Where Razor's All Blacks must swiftly sharpen up

By Liam Napier

As the firsts fade and Scott Robertson’s All Blacks attempt to grasp the grind of the test arena, areas to amend won’t be difficult to identify.

One day after escaping with the fraught 16-15 victory against England in Dunedin in his first, shaky test at the helm, Robertson’s relief transitioned to the reality that the All Blacks must swiftly get back to work.

While the New Zealand scrum set standards, despite bizarre refereeing interpretations, as the weapon they will embrace, many other areas of their game require immediate attention.

In the cold light of a bitter Dunedin breeze, the All Blacks were fortunate to emerge with a positive story to sell.

Had English playmaker Marcus Smith nailed all his kicks, Robertson’s maiden test could have ended in a draw. Smith missed eight points, his All Blacks counterpart Damian McKenzie seven – including his timed-out penalty.

With that in mind, the new All Blacks coaching crew had their eyes prised open to leave ample arsenal to throw at their squad as they drive improvements.

“We’ve got to refine a few things,” Robertson said. “Our job as coaches is to make sure we simplify things to make sure everyone thinks fast and acts fast. That’s when we’re at our best.

“We’ll be better for it. A lot of players that hadn’t played in a while got some time under their belt. We embedded a lot through the week and now we can get into it.”

The battle grounds the All Blacks will drill into centre on the Felix Jones-inspired English rush defence. The shaky lineout that lost three throws. The breakdown, where England increasingly found success stifling and pilfering the New Zealand ball. And decision-making, after playing beyond the first-half siren which allowed England to earn a penalty and draw level at half time.

McKenzie copped the brunt, but wasn’t alone, in feeling the heat of the English midfield rush. From the outset, England targeted the All Blacks’ second-man plays, designed to give playmakers time and space to hit McKenzie hard and fast. Rieko Ioane and other New Zealand backs were also flattened by English defenders shooting out of the line.

While McKenzie exploited space to lay on Sevu Reece’s opening try from the boot and Stephen Perofeta skipped out of Ben Earl’s tackle to set up Ardie Savea, the All Blacks struggled to consistently cope with the consuming defensive pressure.

Line speed has long been the All Blacks’ kryptonite. Kicks to the edge and in behind the line are common solutions but the All Blacks might find more success with strong, direct ball carriers or targeting switch moves around the ruck.

“When the ball is in the air a long time with our passes, it gives them time to get up with spot tackles,” McKenzie said. “Whether it’s shortening our passes up or trying to get the ball to space... the space is there but the way England defend, they make it tough to get it there. We’ll look at it this week. We did a great job at times and there’s a few times we could’ve been a bit better.

“We knew they were going to bring that intense line speed. They put us under pressure a couple of times and we managed to score a good try at the start.”

Robertson acknowledged combatting the rush defence will be a major focus.

“It’s an art,” he said. “We knew they were coming but it’s another thing when they’re coming in real life. There’s some opportunities there we’ll work on, feel it again, and trust ourselves.”

All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan will be intent on tackling the breakdown, where England backs Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Ollie Lawrence and world-class lock Maro Itoje claimed two turnovers each, and the misfiring lineout.

“They’ve got some great operators, some good, low loosies,” Robertson said. “They attack it so quickly. They get their hands on the ball. Sometimes our guys are trying to counter-ruck but their efficiency to read and anticipate is pretty special.”

In a potential blow for the All Blacks, veteran halfback T.J. Perenara appears unlikely to be fit for the second test at Eden Park next Saturday after suffering a nasty twisted knee late in the first half when Scott Barrett was drilled into him in a cleanout.

Finlay Christie’s injection coincided with the All Blacks’ second-half struggles. Should Perenara be ruled out, the All Blacks are considering calling in a replacement – possibly the Highlanders’ Folau Fakatava or Crusaders rookie Noah Hotham – but Christie appears likely to be promoted to start, which would pave the way for dynamic Chiefs halfback Cortez Ratima to debut off the bench.

“If you ask T.J., he’s great, he’s woken up in awesome condition but we’ll scan him this afternoon, “ Robertson said on Sunday. “We hope it’s one of those ones that looks worse than it actually is. We’ll know definitely tomorrow morning [Monday] but we’ve got plans in place if he’s not right.”

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission