Beating the All Blacks — that’s what it’s all about
Untouchables | Reigning world champions have left all pretenders scrambling to keep up
NEW Zealand have been the only winner of the two editions of the Rugby Championship so far, which makes the equation straightforward: for the Springboks, Wallabies and Pumas to win the title they have to beat the All Blacks at least once.
The reigning world champions have hardly broken stride since winning theWorld Cup on home soil in 2011 and have taken their rugby to a higher level, which has left all the pretenders scrambling to keep up.
The All Blacks have won each of their 12 Championship matches with an average winning score of 32-15. The last time they were defeated by a southern hemisphere rival was before the 2011 World Cup, when they lost to the Boks and the Wallabies while fielding a weakened team.
Since then they have marched on mercilessly, losing only to England at Twickenham in 2012 in their final match of a long season. Since losing 25-20 to Australia in 2011 they have played 38 matches, won 36, drawn one and lost one.
Steve Hansen’s side sits on a 17-match winning streak, matching the Boks of 1997-98 and New Zealand of 1965-69 for the longest winning streak by a tier-one rugby nation.
“In a nutshell, to beat the All Blacks you have to bring your ‘A’ game, you have to have good players, a good set of tactics and you’ve got to play for every second of the 80 minutes,” said Wallaby coach Ewen McKenzie.
“Last year Ireland led after 79 minutes against the All Blacks but lost the match in the 80th minute. That’s what they do to you. They’re very good at the basics and all the emotion that goes with putting on the All Black jersey adds to their men-
TACTICS: Cut them down at source and starve them of possession, says Heyneke Meyer tal strength. You’re fighting against a lot of things there.
“They are strong in all the key aspects of the game — but that’s not to say there aren’t areas of opportunity for opponents.
“You must impose your methods and ideas on them. In other words, you have to put them under pressure, which can be through aggressive defence or a clever attack.
“They kick more than any team but their kicking is accurate, which allows them to contest most balls. They kick with a purpose, and that purpose is to make it a contest.”
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer believes cutting the All Blacks down at source and starving them of possession should be the base for an assault on the world champions.
“Firstly, teams have to ensure their set-pieces are very good — not only scrums and lineouts but also the kick-off, where they have a lot of variations,” Meyer said.
“The All Blacks kick more than any other international team at the moment, and it’s no secret that they have a brilliant kicking game, so you will have to be very good tactically to counter that.
“If their tactical kicking is better than yours, you will be pinned in your own half; they will force you into making mistakes and will score from that.
“Ball retention is also key, as they are very good from turnover: you will have to protect your possession very well.”
The Boks have lost players to the sin bin crucially when they’ve had the All Blacks under pressure in recent years. Meyer is all too aware of the cost.
“Your discipline and defence will have to be spot-on. They often keep their loose forwards out in the wide channels, where they create overlaps to score.
“Finally, your fitness levels will have to be very high, because the days of outmuscling the All Blacks are gone. They are probably the best-conditioned side in the world and matching them in this area of the game is imperative.”