Change of tactics
It was evident straight away that the All Blacks were adopting a new tactical approach. The midfield forward-to-forward short ball that has been such a staple of their game was gone, replaced by a more standard one-off runner. They looked to kick too, not always particularly well, but at least to relieve some pressure and prevent the Wallabies line speed from having any real effect. It was a far less risky game plan, with the more basic attacking game allowing them to support the ball carrier with greater speed, which in turn allowed them to hold the ball for longer. Then when it was on, they took their chances to play an open game and ran in five outstanding tries. By playing what was in front of them, they were less predictable and took the threat of the Australian loosies out of the game.
Kicking could be better, but created space
The kicking game early on was not flash. It was the right idea, although not executed as well as it could have been, as the All Blacks seemed to keep picking out Israel Folau. While that was less than ideal and prevented them creating pressure from the kick, it did put a second thought in the Wallabies mind, as they were not rushing up to the extent they were a week ago. This gave the All Blacks a bit more room to work with, which allowed them to get some more go-forward and force the Wallaby defence to scramble, from which the All Blacks were deadly.
Ma'a Nonu at 12
Ma'a Nonu showed everyone what a difference having an experienced second five makes, as he was into everything for the All Blacks. His footwork, speed off the mark, brutality and outstanding distribution was missing last week and the added threat he posed was too much for the Wallabies to handle. Operating outside a rampant forward pack and a back in form Dan Carter, Nonu bagged two tries and threw a perfect cut out pass to his right, from which Conrad Smith scored from. Defensively he hardly put a foot wrong either. If there were still doubters as to who should be the starting second five at the World Cup, there shouldn't be any more.
Relentless defence
As impressive as the All Blacks attacking effort was, even more impressive was the defence which just never stopped. Even with the score at 41-6 you got the impression that they did not want to give up a try and it took a poor kick in which the chasers were all up which saw Folau eventually cross the line. It was great to see and the physicality and speed really unsettled the Australian attack, stopping them from getting any go-forward, particularly in the second half. As we know all to well, when it comes to a World Cup final, that type of attitude can be the difference between winning and losing.
Ability to strike from anywhere
We have not seen it quite so much this year, but the All Blacks once again showed their ability to attack and score from anywhere at any given time. The most obvious example came in their first half try, in which they successfully defended a rolling maul, turned the ball over and turned defence into attack in a flash. They saw space out wide and used it, before getting quick ball after the first tackle, allowing Dan Carter to run into a gap before the Australian defensive line could set, something they never recovered from. No other team in the world has the ability to flick the switch like that and it is one of the things that separates this team from everyone else.
