All Blacks mustn’t overthink final tactics
19 Oct 2011
JON CARDINELLI writes that the All Blacks will beat France and claim that elusive world title if they play their natural game.
Last week’s performance against the Wallabies was a rugby masterclass. The All Blacks defended brilliantly, fielded the high ball well, and through the accurate and often prodigious kicking efforts of Aaron Cruden and Israel Dagg, they won the battle for territory. Success in these areas inhibited and frustrated the Wallabies, but it was the All Blacks’ power and precision on attack that allowed them to build momentum and ultimately a winning score.
Afterwards, Graham Henry and Richie McCaw said they would have to be just as brutal and precise against France in the grand final. The All Blacks have shown themselves more than capable of producing these well-rounded showings consistently. The statistics will reveal that they won the 2010 Tri-Nations by kicking more than any other side in that tournament. They also boasted the best defensive record, and scored the most tries.
What stands in the way of the All Blacks and a second world title is 80 pressure-filled minutes. The hype has been building since the lead up to the tournament, and the same questions have been asked over and over again. Will the All Blacks handle the pressure? There is no rugby reason why they shouldn’t win the trophy, as their record will confirm they’ve been the best team in the world over the last four years. But will the pressure of the occasion force them to play a more conservative game, because the fear of losing is stronger than the desire to win?
In an interview for Business Day Sports Monthly two months ago, former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones told me that the All Blacks are a better side when they express themselves. When they go into their shells and try to play a more tactical game, when they overanalyse and rely too much on a rigid game plan, Jones said that they moved away from their strengths. If they decide to do this on Sunday, it will benefit their opponents.
New Zealand are favourites at the scrum, and while the battle at the collisions should be brutally contested, Richie McCaw will ensure the All Blacks win the breakdowns. This should be enough to supply a strong platform for New Zealand’s halfbacks, who have shown that they have the decision making ability to maximise the advantage either by kicking into space or bringing the big and skillful backs into the game.
It is of course, not as simple as that. ’80 minutes and we’re laughing,’ said one newspaper headline over the weekend, but the truth is the 80 minutes of that semi-final against the Wallabies were anything but comfortable. From a rugby point of view, the All Blacks looked favourites to clinch it when Piri Weepu slotted another penalty early in the second half, and yet there was a strong sense in the crowd that the game wasn’t over until the final whistle. A 14-point gap wasn’t enough to calm the nerves of the long-suffering Kiwis.
There was a collective sigh of relief following the semi-final win, but there are still a lot of nerves in the build up to the grand final. Sitting in the crowd last Sunday, I obtained an idea of how much the World Cup means to this country, but I also got an insight into how that passion and desperation could have an adverse effect on the team.
The All Blacks must stick to what worked for them against France in their Pool A meeting. They must play like they played against Australia, that is, with power and accuracy, and the assurance that they are the best team in the world.
If they slip into a conservative mindset, if their coaches and players adopt a ‘we-must-not-lose’ mentality instead of ”we must win’, they will, as Jones previously suggested, give France a sniff. Forget the failures of 1999, 2003 and 2007. Check that baggage at the door.
While experience will be important in a game as big of this, the confidence of some of their young stars will also provide the necessary boost. Cruden was impressive in last week’s game, and going by what has been said this week, he will continue to play his natural game. Notably, the young flyhalf has the backing of his coaches.
‘It’s really important that you build throughout the week but that you’re not over-thinking about the game,’ Cruden told reporters. ‘You need to find a balance and that is what I will be doing this week.
‘I’d like to think it’s just the beginning of another week, just going through and doing the normal for me, making sure I’m really clear on my role and just building so that when it comes to kick-off time I am ready to go.’
The rest of the All Blacks side would do well to follow suit.
267 Comments
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19 Oct 2011, 01:03 am
Go Richie, Go Craig…
19 Oct 2011, 01:07 am
Hoping that Craig referees the perfect game with not one mistake.
Hoping Richie gets what he deserves, that WORLD CUP.
