scotland (Edinburgh)
• November 22 v Wales (Cardiff)
• July 8 v Samoa (Apia)
• July 17 v Argentina (Christchurch)
• July 25 v South Africa (South Africa [TBD])
• August 8 v Australia (Sydney)
• August 15 v Australia (Auckland)

- NZ Herald

Rugby: All Blacks on a hiding to nothing

2014-09-02T00:35:00.001+10:00

5:00 AM Sunday Aug 31, 2014

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A big Bledisloe Cup victory over Australia would satisfy most countries but not the New Zealand camp, writes Gregor Paul.

All Black Daniel Carter. Photo / Getty Images

It was Andrew Mehrtens who rightly observed that the All Blacks aren't going to win any medals for their ability to wear their hearts on their sleeves.

They tank Australia by 50 points and the mood barely lifts above sombre. They produce 60 minutes of shock-and-awe rugby and the players grudgingly admit their performance at Eden Park might have been a step up on what they produced in Sydney.

Humility and perspective are big parts of the All Black culture but the muted reaction last week was surely taking that a little too far.

Was it even a little contrived? The answer to that is, no, not at all. The All Blacks were happy with much but not all of their performance. They were satisfied rather than elated.

They were content, but not fulfilled. The sense of lingering disappointment they portrayed was a direct result of the squad and coaching staff all knowing they can do better.

That refusal to endorse the performance was driven by a genuine gripe that, as good as they were, that as well as they played for long periods, they have more to give.

Forget all that nonsense about this All Blacks side being near their peak. There's a cache of evidence that says they haven't pushed that far beyond base camp.

Daniel Carter to return
Aaron Cruden is a super player. Beauden Barrett is nearly as good. But neither has the all-round game of Daniel Carter.

Those outside the All Blacks camp rightly question whether Carter still has the pace, agility and hunger to be the player he was.

Those inside,who have played with him for years, know what Carter still is. They know he's comeback from his sabbatical in pristine condition.

His speed testing showed he's still got it- he's as fast as he was five years ago-and he's stronger, fitter and his desire to succeed, if anything, is more intense.

But it's his awareness and understanding of the game the All Blacks are trying to play that sets him apart. Under pressure, he doesn't flap.

He knows how to steer this team around better than anyone and his tool bag bulges more than both Cruden's and Barrett's. When he returns, the All Blacks will rise to another level.

Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith.

Nonu and Smith
The old faithful have been united only twice this year and, for the bulk of one of those tests, Smith had a broken thumb.

These two are still far and away the best midfield combination in the country, probably the world.

Get them back in tandem and the backline offering becomes that much more potent.

There are key moments that matter in every game and these two combine so effortlessly and effectively that often they ensure the All Blacks score when perhaps other midfield pairings would fall short.

Discipline
In 160 minutes of Rugby Championship action, the All Blacks have had 15 men on the field for only 125. That's a problem on multiple levels.

There's the obvious pressure of having to play with only 14 men and the fatigue that builds.

Effectively, for 35 minutes in the last two tests, the All Blacks have had to adopt the mindset of reducing risks and making it their goal to not give away any points.

But the four cards allude to a wider problem. The All Blacks were penalized 27 times across the two tests. That compares with Australia's 22 and South Africa and Argentina's 19.

The All Blacks scored nearly twice as many points in the series, yet they were penalized five more times than the Wallabies.

If they tidy up their act and reduce the penalties, their ability to build more pressure and capitalize on opportunities will be significant.

Sonny Bill Williams.

Sonny Bill Williams
It's almost certain Sonny Bill Williams will be with the All Blacks on their end-of-year tour.

The man is a weapon. He can be used off the bench or from the start. He can bust holes and create holes.

He can offload out of nothing, make huge tackles and be a fulcrum around which the All Blacks launch strike runners.

What Williams will do is increase the number of attacking options available.

The bench
This habit of drifting out of the final quarter can be partly attributed to the All Blacks bench so far not delivering as much as it should.

There are notable exceptions - Beauden Barrett, Malakai Fekitoa and, in Auckland, Steven Luatua. But the front-row that came off the bench in both tests didn't collectively pull their weight.

