Barrett keen to add depth

Don’t be surprised to see a deeper All Blacks backline at Albany this weekend. Or was Beauden Barrett just foxing with the Springboks?

Talk of rush defence has been all the rage among discussions and dissections of the All Blacks of late.

After the British and Irish Lions often employed it during their drawn series in New Zealand, somewhat following in the footsteps of Ireland during their historic win in Chicago last year, a defensive system that charges off its line is gaining traction as a key factor in throwing the world’s No 1 team off their stride.

That hasn’t stopped the All Blacks from going three-from-three to start the Rugby Championship, scoring back-to-back wins over the Wallabies and coming-from-behind to overcome Argentina last weekend. The same polish and precision we are used to seeing in attack, however, has at times gone missing across those three fixtures.

But, according to the player charged with controlling that backline from first five-eighth, things are not always as they seem.

‘‘I don’t think Argentina brought lot of that,’’ Barrett said yesterday. ‘‘We allowed them to have that space by being a bit flat at times but I wouldn’t call them a rush defence team.

‘‘We expect a bit more from South Africa but we’ve learned from the weekend ... and we are playing into their hands if we are too flat at the line.’’

Barrett said the squad was not feeling any perceived public angst at its performances so far in 2017, before explaining what it needed to do to improve.

‘‘[Communication from those around me] certainly helps but an easy response would be just to stand deeper, it gives you more time on the ball.

‘‘If you have that speed we can always make up for lost time if we are a bit deeper.’’