Doing it for Smithy, doing it in style
There seems a sense of loss around New Zealand Rugby this week. Wayne Smith won’t be remembered in stone. He is not a monolith like a Meads or a McCaw. But he has seemingly coached the All Blacks for the last time in this country and he leaves behind a generation of players, of people, who are far better for having known him.
When I think of what it means to be a coach, I think of Carwyn James, the great coach of Llanelli and the ‘71 Lions, and I think of Smith. In many ways they are very different men. But in one absolutely fundamental way they are the same. They both go through agonies of the soul because sometimes they care about other people almost too much.
So what a joy it was that the All Blacks should play their last game under Smith in this country as though it were a parade in his honour. The All Blacks defence was magnificent against South Africa and it was the key to the brilliance of their counter-attack. Did someone say: ’’This one’s for Smithy’’?
There was so much to love about how they went about their business. The forwards were immense, as Smith remarked after the match. Maybe he was talking about the lineout, the scrum and the breakdown. But he was also talking about their tackling. Who would have thought that Brodie Retallick could lead a rush defence, but the big fella was a one-man blitzkrieg.
The Springboks were starved of time and they did not have a clue what to do. Kane Hames copped a bit of criticism here and there, but boy did he make some tackles and bring some speed to the line. Maybe he took his lead from Dane Coles. At one point Coles mowed down three men in under a minute.
Early on Kieran Read was looking after things close to the ruck where the All Blacks are sometimes vulnerable, and that was the one place where the Boks were sometimes able to burst through. Sam Cane made tackle after tackle in one of his finest games as an All Black. He came through under Dave Rennie and Smith at the Chiefs, so maybe this match meant just a little more to him and Retallick. They certainly played like it.
That line speed forced the Boks into mistakes. When they looked to the outside, the first recipient was nearly always Ryan Crotty who had jammed up fast out of the line. He induced panic.
Liam Squire also knew Smith at the Chiefs. He played like a man possessed. Sonny Bill Williams has an immense respect for Smith and in some way sees him as a mentor. So what about Squire and SBW in the leadup to the All Blacks’ second try? Squire made a hit and ripped the ball clear of Raymond Rhule.
The Boks scrambled it back, but they were now disorganised. When SBW came hunting for Jean-Luc du Preez, the South African flanker panicked and just shifted the ball on. Nehe Milner-Skudder, as Rieko Ioane had done earlier, stepped in from the outside and the All Blacks were away. It was an ode to Smith, a defensive thing of beauty.
At halftime Smith likes to show his defence an image of something they have done well. He believes in positive reinforcement but knows it is a waste of time to try to shove too much information down their throat. One image. It is enough. On Saturday Smith’s technical analyst would have been spoiled for choice.
Smith also does not believe in telling the player what the opposition are doing. He prefers to ask a question. So he might ask Rieko Ioane: ‘‘How much separation is there between Rhule and his centre?’’ or ‘‘how deep does he drop on turnover ball?’’ If Ioane supplies the answer, he is more likely to remember it.
There is so much attention to detail. How good was Scott Barrett when he came on. But he knew exactly his defensive role. Barrett provided yet more line speed and he continued the terrorising of poor Elton Jantjies.
Beauden Barrett has had his problems against the rush, but Jantjies completely fell apart. At the start of the second half the all Blacks defence stifled South Africa on the halfway line until Jantjies aimlessly licked the ball away. He had run out of ideas. The Boks playmaker was reduced to high tackles and poor kicking.
South Africa are now eating themselves from the inside. Rob Louw spoke of ‘‘so many ordinary players with no X factor.’’ Jonathan Kaplan remarked’’ ‘‘What a humiliation.’’ Nick Mallett said: ‘‘Criticising this Boks team is like clubbing a baby seal.’’
It might be quicker and kinder to call up Andrew Hore and just shoot the baby seal. Because strangely most people have missed the fact that the All Blacks’ attack (and I don’t mean counter-attack) wasn’t all that flash again. There was quite a lot of scruffy passing and poor lines. This victory was a testament to Smith and to defence.
Smith knew it was time to go earlier this year. There are other things to life and the yearning for those is part of what makes Smith one of rugby’s greatest coaches. Because the best coaches are often even better people. And maybe this is the biggest tribute of them all.
‘The professor’ has turned rugby coaching in New Zealand into one of the caring professions.