Their contribution was limited and it took a lot of the sting out of the All Blacks' performance.

Ben Franks, for example, played 58 minutes, carried the ball three times for zero metres and, while he made 15 tackles, also gave away three penalties.

Keven Mealamu's lineout success is 71 per cent. Dane Coles is operating at 94 per cent.

The lineout is a critical platform for the All Blacks but they haven't been able to attack off it particularly well when Mealamu has been on for his 43 minutes.

The All Blacks know they need every fresh pair of legs that comes on to make a noticeable difference.

The unwanted lull
The All Blacks are striving to deliver the mythical perfect performance. No one is entirely sure quite what that would look like but it would certainly not entail periods of low-accuracy, low-intensity rugby as has been the case in each test this year.

Look at the All Blacks' three best games this year-the second and third tests against England and last week's demolition of the Wallabies.

They had periods when they drifted out of the game.

In Dunedin, they spent 40 minutes faffing about before they found their rhythm, scored three tries and then faffed about again for the last 10 minutes.

In Hamilton, they were electric for 50 minutes, average for 30.

And at Eden Park, they had Australia in awful trouble at 44-6 with 20 minutes to go . . . but didn't find the jugular.

If they had maintained their composure, accuracy and patience last week, it could have been 64-6. "There were parts of that game that were not great," coach Steve Hansen said. "We let in some soft tries and dropped a lot of balls."

Kieran Reid.

Kieran Reid
The world's best player has had a horribly-disrupted season due to concussion. He not only lost conditioning during his lay-off, but also confidence.

He's only now starting to look his old self. The All Blacks have had Read at about 75 per cent so far.

He's made 23 tackles-the third-highest in the competition -and won six lineouts.

Where the All Blacks expect he'll feature more is in his ball carrying and offloading. He's carried 13 times, a long way down on South African No 8 Duane Vermeulen, who has been on the ball 21 times.

He's offloaded only twice. Not only is that number likely to rise, the effectiveness of his timing will make the difference.

Read's trump card is sucking defenders to him out wide to flip the ball to the last man. With fitness restored and confidence climbing, that will become a feature in the next few tests.

All Blacks thrash Wallabies to retain Bledisloe

2014-08-23T21:26:00.000+10:00

Gregor Paul

Gregor Paul is the Herald on Sunday's rugby writer

9:30 PM Saturday Aug 23, 2014

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Thank goodness for that. A bit of order was restored and, with it, a little relief that all may not be so bad in the world of rugby - in the world of New Zealand rugby.

As emphatic performances go, tonight would be hard to top. The tight five can rest assured they made amends for last week. They pretty much took a stick of dynamite and obliterated the Wallaby pack.

There were a couple of scrums - albeit when the visitors had a man in the bin - that could only described as annihilation.

All Blacks v Wallabies - more coverage:
Forwards deliver at Eden Park fortress
Cruden now ahead of Carter?
All Blacks v Wallabies - as it happened

The All Blacks scored two tries from driving mauls and owned the collisions to the extent they could endlessly churn the fast ball they crave. They looked like a team with more to come, with the collective power to crush anything in their midst.

There really isn't any getting away from the same old, same old truth about test football - win the physical exchanges, win the game.

FULL MATCH STATS VIA HERALD RUGBY STATS CENTRE

The Wallabies got a sobering reminder of that and, if they thought they had closed the gap, they might now have to re-think that. They have got some lovely backs. But they also have some lovely forwards. They aren't quite ready yet for big-boy rugby. Close. But not yet

This theory of All Black capitulation around the next corner will have to be reconsidered, too. It's probably not. What happened in Sydney was that they played really badly and drew.

Richie McCaw in action against Australia. Photo / Brett Phibbs

What happened tonight was that the All Blacks played much better and they won. Complicated ideas can be packaged around that to explain it in more detail but there's really no point. Things to take note of - the tight five were excellent compared with virtually non-existent. The loose trio were everywhere instead of nowhere. The midfield made clear and effective decisions, the back three ran off each other and got involved and then there were the Aarons.

Smith was sharp and lively. He kicked well, ran well and passed well. It was Cruden, though, who found the biggest upside on his Sydney performance. He was back somewhere near his impish best.

