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On the short plane ride north from Wellington to Auckland, All Blacks running back Aaron Smith settled in and immersed himself in a video he could only describe as a horror show.
No, it wasn’t the latest celluloid tale about things that get up at night; although it contained a good amount of scenes that were difficult to see. It was, of course, the video of Smith’s performance in Sunday’s 16-16 draw against the Wallabies at Bledisloe I, along with that of his opposite number Nic White.
From where Smith sat, writhing in his window seat, it was an awkward watch of the highest order, which speaks volumes about the standards this brilliant runner, who will play his 94th Test at Bledisloe II on Sunday at Eden Park, lays down for himself.
Phil Walter / Getty Images
All Black Aaron Smith got back to working on his skills in a gym session in Auckland on Tuesday.
On a lousy day for the All Blacks at Wellington’s Cake Tin, where they now won just one of their last four events, Smith was one of the best. He scored an outstanding try and generally discarded and pushed as best he could behind a pack fighting for the remains of possession and unable to establish the treasure of all 9s.
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But that wasn’t Smith’s self-assessment. After seeing him as a passenger and following a video review of the team Tuesday at his hotel on the Auckland Viaduct, Smith made it clear that the mirror was the first place he was looking to improve.
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“Personally I am quite disappointed in the performance on Sunday and the things that I take pride in: my energy, my speed into the ruck, my passing was quite normal,” he said. “Nic White had a field day. He was able to attack our D, he made a couple of attempts, he kicked well… having that impact in a game is something I like to do.
“He had a great game and it was hard to watch. I was watching videos on the way up on the flight, and it was things we talked about for a runner: the ruck ball and its intent to break which makes it really easy when you’re playing behind the ball on a plate.
Phil Walter / Getty Images
Aaron Smith felt he was outmatched by a solid performance from the Wallabies’ Nic White in Wellington.
“I just want to always keep pushing myself to another level of my performance and it wasn’t good enough on the weekend.”
If all All Blacks take Smith’s rigorous self-assessment as the standard, then there should be a significant improvement Sunday on ground where the team has not lost since 1994 and where the Australians have not won since 1986.
Smith said the message from an honest video review had been quite clear, as it was just over a year ago when the All Blacks arrived in Auckland with a similarly sub-standard performance in a Bledisloe opener (a 47- 26 defeat in Perth).
“We have to earn the right this week… we have to build our week. We just got out of the review and it’s still processing in our heads, but there are some pretty simple messages that we can all fix.
“If you don’t present yourself mentally with the right intention, it’s a long day. My own standard was not up to par. My stride was erratic, inaccurate, and it really set us up. He shot Richie Mo’unga, he didn’t give our forwards a chance to run to the ball … things I’m proud of I have to perfect.
Brett Phibbs / AP
Aaron Smith scored a try in the 16-16 draw at Bledisloe I, but said he was not happy with his performance.
“We were aware of what Rens (Wallabies coach Dave Rennie) brings to his teams around breakdown, the looks, his mindset, and we didn’t bring the All Blacks level of our intention and mindset to the game. until the 81st minute. “
Smith felt this week wasn’t about the All Blacks showing points. It was more about them meeting the standards that were set, which should be good news for fans preparing to fill New Zealand’s largest stadium until entry (as of Tuesday, over 40,000 had been tallied). of the 47,700 tickets available).
“In patches of that game we weren’t good enough, especially on our defense, coming off the line and hitting. Our breakdown work was normal and in the attack we were quite stagnant. There are loads to work on and to improve on. But they are things we can control.
“I wouldn’t say it was all of Australia. I’m sure they also have things they want to improve, so the game we will see on Sunday will be less rusty, less awkward and hopefully a more fluid rugby.
Smith, meanwhile, said that under-pistol center Rieko Ioane had plenty of support as he looked to put his own Wellington nightmare behind him, mostly the dropped ball in the act of scoring a certain seven points just before halftime.
“He’s fine. I checked in with him after the game,” Smith said. “Moments like that are unfortunate. I’ve had a couple of tests … I’ve kicked the ball that got us going until Kurtley Beale kicked a penalty to tie it. a game, which was horrible, but we kept going.
“We still love our guys, win, lose or draw, and we just want to make sure we are solid with our stuff and learn from any mistakes we made. First we look inward, without making judgments. “