Hoping Wales beat the Aussies.
Ai. So sad tonight again. We will never know how good this Bok team was.
19 Oct 2011, 01:18 am
We do know exactly how good this bok team is:
Lucky against structure of Wales
Lucky against power of Samoa
Good against disorganised defences of Fiji and Namibia
And could not manipulate a defencive wall or tactically adjust to Bryce and Pocock
what did I miss ?
19 Oct 2011, 01:19 am
*defensive
19 Oct 2011, 01:32 am
Play like they did against Aussie.
Don’t attempt ambitious runs from deep inside their own half.
19 Oct 2011, 02:16 am
@Cruiser(Cruiser)-3: Two world cup titles later. Aren’t we the luckiest nation in the world?
19 Oct 2011, 02:37 am
I have nothing to contribute.
I literaly can not type anything at all.
19 Oct 2011, 04:25 am
@kwas(kwas)-6: About as lucky as Aus and soon to be as lucky as NZ
We never slipped to 4th on the world rankings tho, so is that unlucky for you, or just the way it is
19 Oct 2011, 04:26 am
All we want is for the AB’s to improve on last weeks effort, and bring Bill back home to its birth place.
19 Oct 2011, 05:55 am
@KiaKahaNZ(KiaKahaNZ)-9:
Bill was actually a Kiwi? You learn something every day.
19 Oct 2011, 07:39 am
@KiaKahaNZ(KiaKahaNZ)-9:
well, thievery can get you most things you’re not deserving enough to earn…
19 Oct 2011, 07:50 am
@au revoir mon tout noirs, au revoir…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-11: Always an as shole just waiting to ruin the show. Why dont u fark off that would have some meaning for all of us, saffas, kiwis and aussies alike who are sick of people like you. A good place I hear is off the end of a bridge with some heavy type equipment attached so you can stay down long enough to enjoy the view.
On the UP side, the AB’s are not going to make any crucial mistakes at this point in time. I have personally never been more relaxed heading into a WC than this one and they have kicked every goal( s’cuse the pun) and ticked every box along the way.; it wouldn’t have mattered who we were facing in the final, there is no one there to beat us this year. Its the truth of the matter and on Sunday history will be made that no team will ever better in our lifetimes.
19 Oct 2011, 07:54 am
@KiaKahaNZ(KiaKahaNZ)-9: I think we are about to see a game of rugby this weekend that will have coaches world wide doubting their own ability. The accumulation of four years planning and 80mins of relentless, ruthless and methodical execution!!
19 Oct 2011, 08:21 am
The final will be an absolute spectacle, there’s no doubt that the AB’s have led the world in rugby intellectual development for a very long time, they’ve brought panache to the game and a showcase of skills every team dreams of, and all coaches wish they could conjure up and implement!
It’s only right that the AB’s take this cup, it’s been a long time coming, finally the Blackness have a formula to own the Bill for the foreseeable future, this should scare every nation on earth, the AB’s won’t be keen to relinquish this cup, the AB’s have dominated the trinations, bledisloe, freedom cups, and grandslams, now the The Old Bill is about to collect dust in the nzru cabinet for a long long time! I predict that the AB’s will be the first team to defend a WC title successfully in Japan 2015.
19 Oct 2011, 08:25 am
@captain fantail(captain fantail)-12:
“Its the truth of the matter and on Sunday history will be made that no team will ever better in our lifetimes”…..okaaaay….righty then…
19 Oct 2011, 08:27 am
New Zealand should take it. They deserve to.
The only reason I don’t want them to is because of all the “South African” wannabe All Black supporters.
19 Oct 2011, 08:28 am
What an opportunity for France?
The 2 losses in the pool stages are in the eternal past. Who would have given them a chance to make it to the final?
Very few people.
They have absolutely nothing to lose; the cheaters are outright favourites.
They need 85 min of fantastic rugby; I believe they can get themselves fired to do just that.