A dry ball, a fast track, a dominant tight five - it was his kind of game. Still, he had to pull the strings and give the All Blacks the flow and connectivity they needed.

He did that mostly through his running game. The Wallabies rushed him, came for him and snatched at nothing. Cruden at his best is pretty much rugby hip-hop - a bit of dance, skip and hop.

Gallery

Top pics: All Blacks v Wallabies

He showed his value in the buildup to Julian Savea's first try when he looped round to collect a spilled ball, then took off. He dummied, kept running and then threw a brilliant pass.

Only 10 seconds earlier the Wallabies had been threatening to score after a superb run by Israel Folau. Instead, they were traipsing back under the posts, the game almost out of reach.

It was definitely put out of reach by 55 minutes after Richie McCaw touched down for his second.

The All Blacks will be annoyed they didn't find fifth gear in the final quarter and instead slipped back into third. The Wallabies deserve a bit of credit for that - they had been well down on their performance.

Too many dropped passes under pressure had been the killer for them. That and, of course, the inability of their tight five to get anywhere near being competitive.

New Zealand 51 (R. McCaw 2, penalty try, J. Savea, K. Read, S. Luatua tries; A. Cruden 5 cons, 3 pens; A. Smith con) Australia 20 (I. Folau, M. Hooper tries; K. Beale 2 cons, 2 pens). Halftime: 23-6.

OPTA MATCH STATS

Match Stats — Team Stats

New Zealandv.Australia

Tries

6 75%25% 2

Metres

551 59.9%40.1% 369

Carries

118 54.1%45.9% 100

Defenders beaten

19 70.4%29.6% 8

Clean Breaks

9 81.8%18.2% 2

Passes

175 58.7%41.3% 123

Offloads

17 60.7%39.3% 11

Turnovers conceded

11 40.7%59.3% 16

All Blacks give England a lesson in set-piece attack (part 2)

2014-07-06T23:24:00.000+10:00

SET-PIECE ATTACK offers teams a wonderful chance to create try-scoring chances, given that the side in possession can pre-plan their moves and exploit the space created by the forwards being restricted to one small area of the pitch.

Continued from Part 1 in the series of All Black lineout attacks

Julian Savea’s disallowed try

Perhaps the best of New Zealand’s three excellent line-outs attacks in the opening 15 minutes against England was the one that ended without a try. Hansen’s charges used the same move they attempted for Savea’s first score, but pulled it off successfully this time.

Like earlier in the game, the passage starts with a good line-out maul from the Kiwis, driving forward five metres before the ball is released. It’s worth noting that the maul is still making progress when McCaw pops the ball off to scrum-half Smith; front foot ball for the backs and a nightmare to defend for England.

Similarly to the two tries we have already looked at, there are major spacing issues for the England midfield defence in this passage. Out-half Burns is drawn close to the maul as Jane comes off his wing to offer himself as a carrier off Smith. As a result, Eastmond is drawn in tighter to line up opposite Cruden. But as we have seen in the video above, the Kiwi out-half runs that now familiar line out the back of Nonu and into the space between England’s centres.

Throughout all of these examples, Tuilagi has been lining up directly opposite New Zealand’s outside centre Fekitoa. Many midfield defences will start ‘tight’ to the set-piece and then use a slight drift in getting across the pitch as the opposition move the ball wider. However, England defence coach Andy Farrell prefers his defenders to line up ‘square’ to attackers, advancing straight up the pitch to tackle them, rather than ‘showing’ them the outside shoulder.
The Kiwis are aware of this, and took full advantage with these line-out attacks.

As we see above, Eastmond is now in the position where he has to stick on Nonu running a direct line back against the grain, even with Cruden drifting behind him. If Eastmond slides past Nonu onto Cruden too early, the Kiwi 12 will make a clean bust of the English line. Nonu makes an excellent pass to Cruden off his left shoulder, as Tuilagi realises that he is going to have to adjust and deal with the out-half. However, with Chris Ashton also up flat in the line, the pair of England defenders are now in no man’s land.

