How the world’s

In a new column for Stuff, a former Springbok World Cup winner and assistant coach examines how to beat the All Blacks.

Everybody is always trying to figure out what tactical point of difference the All Blacks bring to the game.

Contrary to popular belief, the All Blacks aren’t amazing when it comes to tactical innovations.

If you examine the

All Blacks and study the way in which they Brendan Venter play, they really don’t try to outwit the opposition the whole time. The irony is that the more opposing teams try to come up with weird tricks in an attempt to defeat the All Blacks, the more the men in black stay ahead.

In terms of the best defensive system to employ against the All Blacks, teams have dabbled with so many different ideas and playing patterns.

Opposition have tried to rush them, go soft on them and keep numbers on their feet. However, I don’t believe there is any singular best system to utilise against the All Blacks because their click attack is second to none.

The concept of click attack is where they wait for opportunities to counter from broken play and pounce to devastating effect. A poor kickchase, an up-and-under, which they field, and a turnover are all clicks for them on offence.

Everybody tries to perfect click attack, but few teams manage to implement it successfully. Click attack is akin to a door closing, and the defence is theoretically at its most vulnerable for the next two phases. At a high level, the defence would realign and then it basically morphs into multiphase rugby. The ability to try to break down the defence within the first couple of phases post the situation is critical, and the All Blacks are the best at that.

When facing the All Blacks, it’s not just about the system you use. It’s more complex than saying you are either going to defend softer or harder, have better line-speed or opt not contest the breakdown. It’s about how consistently you can stay alive and be aware to the fact that there will be a threat – The threat will come off set-piece, kick-return, contestable kicks and turnovers.

The bottom line is that against the All Blacks you need to work harder than ever before, otherwise you won’t stand a