'A lot of tweaks': All Blacks confident in rejuvenated game plan against Springboks

The All Blacks dominated Los Pumas in the opening 40 minutes of their 2023 international season, pulling out to a 31-0 lead at the halftime break. The win kicks a World Cup year off on a positive note for the New Zealanders and showcased some different tactical play from what we saw from the team last year.

It was a turbulent 2022 season for the team but one where a new coaching staff gradually implemented their expertise and vision for the World Cup. Now, with a full offseason to develop that vision, Ian Foster has a team starting to connect those dots on the field.

The midfield partnership of Jordie Barrett and Rieko Ioane looks to be locked in as the future centrepiece of the backline and the pair put in an impressive performance in Mendoza.

Ioane credited the coaches and the playmakers for masterminding and executing the game plan.

“There have definitely been a lot of tweaks from last year to this year, and it’s things we identified as a team towards the end of the year, and the start of our year,” he said.

“Schmidty [Joe Schmidt] and Foz [Foster] are at the forefront of that, and they’re really leading the charge. And like I said before, our game drivers…Richie, DMac and Baz bossing us around, they’re masters of their craft and we’re just trying to play off of them.”

As for the midfield partnership, Ioane was pleased with how his latest inside half was going after playing alongside a number of midfield options since claiming the No 13 jersey.

“It’s good,” Ioane said of the partnership. “Jordie’s an outstanding player and last Saturday was no different. You saw the type of player he is, very physical and very confrontational.

“I’ve always said that it helps my game as a No 13, because we’re two bigger bodies, and I’m sure that’s what the coaches expect from us.

“He was phenomenal last week and looking forward to it.”

Round two of The Rugby Championship offers the crème de la crème of southern hemisphere rugby, a battle between the two sides who have won the most Rugby World Cups and boast a fierce rivalry, South Africa and New Zealand.

The Springboks opted for a split-squad approach to The Rugby Championship schedule meaning much of the team they’ve named for the match has been in New Zealand preparing since last Tuesday.

The All Blacks are boosted by the return to fitness of Will Jordan and Mark Telea, while Leicester Fainga’anuku and Sam Whitelock remain questionable.

An impressive outing from the Springboks backline in Pretoria spoke to the depth and talent the South Africans possess, Ioane though shared no doubt his teammates had the skill to go toe to toe with the World Champs.

“Hopefully we can post 40 again, that would be good,” Ioane said. “But I’m not too sure what’s going to unfold, but we know that both teams are preparing to put out their best performance, and hopefully it’s a cracker.

“I don’t watch too much footy, but definitely their wingers…I think [Moodie] played against us last year and caused us a bit of havoc under the high ball.

“We’re going to have things in place to counter that, but we don’t look too much at individuals, as we do team v team, and I back our boys.”