It seems crazy to think now that the All Blacks in 2011 only had one genuine test quality first-five. Under Hansen they have developed the most ridiculous strength in depth at No 10.
BETWEEN 2012 AND 2019 THE ALL BLACKS HAD AN INCREDIBLE POOL OF FIRSTFIVES AT THEIR DISPOSAL, WHICH WAS NO ACCIDENT. IN STEVE HANSEN’ S EIGHT- YEAR TENURE, WORLD RUGBY MADE AN ALL BLACK NO 1 0 PLAYER OF THE YEAR ON FOUR OCCASIONS.
The All Blacks learned the hard way in 2011 that it is a massive risk to be so reliant on just one first-five.
Their World Cup campaign was famously thrown into chaos when chief play-maker Daniel Carter was ruled out of the tournament before the last pool game.
It was incredibly bad luck that their next two first-fives – Colin Slade and Aaron Cruden – were also injured in successive games, but really the moment Carter was ruled out was the moment that changed everything.
Because Carter was their everything. He was the man on whom so much depended. Not only was he truly world class, there was daylight between him and Slade.
Carter had 70-plus caps coming into the tournament and was widely recognised as the best No 10 on the planet with many believing he was the best there had ever been.
Slade, on the other hand, had made his debut off the bench in September 2010 and then missed selection for the end of year tour.
He only picked up a couple more caps before the tournament and came into it with limited exposure to genuinely difficult situations.
The over-reliance on Carter was a result of the pressure the All Blacks were under after failing at the 2007 World Cup.
They needed to restore public confidence in 2008 which meant Carter had to be on the field for most of each test.
His understudy at the 2007 World Cup, Nick Evans had headed overseas so the All Blacks didn’t have an alternative choice which compounded the need for Carter to be involved all the time.
The end result was that the All Blacks, having had four years to build their options at No 10, ended up with just one first-five they trusted in 2011.
When Steve Hansen was elevated to the head coach role in 2012 he vowed to not make the same mistake and he set about building depth at No 10 by developing both Cruden and 20-year-old Beauden Barrett alongside Carter.
There was no grand plan ever publicly stated in this regard, but it was obvious Hansen wanted New Zealand to be seen as the world leader in the production and development of No 10s.
He wanted for New Zealand to not only have the world’s best first-five, but the second best and even the third best. The way his teams would play, the No 10 was always going to be the key tactical driver. The on board computer and therefore with the prospect of injuries so high in what is also a physically demanding defensive role, he knew the All Blacks would need at least two if not three and maybe even four great first-fives.
It actually ended up being slightly ridiculous in 2015 that the All Blacks had such riches to choose from at No 10.
There was the vastly experienced Carter. Cruden, because Carter had been so frequently injured in the cycle, had pushed close to winning 40 test caps and Barrett had started a handful of tests at No 10 and played close to 20 off the bench.
There was also Slade, who was a World Cup winner and Tom Taylor, the Crusaders utility back who had won a few caps and acquitted himself well and Lima Sopoaga who came up late on the rails, guiding the Highlanders to the Super Rugby title in 2015 before making an accomplished test debut at Ellis Park.
From heading into the 2011 World Cup with just one choice, the All Blacks had six No 10s to pick from in 2015.
But there was more to the story than quantity. The quality aspect can’t be overlooked. Carter was named World Rugby Player of the Year in 2012.
He’d returned from the serious injury he incurred at the World Cup and looked every bit as sharp but with even more tactical control and composure.
That same year, Cruden emerged from the shadows and when he had to step into the No 10 jersey at late notice in Cardiff due to an injury to Carter, he delivered a world class performance that marked him out as arguably one of the world’s leading first-fives behind Carter.
By 2014 – a year that saw Carter barely play due to a sabbatical and then a broken leg – Cruden was playing so well that there were genuine arguments to be mounted he was now New Zealand’s number one.
There was certainly no guarantee Carter would win back the starting role when he returned. And then there was Barrett.
