KICK THE BALL OUT
How do you beat the All Blacks? and looked at hours of Rugby Championship action and crunched the numbers to come up with a winning strategy.
DEFENSIVE LINE SPEED
This can set up your entire game, and is something opposition teams have done too seldom. On defence they need to rush up and pressure the All Blacks, rather than surrendering the advantage line.
When the All Blacks played Australia the first time, and South Africa both times, they were gifted acres of space by a sluggish defensive line. As a result, Beauden Barrett and the back line used the space to destroy their opposition.
By rushing up, you prevent the All Blacks from having time on the ball. The All Blacks scored 38 tries in the Rugby Championship, and 68 per cent of their rucks leading up to those tries had fast ball. They crossed the advantage line, and were able to spread the ball quickly from the breakdown. Press up on defence and dominate tackles, and that can’t happen.
It is vital that you tackle hard, and then contest the resulting ruck to ensure the All Blacks have slow ball.
STOP THE SHORT PASSING
Pressing high up the pitch is most vital for the men out wide. You will have heard of the umbrella defence, and it is key to stopping the All Blacks from attacking out wide.
Of the All Blacks’ 38 tries, 26 came in the wide channels as they spread the ball wide at speed. They don’t throw cut-out balls, but play short passes which draw defenders and creating gaps. It’s vital to stop that from happening by pressing high up the field, forcing Barrett into a short kicking game or for the All Blacks to cut inside.
In doing that, you’re looking at the lesser of two evils. Sure, the All Blacks can still be potent, but they are never more menacing than when the ball is spread wide.
As it stands, the All Blacks aren’t risking anything with their short passing to the wide men.
FOCUS EARLY ON
This is a terrifying statistic if you’re a defensive unit. For 81 per cent of the All Blacks tries, they have required five or fewer phases to cross the line.
So often, the All Blacks get the ball and attack with frightening pace. It shows the importance of switching onto your defensive job as soon as the ball is turned over, or in All Black hands.
The All Blacks are extremely patient in possession, but if you can stop them from scoring in the first five phases, your chances of preventing a try from being scored greatly improve. Another situation where you’re looking at the lesser of two evils is when you clear the ball from your own half.
Too often, teams are attempting to avoid the All Blacks’ dominant lineout by punting the ball down the middle of the field. The problem is, the All Blacks back three are some of the best counter attackers you’ll see in your lifetime.
We broke down each of the All Blacks tries, seeing where the origin of the try came from. It’s scary just how well spread out the numbers are, but it’s clear you’d rather defend a lineout than a counter attack.
New Zealand scored five of their 38 tries when receiving a kick from the opposition, compared to just two when they had a lineout which was the result of a clearance by the opposition.
As was said earlier, it’s the lesser of two evils. You have to play the numbers game and hope for the best. Just make sure the clearance kick can’t be taken as a quick throw.
CONTEST THE SET PIECE
It’s as if teams have given up on challenging the All Blacks at set piece time, such is their dominance.
During the Rugby Championship, the All Blacks scored 15 tries from set piece situations, including two tries scored following a restart. Seven