19 Oct 2011, 08:29 am
‘fired up to do just that …’
19 Oct 2011, 08:41 am
The AB’s unlike the boks are very fortunate to have a broad international diehard fan base, this support of the AB’s is massive, I mean huge in SA, with AB clubs in all the major cities in SA. This is very humbling for the AB’s, as they are a team of a specific set of ethics and mores that are exemplary, and play the game with such intent and skill, they perpetually provide a pathway for every team to follow. The AB’s are a NZ brand and a global brand, they epitomize what rugby must be!!!!
19 Oct 2011, 08:46 am
@captain fantail(captain fantail)-13:
You mean 24 years of planning.
19 Oct 2011, 08:55 am
@mpundulu(mpundulu)-19: Pull up your pants
19 Oct 2011, 08:55 am
@mpundulu(mpundulu)-19:
I do not agree with people supporting an other nation in any sport on international level. Specifically if you have never stayed in that country for a longish period of time.
It seems unnatural to me.
Do these NZ rugby followers (SA Citizens) also support NZ cricket, football etc.? I guess they don’t win as much, and therefore don’t get the same support as Rugby.
19 Oct 2011, 08:55 am
Back in Black – the way it should be
Will be so glad to get rid of the chockers tag
19 Oct 2011, 08:57 am
Good luck, All Blacks.
19 Oct 2011, 09:00 am
Must ask the question if McCaw is playing with a damaged foot , this must be doing damage to him ( ie playing with an injury ) – do you think he will retire after next week ???? I know he is contracted for another 2 years but seriously do you think he can continue ?
19 Oct 2011, 09:02 am
@captain fantail(captain fantail)-12:
from your esteemed herald:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby-world-cup-2011/news/article.cfm?c_id=522&objectid=10760155
19 Oct 2011, 09:05 am
@stew(stew)-25:
Think he has 2 years in him. He can rest until April next year and get that foot sorted out.
19 Oct 2011, 09:07 am
Mr Black: you’ve put forward a set of circumstances under which an individual can possibly support a national team from another country, for you this is only way you can rationalize it, I’d say that that’s merely your perspective on how one can support another team but there are many other possibilities that may have no relevance to you but why should it. You have your boks and your happy with them no one takes issue with that at all in fact we applaud it. Equally, I’ve the right to support whoever I want for whatever reason that makes sense to me as the boks make sense to you. Unlike you I did not grow up supporting the boks, I grew up supporting the AB’s. I’d never ask you to support any other team but the boks as your loyalty has grown with them as you grew up, and I’ve had that experience with the all blacks. My support of the AB’s should never elicit such animosity from bok supporters on this site, you have your boks and I have my AB’s, we’ve a final to attend and we’ll see you in the four nations next year.
19 Oct 2011, 09:10 am
@Cruiser(Cruiser)-3: A Aussie defensive wall that had time to set due to pocock illegally slowing the ball down at the breakdown. If Bryce had to be fair and nail pocock a few times we would of gotten quick ball to run at their disorganised defence that was on the backfoot the whole game. You see it all comes down to Bryce’s incompetence.
How do you tactically adjust to cheating?
19 Oct 2011, 09:12 am
@Kietzphat(Kietzphat)-16: So true…I know alot of them.
19 Oct 2011, 09:13 am
@Sasuke(Sasuke)-29:
The short answer is: you cannot.
That is why I have suggested that Craig Joubert ‘bryce’ them this weekend.
If you thought the moaning and whining was big in 2007, you aint see nothing yet.
New Zealand will be like a factory that closed down.
19 Oct 2011, 09:21 am
@mpundulu(mpundulu)-28: are you still battling ‘nationalists’?
19 Oct 2011, 09:24 am
@au revoir mon tout noirs, au revoir…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-26: this gregor paul guy doesn’t know some of the kiwis that frequent this site
19 Oct 2011, 09:25 am
@KiaKahaNZ(KiaKahaNZ)-9: Hey dude, good luck to your boys on Sunday, lets keep the cup in the southern hemisphere! If they play the way they did last week it should be in the bag, and I don;t see enough in this French side to trouble them too much.