Still so young and inexperienced in the role, but so obviously full of potential. Even
Cwith many parts of his game to develop, Barrett was considered among the top five No 10s in the world. oming into 2016, the All Blacks had seen a reduction in their No 10 options. Carter had retired and Slade and Taylor had gone offshore. The challenge for Hansen was to rebuild what he had once had. Ideally, he wanted by 2019 to have in his midst a player of similar quality and experience to Carter.
Preferably he’d have an almost equally experienced and talented second option and a third who had enough experience to be thrown into big games without anyone needing to fret.
If the All Blacks could build their resources to that end, it would mean they would have the potential to weather injuries, make tactical personnel changes during games and maybe even stack their team so that two first-fives started – with one at fullback – and a third on the bench.
These were the goals, but the first step was to determine who would be developed as the number one option.
Despite not making it to the 2015 World Cup because of injury, Cruden was the man given the first chance to secure the starting berth.
He had been second in the pecking order between 2012 and 2015 and had matured into a world class player.
Hansen felt he had earned the right to take over from Carter and it was Cruden who wore No 10 in the first test of 2016, with Barrett on the bench and Sopoaga in the squad.
It was a big call to make because it said that Cruden was the future of the
All Blacks.
BARRETT’S JUST BEEN SO GOOD THAT YOU WANT HIM ON THE PARK FOR 80 MINUTES, NOT JUST 40 OR 50.’ STEVE HANSEN
He was destined to be their main game driver and the man around whom their tactical work would be built.
It also created a few questions about Barrett’s future. He had been an impact bench player for the last four years.
Could that really be his fate for another four? It appeared destined to be that way until the second test when Cruden was injured after 30 minutes.
On came Barrett and changed everything. The All Blacks were transformed and looked smoother and more threatening when Barrett played.
When he started the following week the All Blacks produced their best performance of the series and Barrett was sensational.
He returned to the Hurricanes and guided them to their first Super Rugby title, playing a huge role in their charge to the title.
His goal-kicking was excellent. His vision was superb and his tactical management was beyond where it had previously been.
He was in stunning form and come the first Bledisloe Cup test in mid-August, it was no surprise Barrett was picked to start ahead of Cruden.
“Barrett’s just been so good that you want him on the park for 80 minutes, not just 40 or 50,” Hansen said.
“He’s really forced our hand and said, ‘you’ve just got to pick me’.”
If it felt at the time the change in pecking order was only going to be temporary – that Cruden would force his way back to the top of the pile - that faded throughout the Rugby Championship.
Barrett was quite brilliant as were the All Blacks and from thinking it would take the better part of the World Cup cycle to develop a world class player with the same impact as Carter, the All Blacks unbelievably did it in nine months.
Barrett played so well that there was serious debate about whether he may in fact have surpassed Carter in terms of his influence and range of skills.
He was that good. Something clicked and he was firing through defences like they weren’t there.
His kicking was accurate and long, his control of the game was good and he was an absolutely natural No 10 who, despite it being his first season as the first choice first-five, looked like he had been doing it for years.
Barrett ended the season as World Rugby Player of the Year and the All Blacks with just one defeat.
Barrett had been a high impact bench player for four years, but now he was suddenly the All Blacks tactical driver and first choice playmaker. Now he was the player around whom the entire attack game would be built and more significantly, he was re-writing the potential of the All Blacks.
Expectations were not high in 2016 given the loss of so much talent and experience post-World Cup and no one could really see how the All Blacks could sustain their success.
There was certainly no one saying they could reach even higher levels than they had and yet, by the end of the Rugby Championship, they were playing better rugby than they were in 2015.
What had changed was the attacking potential of the team. Between 2012 and 2015 the All Blacks had build a triple threat game – pass, run and kick. But in 2016 they had taken their pass and run to such heights that they were unstoppable. And Barrett was the key to it all. He gave them the ability to play at pace, to break open defences from deep and it was Barrett who gave the likes of Ben Smith, Anton Lienert-Brown and Israel Dagg the space they needed in which to operate.
The 57-15 destruction of South Africa in Durban was one of the great performances of the professional age and Barrett was just brilliant in that game – scoring two tries and creating so many by popping up everywhere and using his incredible skill-set to damage the Boks.
