Smith has plans to expand his role
Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Experienced fullback Ben Smith has revealed he has been working hard at adding a new string to his bow in his final year with the All Blacks.
Smith, aged 33, and with 76 tests under his belt, will make his final lap of the track with the national team in their tilt at an historic hat-trick of World Cup crowns in Japan later this year before he heads for a season in Pau, France. Before that there is a truncated Rugby Championship, a pair of Bledisloe Cup clashes and a final hitout against Tonga to tick off.
Smith, a castiron starter, found himself pushed on to the right wing over the back part of last year when the All Blacks preferred the playmaking ability of Damian McKenzie in the No 15 jersey. They liked the presence of a ready-made second first-receiver option in their backline, and were happy to compromise with the classy Smith to achieve that.
But with McKenzie gone for the season through injury, that temptation has been removed, and there’s a decent chance Smith will return as the firstchoice All Blacks fullback for the 2019 campaign, which opens with the visit to Buenos Aires for the Rugby Championship opener against Argentina next weekend.
If that’s the case, then expect to see a more versatile figure in the fullback’s jersey this year, with the Highlanders veteran confirming he’s been working hard at adding those first receiver skills to his repertoire.
‘‘It’s important to have twosided attack off any play really so you don’t become predictable, and the opposition can’t just defend one side of the ruck,’’ said Smith when asked about the fullback’s expanding role in these All Blacks.
‘‘The more you can have a 15 and a 10 owning both sides of the ruck, the more effective your game is going to be. It’s something I’ve been working on and I feel like it’s something I’m growing in my game.’’
Smith shapes as an important figure in the group heading to Argentina for the first match of the World Cup countdown, with most Crusaders players being left behind to slot in for the clash against the Springboks in Wellington a week later.
Smith, flanker Sam Cane (a likely captain), lock Brodie Retallick, hooker Dane Coles and first five-eighth Beauden Barrett will form the core of a solid leadership group as the All Blacks look to bed in their game for 2019 with what coach Steve Hansen has pledged will be a pared-back, less-isbest approach.
Smith shrugged off a question on whether he would take on the captaincy – ‘‘I haven’t really thought about it’’ – but did offer a peek at the work-ons for the opening test.
‘‘They’ve said we want to be real good at attacking against linespeed, so it’s making sure we’ve got the right tools to bring out when teams are going to bring that pressure defensively,’’ Smith said yesterday. ‘‘We’ve been working on that, and making sure we can pressure other teams on defence.’’
It’s a busy time in the All Blacks. At the moment they have a squad of 39 that is split into two groups, with most of the Crusaders only arriving yesterday, and the coaches staying behind while the playing group heads to Buenos Aires today.
After the first two matches, there will be a cull to 34 for the twin Bledisloes in August, then after that a further trim to just 31 for the Tongan warmup and World Cup campaign.
And, of course, the World Cup hovers as the Holy Grail that everyone has been working four years to get their shot at.
But for Smith, and all his team-mates, the fact they’re playing test matches for the All Blacks helps keep their heads from getting too cluttered.
‘‘It’s easy to concentrate on the job at hand,’’ he said.
‘‘As players, we want to do the right thing for the team and every player wants to go forward and be part of this campaign. So whoever is up against Argentina next week will get the first opportunity, that’s exciting, and all we look at is week by week and preparing as well as we can each week to get out there and do the job.’’