Bledisloe Cup rugby: Gregor Paul – How Ian Foster’s formula is preparing the All Blacks for a double hemisphere game

OPINION:

Under Steve Hansen, the All Blacks built a triple threat game. Under Ian Foster, they are building a double hemisphere game, a style of rugby that will allow them to be as effective against the
like England, Ireland, South Africa and France as they were in Sydney against the Wallabies.

Conditions in Sydney pushed the All Blacks more towards a kicking and crunching approach than perhaps they intended.

With a drier ball, they may have kicked less and sought quicker lineout possession, but if the rain had stayed away it would only have led to a minor adjustment rather than a total tactical revamp.

And that’s because Foster, having seen how the All Blacks were restless playing England, Ireland and South Africa in 2018 and 2019, has set out to shift the strategic emphasis in an attempt to build a ubiquitous physical presence that won’t fade. . the face of set pieces oppression, quick defenses and relentless box kicks.

It seemed, and perception may have exceeded reality, that after the British & Irish Lions series in 2017, the All Blacks were prone to being a little Jekyll and Hyde – passing and running when they played Australia and other teams that wanted to run. competition, and fragile and stale when they were up north, pitting teams with the imagination of a 1960s communist bloc architect.

Anyone foolish enough, and Australia generally was, to open up the game and risk admitting turnovers that allowed the All Blacks to attack a broken, usually lost defense.

Those who were big enough, or well trained enough, to work low-risk gauges through forwards, maximize the impact of their play, and spend most of their time and effort defending well tended to be rewarded. Hence when he played the All Blacks in that period.

They didn’t always win, but they almost always sparked periods of uncertainty within the All Blacks, subdued their litany of playmakers, and turned them into a shadow of their true selves.

Attrition rugby wasn’t really in the All Blacks’ wheelhouse and while it will never be their style of choice, or the default method of play, at least under Foster it will be a card they can play anytime, anywhere.

That must be the conclusion to her victory at the Bledisloe Cup in Sydney, which was based on a performance that no one recognized as a native of New Zealand.

The driving maul was the favorite at the time of the lineout. They scrummed to win penalties and kicked twice the ball than in Auckland.

It made the 43-5 victory almost unrecognizable since the 42-8 victory they enjoyed on the same field in 2016 or the 54-34 victory they recorded in 2017.

There were six attempts Saturday night and individual brilliance, but the foundation on which both were built was not the usual high-octane pass and catching fuel, but suffocating musculature and brilliantly executed kicking game.

Australia were the victims and the record loss they suffered will be attributed as much to their inexperience and frailty as to the superior physical presence and tactical application of the All Blacks.

But if the All Blacks continue to play with such a strong focus on their set pieces and combine it with aggressive defense and precise kicking, then over time we could see that their win record in Sydney had less than do with the Australian weakness. than it currently appears.

What we can start to think about is that the days when the All Blacks were vulnerable to blunt weaponry applied with little style but with maximum force could be over.

We won’t know for sure until there is a means for the Springboks and European heavyweights to give it a try, but it’s certainly hard to imagine that the All Blacks scrum is going to be pushed by someone or that their lineout is going. crumble in the face of enhanced opposition.

A quick defense, no matter how good, is unlikely to be as effective as it once was, as the All Blacks now have alternative means of fighting it.

We know the All Blacks can pass and run past quick defense if they can pick the right angles, time passes and read where the space is.

However, their ability to do that has not been consistent in the past and what we do know is that if they cannot manipulate an opponent’s defense with their sleight of hand, now they can simply break it with force, kick over. of it or gradually deconstructing it by sapping the energy with your drive mallet.