Why life’s a bench for the All Blacks
Here’s the scene: you’ve gone toeto-toe with the All Blacks for an hour and, through sheer force of will and unrelenting commitment, you’ve stayed in the contest. Then, as your figurative gas tank nudges towards empty, you look up and see, in quick succession, seven fresh-as-a-daisy, world-class Kiwis trot on to close this baby out.
Unconsciously, at least, your heart sinks. Are you kidding? It’s taken everything we have to get this close, and now they refresh with players this good?
Somewhere deep down you realise that the All Blacks, unlike almost everyone else, are at their best in the final quarter when top-level tests are inevitably decided; that new bodies bring new intensity and energy, and a closing effort near impossible to match.
It must be disheartening.
It must drain the last ounce of energy to look up, as England will at Twickenham tomorrow, and see Dane Coles or Scott Barrett or Ofa Tu’ungafasi or TJ Perenara charging around smashing through holes and essentially taking the All Blacks up a level right when their performance should be dropping off.
Should be. But, with one or two exceptions, doesn’t.
The All Blacks couldn’t quite summon the finishing magic in Wellington in September when they suffered their only defeat of the year, 36-34 to the Springboks. But even then they all but dug their way out of a big hole late, and gave themselves a chance in the closing seconds. That they spurned a dropped goal and grassed the final move was merely the exception that proves the rule.
A few weeks later in Pretoria they were not so generous, trailing 23-6 after 52 minutes and 31-18 with 10 to play. This time they nailed the finish and hauled the Boks in with two tries in the waning minutes to snatch a famous, benchinspired victory.
Not long after a similar script played out against the Wallabies in Yokohama. Close contest for 50, 55 minutes, then, bam, the All Blacks left them in their dust. It happens, to various degrees, so often that it not so much an aberration, as the norm.
Steve Hansen has a simple philosophy when it comes to the best, and most utilised, bench in world rugby. Imagine the All Blacks coach espousing, in his inimitable drawl, ‘‘what’s the point in having subs if you’re not going to use them?’’
He’s right. Rugby is no longer a 15-man game, and has not been for a long time. From an All Blacks’ perspective, it is now exclusively a 23-strong affair. All hands on deck and no letup in intensity till the final whistle.
Hansen not only uses his subs, but changes the game with them. It has become an intrinsic part of the All Blacks’ formula under his stewardship when they’ve lost just seven of their 93 tests since 2012. You don’t carve a record like that without getting your detail right.
And when it comes to their bench, the All Blacks, aided immeasurably by dipping into the deepest pool of talent, appear to have the formula down to a tee.
‘‘How you use your bench is a trump card‚’’ Hansen explained after their Pretoria escape act highlighted by his subs’ massive impact.
‘‘You’ve got them there and you have to play them at some point. It is an art to come off the bench and do something. We train that a lot.
‘‘There is an expectation that they add to the game. Sometimes they don’t‚ sometimes they do. [But] you can’t keep playing everyone for 80 minutes because they run out of petrol.’’
Here’s the thing. The All Blacks understand the value of their bench and have no hesitation in taking out someone who’s playing well. Usually it’s the props first, round about the 50-minute mark, then the halfback, the lock, then the backline reshuffle that often sees Beauden Barrett shift back to 15.
Everyone gets a shot. No exceptions. Figures from ESPN match data show since 2016 the All Blacks have used every substitute in every test they have played (between 2012-14 they had 30 unused subs in 42 tests). That’s 39 tests played, and precisely zero replacements not used.
The next best is France’s five, while up at the top Wales and South Africa are in the 30s.
‘‘They are a true 23-man team with the ability to make those moves,’’ says former All Blacks coach John Hart whose tenure (1996-99) straddled the shift (in ’97) to tactical replacements. ‘‘People ask if someone is playing well, why has he come off? But they know what everyone’s limits are.’’
Hart believes South Africa erred in the Pretoria test by replacing the in-form Faf de Klerk and Malcolm Marx too soon. There was a performance dropoff. But the All Blacks are different. A class apart. There is almost always a lift, or at least a maintaining of the intensity, when the subs come in.
‘‘The All Blacks have a plan but they’re always flexible as to timing,’’ adds Hart. ‘‘Sometimes they go early, sometimes they go later. They’ve got an incredible ability to read the situation.’’
Of course talent helps. If you’re replacing a tiring world-class player with a fresh one who is just as good, well, why would you have any hesitation pulling the trigger?
‘‘That allows that flexibility and even to be a little preconceived. Their bench is part of the reason they’re so successful,’’ says Hart. ‘‘When most benches come on teams tend to lose rhythm. When their bench comes on the All Blacks carry on, and sometimes gain impetus.
‘‘It’s a credit to them they’ve developed such a positive attitude. You hear Dane Coles and TJ Perenara when they’re not in the [starting] team and how hard they work to help the guys who are. That’s a unique approach and is helped by the fact they do use the bench and guys know they’re still going to get an opportunity.’’
As test rugby has evolved in the professional era, so too has the use of subs. The All Blacks’ rivals will soon be emptying their own benches with similar intent. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Hart notes it’s all so different from 1997 when, in the first year, he was having to deal with starters showing open dissent about being substituted.
‘‘It’s moved a long way since then. The whole attitude of protecting your position has changed as part of the growth of professionalism,’’ he adds.
Think of the potential All Blacks bench at next year’s World Cup. They could have Coles, Karl Tu’inukuafe, Nepo Laulala, Scott Barrett, Ardie Savea, TJ Perenara, Richie Mo’unga and Ryan Crotty.
‘‘It could be an absolute differencemaker,’’ concludes Hart. ‘‘Their strength is their depth, and no-one uses it as well as these guys.’’
‘‘It is an art to come off the bench and do something. We train that a lot.’’
Steve Hansen