19 Oct 2011, 09:29 am
Transie: mr black was gracious enough to posit his position and in that ask a question, I had such a great day yesterday I thought it incumbent on me to respond to him fully.
Unjani mfodini? Ndiyoyika le game ngecawe andikwazi noku lala!
19 Oct 2011, 09:29 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-32:
his mores are exemplary.
19 Oct 2011, 09:29 am
The only way France have any chance to win is they must ambush the AB’s. They need to change the game plan and run it from all over the park. The forwards need to pass the ball in the contact and create chaos. I suspect they will stick with the 9 man rugby they have played up to now and hope they get their noses in front and then rely on the pack to grind out the win. That is what the AB’s will expect.
19 Oct 2011, 09:30 am
Jerome kaino must be IRB player of the year! He’s been colossal.
19 Oct 2011, 09:30 am
@Sheriff(Sheriff)-31: What does that have to do with the AB’s?? They have been consistently the strongest side for the last 2,5 years, they’ve played the most complete and convincing rugby, they are worthy world champs. Our job is to rebuild and pull them off that perch in 4 years time!
And if you go back 4 years on here, a few of the kiwi bloggers were very gracious in defeat (KiakahaNZ, Cane and Hurricane for eg). Sure, you always have the trolls too, like BP and Tackler (and we have Capo, KKK etc etc) but we lost and we’re out and that’s that
19 Oct 2011, 09:32 am
mpundulu is right! he can support who he wants to. I never ever support Bafana Bafana – it my right!
19 Oct 2011, 09:34 am
HOW THE F!!!!!!!!!! can Weepu be nominated?????? he had a very k@k Super Rugby season! – he didn’t even play in all the NZ games and missed a few kicks in the semi!! Shocking!!!!!! Only thing he does reasonably well is the haka! Same story as the last 2 years were McCheat won it!! The IRB player of the year thing is a joke!!!
19 Oct 2011, 09:35 am
@mpundulu(mpundulu)-28:
I’m interested to hear your reasons for supporting the All Blacks. Not why you started supporting them. Any pre-1994 support of the All Blacks does not call for an explanation.
My question is why when many people who supported the All Blacks growing up in Apartheid South Africa have since switched their allegiance to the Springboks (the nation of their birth and citizenship) do you continue to support the All Blacks?
19 Oct 2011, 09:36 am
Tomatoboy: quite right and I’ve certainly no issue with that position at all! Thank you for coming forward.
19 Oct 2011, 09:43 am
@mpundulu(mpundulu)-35: uyaxoka! unemincili qha, awkwazi nokuzibamba. kufana nosuku xa i-cherry efunda e-DSG izakuza pha e-Armstrong uyiqeqeshe
19 Oct 2011, 09:44 am
Wales vs. Blacks would have been more of a contest. That no. 8 Faletau pure class – if from Samoan heritage, how did they lose out on such talent.
19 Oct 2011, 09:45 am
Johan Goosen was better than Dan Carter when he turned 14! Sharks must be careful! oh and BTW All Blacks, the Goosen chap is coming for you guys next!!!
19 Oct 2011, 09:46 am
So Dan’s not there. Nor is understudy Slade. But Cruden — the third backup — is magnificent.
So what if McCaw hauls up short? No 2 or no 3 opensider will get the job done all the same.
And ditto for ANY position. And they’ve all played in the black jumper earlier this year and know all the drills.
Strength in depth.
19 Oct 2011, 09:46 am
Speaking of Samoa – have a feeling that they would be more competitive now then the Argies. Would rather see them in the expanded 4Nations. Depending on player availability from Europe obviously.
19 Oct 2011, 09:46 am
@Gunther(gunther)-36: look, i like the way the all blacks play rugby no more than any other person but i’m not going to get into a “their mores are exemplary” discussion hehehe
it’s just sport.
19 Oct 2011, 09:49 am
@Pot Blou Gevaar(Pot Blou Gevaar)-45: i think he is of Tonga heritage…
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