Cruden has the vision and handling skill to loft a basketball pass over Ashton’s head to Ben Smith, who is suddenly in space with Savea outside him. Again, Brown is the last defender for England, utterly stranded. It’s a real shame that Smith could not finish the move off by providing Savea with a pass that was not forward, but the entire attack from the Kiwis remains superb.

England struggled against New Zealand’s line-out attack inside the opening 15 minutes on Saturday, ultimately giving the home side a lead they couldn’t recover from.

All Blacks give England a lesson in set-piece attack (part 1)

2014-07-06T23:13:00.003+10:00

New Zealand gave an excellent demonstration of exactly that in their 36-13 victory over England last weekend, blitzing Stuart Lancaster’s side with three line-out attacks in the opening 15 minutes of the encounter, two of which led to tries. While the third effort didn’t result in a further five points, the Kiwis’ superb start to the Test match dampened any early English optimism, while also providing them with a 12-point cushion on the scoreboard with less than a quarter of the game elapsed.While this wasn’t the cleanest of tries from New Zealand, there were many elements of high quality that went into constructing the score. The line-out actually stemmed from an England error [Mike Brown kicking directly into touch after bringing the ball back into his own 22], a somewhat symbolic incident in the second minute of play. Kiwi hooker Dane Coles hits Brodie Retallick towards the front of the line-out, and with England competing in the air through Joe Launchbury, it provides the attacking team’s pack with an ideal chance to get their maul moving forward.

In the image above, we see New Zealand beginning to launch the maul into the space opened by England’s decision to compete for the line-out throw. With scrum-half Aaron Smith screaming “maul, drive it,” the forwards do exactly that. It’s by no means the most impressive driven maul of all time, but New Zealand manage to eke out a few crucial metres and get the attack onto the front foot. From there, the backs take over, starting with Smith’s stunning pass.

It’s a remarkable piece of skill from the Highlanders half-back, a laser beam of a pass over a distance of approximately 20 metres and with an incredibly low trajectory. Smith’s rocket means the Kiwis are suddenly in midfield and running at the English defence. The length of the pass also cuts out any possibility of Billy Vunipola or Freddie Burns [who start close into the maul] getting across the pitch to first receiver Ma’a Nonu. As we see below, that forces inside centre Kyle Eastmond to commit to his opposite number.

In turn, that means Eastmond can’t drift out onto Aaron Cruden, who has taken a line behind Nonu and is available to run into the space between the England centres. While the pre-contact pass from Nonu doesn’t arrive to free Cruden to run into that gap, Eastmond is passive with his tackle attempt, allowing Nonu to release the ball even after being engaged in contact. Being aware of the bad situation England are in defensively, Eastmond could have unleashed himself into the hit on Nonu, attempting to snuff out the danger before it could develop any further. Unfortunately for Lancaster’s side, that hit does not transpire and Nonu is free to offload messily, before Cory Jane sweeps up the ball and feeds Smith, who has worked hard to follow play.

At this stage, Chris Ashton and Manu Tuilagi have come infield in an attempt to shut down the play or even regather possession for England, but the end result is a congestion of defenders in one tight area of space on the pitch. Smith’s wonderful pirouette out of the challenge of Ashton is followed instantly by another remarkable pass, this time one-handed. Such a pass likely makes up part of the scrum-half’s training regime, and he can rely on the skill under pressure as a result. Mike Brown is left utterly stranded as England’s last defender and with a 2-on-1 scenario, Ben Smith and Julian Savea are never going to be stopped

Julian Savea’s second try

Just over four minutes after Savea dotted down his first try from New Zealand’s opening line-out attack of the game, the Kiwis created another score from the same source and finished by the same man. While the opportunity for New Zealand to launch that first score came about as from an error by Mike Brown, the second try stemmed from a superb restart by Aaron Cruden.

Having conceded a penalty to England, Steve Hansen’s men were intent on getting the ball back as swiftly as possible. Fortunately for them, Cruden’s restarts short to the right are among the best in the world. Kieran Read chases well and forces the ball loose as he competes with Joe Launchbury, before his teammates swarm in on Courtney Lawes to force the Northampton lock into touch. From the moment the assistant referee signals for a line-out to when Dane Coles throws the ball in, just 13 seconds elapse. The Kiwis are focused on getting the ball back into play as quickly as possible, striking at England as the visitors organise themselves.

The ball boy is still on the pitch as Coles throws to Read, while Richie McCaw is already moving away from his starting ‘half-back’ position behind the line-out. Simultaneously, Aaron Smith moves from the front of the line-out formation into the hole vacated by McCaw.

What it all means is that New Zealand suddenly have an extra man in their backline attack as McCaw takes on the role of first receiver. Dylan Hartley does look to track the openside from a similar starting position behind England’s line-out, but he’s already three steps behind. Ben Youngs, meanwhile, is in his usual defensive position, marking the blindside channel in case New Zealand look to attack back down that space [which they did later in the half with major success]. With the ball in McCaw’s hands, Ma’a Nonu arrives on a flat line, straightening the Kiwi attack and forcing Kyle Eastmond to make another demanding defensive decision.

The presence of right wing Cory Jane [circled above] in behind McCaw adds another stress for Eastmond, providing another potential target for the openside’s pass and another reason for the Bath centre to stay tight to Freddie Burns. That’s exactly that Eastmond does, initially lining Nonu up despite Burns having the Kiwi 12 covered. When the image is frozen, it is of course easy to pick these things out but in live play, the amount of movement from New Zealand [Cruden is drifting wide behind Nonu too] makes it a hugely demanding decision.

McCaw releases the pass behind Nonu to Cruden, and as we see below, the decoy running of Nonu and Jane has been enough to draw Eastmond in, leaving the space on his outside shoulder for Cruden to run into.

It’s worth noting the space between Eastmond and Manu Tuilagi in the instance above, which echoed a major problem for the pair in the first half before the Bath man was withdrawn.
While Eastmond’s decision to initially bite in exaggerates the spacing here, it was an issue for the entire 40 minutes when England had to defend. We don’t know if Eastmond was getting any communication from Burns inside him, reassuring him that there was no need to bite in, but we repeatedly saw this hole open up in between Eastmond and Tuilagi.

Bath coach Mike Ford has suggested that Eastmond was not individually responsible for the first half defensive errors and, while he is obviously slightly biased, there is certainly truth in that assertion. Inside centre is a difficult position to defend on line-out attack, with New Zealand’s brilliant movement taking full advantage of that. Returning to the play at hand, Cruden makes the scything break and eventually forces Mike Brown to bite in on him, with Marland Yarde struggling to get across and allow the fullback to drift out onto the attackers wider out.

As pointed out by the New Zealand-based commentary team, Cruden has the option of hitting Malakai Fekitoa short off his left shoulder as Brown bites in, but opts to go for the long pass to Savea out wide. While the pass is not as accurate as Cruden would have intended, the sensational pick up and finish by ‘The Bus’ compensates and sees a wonderful line-out attack end with five deserved points.

AllBlack's safe hands click to give 2-0series win

2014-06-16T22:38:00.000+10:00

JAMES MORTIMER 14 JUN 2014 GETTY IMAGES

The All Blacks have won an entertaining match where the World Champions were able to lift their game as required, with a tight 28-27 win over a competitive England at Forsyth Barr Stadium.

Head coach Steve Hansen had called for improvement, as had captain Richie McCaw, who led the tackle count for his team with 12, a performance notably free of errors which allowed the hosts to generate the continuity needed to spark their attacking game.

In comparison to the first Test, the number one ranked team in world rugby saw their passes stick, and they looked to up the ante against what was a full strength England team.

The safety of the All Blacks hands saw the phases build up, which saw them dominate long periods with possession and territory, while individual players were superb.

Ben Smith put in a home town performance to be proud of with an incisive effort – 20 carries for 130 metres gained – while Julian Savea provided the predicted punch while the New Zealand forwards were more direct that last weekend.

Unveiling Kapo O Pango, the World Champions looked fired up, even though England would get the early advantages with double penalties.

The second would lead to Owen Farrell, one of five changes to the England starting XV, knocking over the first points after three minutes.

The All Blacks, on defence early, would concede enough penalties to earn McCaw a word that further infringements would lead to cards.

Marland Yarde would cross the first five points with the English midfield profiting from their first prolonged period with possession, and a Farrell conversion would make it 10-0 with 11 minutes played.

