Secret attack plans will be no rush job

It’s funny how rugby teams talk about their constant need to innovate and evolve and yet there is now a uniform desire among leading international sides to defend the same way.

The All Blacks are not expecting to encounter much variation this year — they believe every team they play will come at them with a rush defence.

Generating linespeed has become the main focus for all international teams, the thinking being that a defensive blitz can not only shut down the opposition’s attacking space, it can be an effective weapon in forcing turnovers and winning penalties.

The British and Irish Lions used a rush defence masterfully last year. They showed how much pressure can be induced by a fastmoving wall that demands the opposition decision-makers think and act quickly on attack and then execute with pin-point accuracy.

The Lions showed that if a team builds its entire game around a rush defence, they can reap considerable benefits.

And so, having seen how the Lions made it work for them, most other international sides have decided to borrow and adapt much of what they did.

The All Blacks saw that last year. The Australians stormed them in Brisbane with a fast defensive plan.

The Scots and Welsh also brought significant linespeed in their respective tests and obviously everyone is figuring that this is the way to play now.

More specifically, everyone believes this is the way to beat the All Blacks — get in their face and not let the playmakers have an inch to do their thing. Beauden

Barrett is brilliant with space and time, human like everyone else when he’s denied it.

“The biggest trend is being able to deal with all the linespeed and what variations you can put into your attack to punish that,” says All Blacks coach Steve Hansen.

“We’ve talked about having a triple-threat game [run-catch-kick], and it’s having the ability to make good decisions with high-end skills.

“More and more teams are doing it, and they’ve been effective. The good thing is it’s starting to happen here and we’re having to adapt and adjust every day, rather than just every now and again.”

Obviously the All Blacks don’t want to give away how they intend to adapt their attacking style to deal with the inevitable linespeed they will encounter.

The answers will become evident throughout the year and they may have ploys to negate the effects.

It’s highly probable the All Blacks will use their kicking game more than they did last year, particularly so against France.

They will use the double kicking threat of Aaron Smith and Barrett to keep turning the French and to also provide Ben Smith with the opportunity to compete for possession in the air.

A good kicking game takes some of the sting out of the defending side — sees them hold back a little knowing they could be having to turn and chase back.

The more obvious adjustments will come in the All Blacks’ alignment — they could stand deeper and buy time or come right up but don’t come on to the ball with much pace.

This is effectively what the All Blacks coaches have been working on for the last six months — a variety of attacking plans designed to break the stranglehold of a rush defence.

They know they have to be able to get their attack game going quickly and force the French to adjust their shape and style defensively.