It was a total rugby performance that had the rest of the
I’VE OFTEN SAID IF THE REWARD’S WORTH
THE RISK, THEN TAKE THE RISK. OBVIOUSLY TO REPLACE BEAUDEN AT FIRST-FIVE YOU’VE GOT TO HAVE SOMEONE THAT’S PRETTY GOOD.’ STEVE HANSEN
world in awe. Former Scotland and British Lions coach Ian McGeechan was moved to write in the Daily Telegraph: “The only side that can stand comparison [to the current New Zealand team] is the 1987 All Blacks, who won the first World Cup.
They changed rugby, and the shape of the game as it was played.
“But this side are taking the game to levels not seen before. What has been particularly impressive about this side is that they have done all this with new players coming in.
“What Hansen has done is allow the newcomers to add their strengths to the All Blacks game. It makes the team so enjoyable to watch because you are never quite sure how they are going to evolve in attack.
“It is not a case of these players fitting in, rather it is the group that is already there reacting to the new qualities being introduced. And what that does is make the side harder to read for the opposition.”
It ended up being a memorable year for the All Blacks – winning 13 of their 14 tests, scoring 80 tries and 562 points. By way of comparison when the All Blacks went through 2013 undefeated, they scored 51 tries and 454 points.
Those numbers highlighted the Barrett effect and the jump in attacking potential. From averaging 3.6 tries per game in 2013, that number jumped to 5.8 in 2016.
The All Blacks attack game had become almost uncontainable. There was no obvious way to shut down the impact of Barrett or stop him igniting the running power of a backline that was loaded with speed and skill.
But it wasn’t just that the All Blacks had seen Barrett climb to new levels that changed their attacking prowess.
Throughout 2016 they brought Cruden off the bench with 25 minutes to 30 minutes to go and pushed Barrett to fullback.
Cruden’s experience and control was world class and like Barrett, he too was a colossal attacking force.
The beauty of injecting Cruden was that it allowed Barrett to attack from a different place on the field and that made life extraordinarily difficult for opponents.
Just as they were starting to get used to the All Blacks attacking style with Barrett at 10, they had to re-adjust and try to close down the space on the edge of the field.
It gave the All Blacks flexibility and unpredictability and they also had the belts and braces security of Sopoaga in the background, who was slowly developed off the bench in games against Argentina and then on the end of year tour against Italy.
By the end of the year, the All Blacks had achieved all their first-five goals. They had three players genuinely capable of playing test rugby. They had their world class first choice option in Barrett and a highly experienced, world class back-up in Cruden.
Even when Cruden announced in early January 2017 that he would be heading to France after the Lions tour, the All Blacks had Plan B up their sleeve.
Sopoaga would become Barrett’s back-up and Damian McKenzie, who had come into the squad as a fullback, would be the third option to develop at No 10.
There it was – this ridiculous depth of riches that confirmed Hansen had been quite brilliant at ensuring the All Blacks
always had a number of world class No 10s to call upon.
The final twist came when Sopoaga left for Wasps in 2018 and McKenzie damaged his knee and was ruled out of the World Cup.
That left Hansen having to fast-track Richie Mo’unga and potentially the All Blacks were in danger of reaching the World Cup with Barrett as their only real No 10.
But once again it was possible for a young No 10 to come into the All Blacks and deliver high quality performances from their first cap.
Mo’unga was a revelation and after spending most of 2018 coming off the bench, Hansen had seen enough to be convinced that he should switch Barrett to fullback and play Mo’unga at first-five.
“It’s probably time,” Hansen explained when the decision was made to first try that combination against the Springboks before the World Cup.
“We’ve got a plan with a whole lot of things that we want to do before we get to the nitty gritty business [of the Rugby World Cup] and we just felt Saturday’s the right time to try that particular part of the plan.
“I’ve often said if the reward’s worth the risk, then take the risk. Obviously to replace Beauden at first-five you’ve got to have someone that’s pretty good.
“Richie’s been playing very well for the last couple of years and at some point you want all your good players on the park, and both of them are world class.”
However much disappointment there was at the end of the World Cup, there was the satisfaction of sorts of knowing that the All Blacks in Barrett and Mo’unga, had the two best No 10s in the competition.