Ryan proves he’s a pack leader
Through the frustrations of their wildly inconsistent season the most notable shift from the All Blacks comes in the form of their gradually improving forward pack.
Axing coaches mid-World Cup cycle is unheard of for the All Blacks. Yet after successive defeats to Ireland in July sealed the first home series loss for 27 years, major changes were nonnegotiable.
As pressure and scrutiny reached fever pitch, Ian Foster jettisoned assistants John Plumtree and Brad Mooar.
Jason Ryan, after six highly successful years guiding the Crusaders forwards alongside Scott Robertson, was the first piece of the puzzle added after agreeing to leave that post and the same role with Fiji to assume responsibility for the All Blacks engine room.
Ryan made his mark immediately. After watching the All Blacks pack get beaten and bullied, he stated their reputation had been dented. Ryan then set about stripping back unnecessary detail to vastly improve the lineout, maul attack and defence while continuing to target breakdown shifts.
In an interview with the Herald this week, the straight-talking Ryan lifts the lid on friction within the revamped All Blacks coaching team that now features Joe Schmidt to offer a deeper insight after Beauden Barrett revealed shots were fired during the team review of last week’s controversial Bledisloe Cup classic in Melbourne.
While patchy results are yet to reflect the true benefits of the recent coaching overhaul, behind the scenes the All Blacks appear to be embracing a much more demanding, harder edge that bodes well. “The honesty and feedback we’re getting, and the growth in the areas we need to, has definitely improved. I think people can see that. Consistency is something we’ve got to build. Consistently the only thing we have been doing for a while was being inconsistent,” Ryan says as the All Blacks prepare for the rematch with the Wallabies at Eden Parktonight.
“We’re driving our habits as a coaching group. We’re challenging each other every day. Everyone is in each other’s lane now and again but that’s how it should be. That’s the key to success — making sure we’re accountable as a coaching group. We’re having really robust discussions as selectors and doing what’s best for the All Blacks.
“To respect the jersey, you can’t sugar-coat things and you can’t hide from the hard conversations or avoid things because they’ll usually come back and bite you with a bit of GST attached.
“On Monday morning when we name the team it’s like a job interview for these boys. All they want to know is ‘am I going to pull the jersey on’ and they’re disappointed when they’re not. You’re never going to have everyone happy in high performance.”
Ryan is authentic. He coaches with his heart on his sleeve and backs his technical nous that helped the Crusaders to six titles to nail the important details.
Those foundations allow him to extend confronting conversations to demanding lifts in standards from senior All Blacks through to new front-rowers Ethan de Groot, Fletcher Newell, and Tyrel Lomax.
“A lot of All Blacks have become All Blacks because they’re talented rugby players, not necessarily because they’ve had great coaching,” Ryan says. “I’m really mindful that if you’ve played 100 plus test matches, they still want to be coached.
“I’m still having challenging conversations with Brodie Retallick this week around the need to be better in this area. They want that, they love that, they thrive on that. The more they’ve been in the jersey, the more experience they’ve got, that’s their expectation, too, that they don’t get comfortable and start slipping up.
“I’ve enjoyed that part of it as well as bringing some younger boys through. You’ve got to have the balance, and you’ve got to hold everyone accountable. We’ve got a good mix there.”
Last week’s great escape at Marvel Stadium encapsulates the fluctuating work from the All Blacks pack this season. The lineout was superb; the scrum not so. The maul operated effectively — other than the last attempt where the pack lost their feet to be penalised.
Ryan knows the All Blacks continue to take strides in these areas but he wants more.
“I look at when All Blacks forward packs were their absolute best — they had accountability, honesty and people who set others up to succeed. That’s what I’m priding myself on, making sure this All Blacks forward pack is improving all the time while keeping grounded. “We’ve made some good shifts in the lineout, maul defence and attack because we needed to. And we’ve brought in a little bit of variation which is helping our attacking game as well and Joe has had a big part in that.”
The breakdown is another focal point where Ryan and Schmidt are collaborating. Ireland, South Africa, Argentina, Australia all enjoyed varying degrees of success there against the All Blacks. Partly that’s due to the volatile interpretations. Yet the blueprint to stifle, strangle, the All Blacks remains shutting them down at this source.
Last week the All Blacks were often too high with their carries and cleans which allowed the Wallabies loosies to flourish.
“It’s about making sure we’re accurate but the team doesn’t need heaps of information. Although rugby is a complex game and there’s a lot of moving parts you’ve got to be really clear about the how, why and when.
“We’ve peeled it back — there was probably a little bit of confusion — but we’ve still got work to do. We know we can play the game at speed and get momentum but there’s still the game management we need to improve so we’re having positive influences on the game at key times.”
Five tests in the past seven weeks have been a whirlwind. He’s still new to the test scene and eager to drive change while soaking up every moment of his dream job.
“You can never be too comfortable in the All Blacks. The jersey demands a lot out of you and it’s pretty relentless — she’s high octane around the expectations that we’ve got on the team. We’ve made a few shifts in that area. I’m definitely feeling confident in my job and what I need to do.”