A penalty to Cruden would give the All Blacks their first points, but a miss in the 18th minute would allow England to take early control of the match.

New Zealand would play their promised ball in hand game to great effect, but England’s defence would hold firm, even though the match looked to be played at a higher pace.

A penalty to Cruden in the final stages of the first half would make it a 10-6 game to the English.

But the second half would be a different affair, with Ben Smith scoring in the 44th minute, Savea would give him the final pass after an initial Aaron Cruden break.

It would give the All Blacks the lead which they would not relinquish.

Julian Savea would score after another piece of brilliance from Ben Smith, while Aaron Smith made another defining break as the hosts began to find stretch their legs.

The All Blacks would dominate possession and territory by over 60 percent for the match, largely due to their efforts in the final 40 minutes.

The biggest difference was that the hosts passing was going from hand to hand, with great skills on display as the World Champions forwards also began to warm to their efforts.

England wouldn’t lie down, even though they lost Farrell to a yellow card as the game entered its final quarter.

Ma'a Nonu would crash over with another textbook effort from the back division, but England would finish with a flourish.

Mike Brown would score a try despite numerous replays from the TMO, while Chris Ashton would score on the death to give the English coaching staff a strong finish to work on.

But in front of a capacity crowd in Dunedin the All Blacks would secure the Steinlager Series 2-0 after the second of three Tests.

All Blacks 28

Tries: Smith (43), Savea (49), Nonu (62)
Pens: Cruden (11, 40), Barrett (59)
Cons: Cruden (44), Barrett (65)

England 27

Try: Yarde (7), Brown (71), Ashton (80)
Pen: Farrell (3, 47)
Con: Farrell (8, 71, 81)

The Legend of the All Blacks

2014-04-21T21:37:00.000+10:00

The All Blacks represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport. The All Blacks are the holders of the Rugby World Cup and are the 2013 International Rugby Board (IRB) Team of the Year as well as having the 2013 player of the year Kieran Read and coach of the year Steve Hansen. In 2012 the All Blacks won Team, Player and Coach of the year and in 2011 the team won Team and Coach of the year after winning the Rugby World Cup. They have won over 76% of their test matches (regarded as one of the best if not the best winning ratio in professional sport), and are the leading test match points scorers of all time. They are the only international side with a winning record against every country they have played and since their international debut in 1903 only five nations have defeated New Zealand in test matches. Since the introduction of the IRB's world rankings in October 2003, New Zealand has held number one ranking longer than all other teams combined.

New Zealand compete with Argentina, Australia and South Africa in The Rugby Championship—known as the Tri Nations before Argentina's entry in 2012. The All Blacks have won the trophy eleven times in the competition's sixteen-year history. They also hold the Bledisloe Cup, which is contested annually with Australia, and the Freedom Cup, contested annually with South Africa. New Zealand have achieved a Grand Slam(defeating England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales in one tour) four times—1978, 2005, 2008 and 2010.

They have also been named the IRB Team of the Year six times since 2005. Three members have won the IRB Player of the Year award—current captain Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, and Kieran Read. Fifteen former All Blacks have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame; four of these are also inductees of the IRB Hall of Fame.

The team's first match was in 1884 against Cumberland County, New South Wales, and their first international match in 1903 against Australia in Sydney. The following year they hosted their first ever home test, a match against a British Isles side in Wellington. This was followed by a tour of Europe and North America in 1905 where the team suffered their first Test defeat—to Wales in Cardiff.

New Zealand's early uniforms consisted of a black jersey with a silver fern and white knickerbockers. By the 1905 tour, they were wearing all black, except for the silver fern, and their name All Blacks dates from this time. The team perform a haka—a Māori challenge or posture dance—before each match. The haka performed has traditionally been Te Rauparaha's Ka Mate, although since 2005 Kapa o Pango—a modified version of the 1924 All Blacks haka, Kia Whaka-ngawari—has occasionally been performed.

Highlights from All Blacks 2013 unbeaten season, top tries

2014-01-23T18:46:00.001+11:00

Aaron Cruden From the All Blacks Shares His Story of Resilience

2014-01-23T18:28:00.001+11:00