Everybody talked about it, everybody knew about it.
Even now writing this column I am going back to how I had to think when facing
New Zealand as a player.
Then, just as it is now, it was the ultimate challenge.
I played against them nine times, and they were all such memorable occasions,
even though I was only on the winning side once.
My Scotland
debut was against them in 1972, and I had played them twice just before
that.
I had captained the North of England (my club side was Headingley) against
them at Bradford, then I had played for the Rest of Scotland against them at
Hawick.
I also played all four British
and Irish Lions Tests on the 1977 tour, winning the second in
Christchurch.
You have to have the attitude that they are going to be better than any side
you have faced.
If you are doing something wrong, they will be getting it right. If you are
not there in a certain situation, they will be.
There is a saying that you do not beat New Zealand – you just get more points
than them at the final whistle.
And that sums up their attitude. You just know that any game against them is
going to have that sort of edge, intensity and competitiveness.
England
beat them last year at Twickenham, but there were times in the second half
when you still thought New Zealand might claw it back. They never give up.
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2 DECISION MAKING
In the professional era, when defences have been more organised, the All
Blacks continually assess situations better than other teams, wherever they
are on the field.
It is the risk versus reward scenario that they assess so well.
It is a collective understanding in terms of the decisions to be made and the
support that is then required.
If there is a rugby union team you need to watch live, it is New Zealand.
All the others you can see on TV and study what they do, but not New Zealand.
Their support play and work off the ball is quite outstanding.
The two or three players near the ball invariably make the right decision.
If there is a soft tackle, there will be an offload.
If there is a good tackle, then the players are so technically good at
ensuring that the ball is protected. They are brought up that way.
Somebody said to me that at 16 or 17 years of age an English rugby player will
probably be much better technically than a New Zealander at scrummaging,
mauling and line-out work.
But that is because in New Zealand they concentrate on running, passing and
tackling up to that age, and then they bring in that really technical and
detailed stuff later in a player’s development.
What you get in New Zealand is players who are brought up to be comfortable on
the ball and in space.
That is why when fly-half Dan Carter gets the ball sometimes he is likely to
have a second row in a good position two passes outside him.
It is not just his centres that he looks for in terms of running lines and
repositioning.
He will expect any of his forwards to be getting into good, strong positions.
He always has options.
Against good opposition they are prepared to be patient in building their game
because they know their basics are so good.
They all have world-class basics. Under pressure they do not do anything
spectacular but their execution of pass, tackle, run and kick is better than
anyone.
They will play in the right areas.
But even against the best opposition, as they showed against South
Africa in the final match of the Rugby Championship, if an
opportunity arises, you do not see just one All Black reacting, you can be
sure that three or four will be in the ball carrier’s slipstream.
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3 BEWARE SUPPORT RUNNERS
For a long, long time on the wall of my office at home I had a photograph from
a calendar. It was of Wales
playing the All Blacks in 1988.
The picture is taken from right behind Jonathan Davies, Wales’ fly-half, with
an All Black back-row forward running at him.
Half a metre either side of the attacker you can see the whole All Black pack,
and they are not flat, either – they go back about 20m.
Sometimes principles do not change. And that one of support certainly has not.
I always said to the Scotland team that once the ball came into play it did
not matter what number was on your back, you then became a rugby player.
And I got that from playing and coaching against New Zealand.
What they have got is the ability to beat a player one-on-one, and then the
support to that becomes critical.
It is almost as if every New Zealand player is constantly asking himself:
“Where is my next role to make me the most effective part of this team?â€
The other thing the All Blacks do is accelerate into contact. Interestingly
enough they are not the biggest side in world rugby, but it is about how you
use your power, and they do it by making that definite acceleration.
They are technically so good in their body angles that they just force
opponents to readjust.
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4 DRIVE BACK McCAW
Last year England played exceptionally well in winning 38-21, keeping their
width and forcing the All Blacks to defend more one-on-one than they would
have liked.
England really challenged them at the breakdown and forced them to work on the
back foot. The All Blacks pride themselves on being the best at the
breakdown.
Richie McCaw is usually supreme there.
When the law changed so that you could attack the ball in the tackle once you
had released, McCaw was the first back rower who realised that he did not
have to be first there. He was the second man going for the ball.
Now that happens a lot, but McCaw was the first to do it regularly.
But he had an uncomfortable afternoon last year against England because he was
going backwards.
For an hour the All Blacks could not control England at the breakdown.
And the teams who dictate the breakdown more often than not dictate the result.
England will be looking to win again because their performance last year was a
textbook example of principles that can win any Test match.
They can repeat them this time, too. That is what good teams do.
England v New Zealand: The way you beat the All Blacks, by Sir Ian McGeechan
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