'He never leaves a stone unturned': All Blacks praise new attack coach

Much has been said about the All Blacks coaches this international season with historic losses and roster instability fuelling critics’ calls for big changes on and off the field.

A somewhat chaotic South African tour that finished in a resounding win for the men in black seems to have finally put the turmoil to rest, however; Ian Foster has been backed by his players and now New Zealand Rugby to steer the ship into 2023.

A robust review schedule for the All Blacks has resulted in new assistants in the coaching group, with Jason Ryan taking over as forwards coach prior to the South African tour and now Joe Schmidt being named as attack coach.

Midfielder David Havili expressed his excitement for the latest coaching addition during Thursday’s media session.

“It’s been awesome to have him,” said the 18-cap All Black. “He’s been here for a couple of days now and I’ve already learnt so much off him.”

Havili made a point of mentioning the attention-oriented approach Schmidt has brought to the All Blacks environment:

“The detail he brings to the game, it’s something that I really enjoy, just the wee bits of stuff I can take out of my game and be able to implement on the weekend.

“He just never leaves a stone unturned. He wants the best out of the player and he pushes you to be better.

“I’ve experienced that the last couple of days and I’m looking forward to another big training couple of days and then getting into the game.”

Will Jordan echoed Havili’s sentiments on Schmidt:

“He’s pretty detailed about how he goes about things,” Jordan said. “Stuff around running lines, he’s big on his catch-pass quality and stuff like that.

“I don’t think it’s huge structural changes but just little things go a long way towards being more successful in that space.”

Despite recent results, it’s safe to say expectations for the All Blacks remain high for the rest of the Rugby Championship and heading into next year’s Rugby World Cup. Schmidt will have to hit the ground running if the team is to ascend to the familiar realm of dominance that the fans demand.