The All Blacks kicked off the test season with a 23-13 win over France in Auckland on Saturday night. ODT Online rugby contributor Jeff Cheshire looks at what we learned from the victory.
The All Blacks can win without McCaw and Carter
This time two years ago losing Richie McCaw and Daniel Carter was the All Blacks' greatest fear heading into the Rugby World Cup. Both were considered almost essential to the team, both in their ability, but also in the psychological frame of mind of the team. Of course we all know what unfolded, but in 2011 it was all they could do to get through the last few games without Carter calling the shots.
Two years later and we find ourselves in a much more comfortable position. While McCaw and Carter both would have made a huge difference, the All Blacks showed that they were capable of beating a reasonable French side without their two kingpins. Add to this the absences of Cory Jane and Sam Whitelock and the All Blacks showed that there remains reasonable depth in New Zealand rugby and that they do not rely on two or three players the way they may have done a few years ago.
Ben Smith to fullback, Rene Ranger to the wing
Israel Dagg did not do an awful lot wrong, but he was not his normal electric self either. Conversely, Ben Smith looked dangerous and did well with the ball he got, while Rene Ranger made an immediate impact upon his introduction.
The argument that Smith should be the starting fullback grows ever stronger and especially given the form of Ranger on the wing, it is hard to justify why he should not be. At fullback Smith is in the game more and is able to threaten on the counter, while also finding it easier to come into the line.
Surely you want your best attacking player in a position where he is going to see the most ball?
Likewise, Ranger deserves a start after an excellent Super 15 and a top notch cameo in the first test of the year. Dagg needs to regain his confidence and could drop to the bench.
Need to use the attacking weapons more
Undoubtedly the messy nature of the game in close had a lot to do with this, but it just does not make sense to have so many attacking weapons on your team and then not use them.
Julian Savea hardly saw any ball all night and needs to be a go-to man on attack. Possibly the most dangerous back in the world, combining speed, strength and power, Savea is such a threat and can be a match-winner if he is given the ball in the right situations. This is especially relevant against France, as their outside backs are not the strongest defensively.
Ben Smith too needs to see more ball, which would be more likely if he was playing at fullback. If he is confined to the wing for another week though, there needs to be more of an effort to get him into the game.
Need to cut down mistakes
Of course one of the reasons why the outside backs were not seeing the ball was that there was too much ball being turned over in close. Through a combination of dropped balls, being beaten to the breakdown and not securing loose ball, the All Blacks (and the French) never had enough possession to really apply any pressure.
It was not dissimilar to 2012 really, in that they had to play 80 minutes of rugby to produce 10 quality minutes where the game was won. However, they cannot keep relying on this and will not keep getting away with it. The aim for this year needs to be to put together 80 minutes of good rugby, which starts by cutting down on basic errors.
The scrums need work
Not the All Black scrum, but just scrums in general. The number of scrum resets and infringements given in this game was ridiculous and made for an extremely dour second half. France were clearly trying to get the upper-hand in this area and constantly tried to jump the gun and were consequently pinged a number of times. When they did go at the right time though, more often than not it either collapsed or a penalty was given, which was the fault of both teams.
The problem is that scrums are not longer seen as a means to restart the game, but almost a game in themselves, where the front rowers look to get one up on their opposite. Sure it is essential to have a good scrum to win rugby games, but perhaps we have gone too far with this. Certainly it would make for a much better game if they could get it right.
