men’s
nations-championship
The All Blacks continue to actively seek improvements as they gear up to face Steve Tandy’s squad, Wales, this upcoming weekend in Cardiff.
Coach Dave Rennie’s group is anticipated to implement a number of adjustments for their round five Nations Championship match at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, following a robust second-half effort against Scotland.
After entering halftime at Murrayfield with a mixed first half performance, the All Blacks adapted their strategy and made significant headway in the latter 40 minutes, successfully defeating Gregor Townsend’s team.
Competing in front of more than 67,000 fans in Edinburgh, the visitors struggled to defend against Scotland’s driving maul, allowing two tries from Ewan Ashman in the opening half.
Assistant coach Neil Barnes spoke to the media on Tuesday in Bath, England, recognizing the minor adjustments that need to be made in their defensive setup.
“Look, there’s some finer detail that goes on in your maul defence that we honestly believe we can be better at,” Barnes shared on a chilly and fog-laden Tuesday morning in Bath.
“Good on them; they set them up well. We’ve got to learn to accommodate the fact that the referees over here let it go. Back home, that [could] have been a use-it call.
“But 100%. We know we’ve got to be better there, and we’re not proud of it that we let Scotland in for those tries. But good on them; they brought three backs in and exposed us in that area.”
The long-serving Taranaki head coach, who now serves as an assistant to the All Blacks, stated that his forward pack had a “pretty solid day at the office,” highlighting the advancements made during scrummaging.
“Yeah, we had a pretty good day at the office, but yeah, you’ve got to earn that,” Barnes remarked.
“So really pleased with the progress we’re making, particularly at scrum time with Jason. He’s been working diligently in that area, and we actually achieved a lot of strength there.
“And then we managed to execute a couple of creative plays against Scotland as well. So they’re pretty effective at defending their mauls in this region.
“But we’d like to consider that if they’re preparing to commit all to the maul, tthere’ll be opportunities around the edges of them.”
While the lineout faced challenges defensively, the All Blacks successfully executed all 17 of their lineout attempts, even finding success with a couple of initial-phase scoring plays.
Barnes assured the press that they have additional strategies in reserve and will determine the optimal timing for their use.
“Oh, definitely. 10 or 20 more. How many do you need? But just to be clear, at the end of the day, we evaluate each team based on how they approach their gameplay, and if there’s a chance to take advantage, we’ll go for it.”
