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The quick solution to improve the All Blacks backline chemistry

(Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images and Joe Allison/Getty Images)

As the All Blacks prepare for a rematch with the Springboks at Ellis Park they are in desperate need of finding answers for a team that hasn’t performed to expectations.

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Whilst there were signs of improvement in Mbombela, the All Blacks still lack cohesion and chemistry as a unit to pull off the level of clinical execution required.

There were half-chances and half-breaks but they weren’t able to capitalise on much, with a late try coming from Shannon Frizell after a Caleb Clarke burst.

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If Ian Foster wants to improve the chemistry in his out-of-sync team, one simple solution is to make selections for the Ellis Park test based on key combinations that have already been formed, which is something the All Blacks have not done so far, particularly in the backs.

They played Beauden Barrett at first five-eighth with Quinn Tupaea and Rieko Ioane and in the midfield twice against Ireland, before swapping Tupaea for Crusader David Havili in the third test.

In the first test against Ireland Tupaea and Ioane played well together, having a few starring moments in attack. They combined well down the left hand side to free Leicester Fainga’anuku in the lead up to Jordie Barrett’s opening try.

The Chiefs No 12 was then dropped for the third and final test after an off-night in Dunedin which then thrust Havili into the role cold, but that didn’t improve things, and was in fact probably a worse performance than what Tupaea offered.

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It is clear there is no chemistry between Havili and Ioane, with neither player showing a great understanding of each other’s game. They had a handful of tests together in 2021 but don’t play at club level and the lack of time together shows.

It doesn’t help that neither player is established at this level in their respective positions, with Ioane attempting a transition from the left wing while converted fullback Havili is trying to find his feet at second five at test level.

Ioane has areas of his game as a centre that need to develop which has complicated matters for the backs.

His anticipatory support play in general play has been next to non-existent so far this year, always expecting early ball to have a carry rather than offering a support line for a playmaker.

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When he does get the ball, he has tunnel vision too often and will almost never look to keep the ball alive late. His ability to draw contact and promote the ball is not there, starving his outsides of opportunity.

When he distributes, he plays early which isn’t a problem but does not stall the defence from drifting.

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It is a big part of his game that needs to come into fruition. Ioane would flourish with a No 12 who can put him into space and unlock the speedster’s open field running, but his own support play needs to improve. Right now, Ioane’s own talents are wasted.

However, if Barrett and Ioane are persisted with at 10 and 13, the ideal option at 12 is Roger Tuivasa-Sheck due to the fact they have played the entire season together at the Blues and they combined well at the back end of the season. There is a level of comfort and trust there that can be relied on to improve the situation.

The Rugby League-convert has sharp footwork and is no stranger to running it straight into physical defences from his time in the NRL, while if he was given a license to look for an offload he might give Ioane an opportunity he needs to break a game open.

Tuivasa-Sheck is a rookie to international rugby but he is not an inexperienced athlete. The 29-year-old is a seasoned professional having played in high pressure games in the NRL including Grand Finals, and would handle the Ellis Park environment as well as anyone.

Whilst Aaron Smith and Barrett have formed their combination together for years with the All Blacks, Blues halfback Finlay Christie was the form No 9 of Super Rugby and showed at Mbombela some zip and energy that had been missing.

Adding Christie and keeping last week’s left wing Caleb Clarke would form a majority Blues backline that would at least bring a level of understanding that is simply not there at the moment.

Even Stephen Perofeta at fullback should be considered. Whilst a left field pick, he would bring some much needed ball-playing into the 15 jersey that Jordie Barrett hasn’t mastered.

Rieko Ioane and Jordie Barrett’s chemistry out wide has also been clunky, Barrett has suffered from the same tunnel vision problems as Ioane, shutting off other options and looking for contact with no intention to pass late at the line.

When Jordie Barrett has stepped up as a first receiver he has looked very good, it is when he is out on the edge, he hasn’t been able to create for his wingers enough.

Late in the second Irish test he had a great play bouncing outside of Joey Cabery before putting Will Jordan over in the corner, but that playmaking has been a rarity.

The other option for the All Blacks coaches have is to rely on the Crusaders combinations, and connect Havili with the players he knows and trusts.

Havili is out of sorts playing with the Blues No 10 and 13 and needs Richie Mo’unga and Jack Goodhue to find some familiarity. Goodhue has been injured but his offloading and passing game has been sorely missed.

If Goodhue is fit and available it would alleviate some of the teething problems with Ioane at centre.

Mo’unga looked sharp in his brief stint off the bench and offered some confident play that has been missing from his tests against top tier international teams. With an injury cloud over Barrett, Mo’unga could have his chance to start again.

Will Jordan could be given a run at fullback with Sevu Reece coming back onto the right wing.

There are two ready-made backlines sitting there with better chemistry than the one currently being hobbled together.

The backs can in fact overcome shortcomings at the breakdown if they are good enough to strike early off set-piece and in broken play moments. Long phase counts typically aren’t required to manufacture tries and breaks.

While the All Blacks will want to improve their ball retention, they don’t need to play a dull game of carrying the ball off 9 all day in close quarters. First phase, second phase or third phase strikes can do the job.

If you look at where the Springboks have been opened up the most in the last 12 months, it has been out wide when the high pressure defence hasn’t been quick enough, and up the seam at the tail of the lineout.

Two of their most important cogs on the edge that keep the high pressure defence together, Faf de Klerk and Cheslin Kolbe, are out injured. They are down to their third choice right wing, centre Jesse Kriel.

The Wallabies knew where to target last year, the British & Irish Lions in the third test finally figured it out, but the All Blacks haven’t figured it out yet.

If they select a backline with some pre-made cohesion from either the Crusaders or Blues, they might be a chance to execute at the level they need to and get their attacking game going.

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Comments

9 Comments
G
GrahamVF 831 days ago

Not going to help if the AB’s are giving away four or five scrum penalties and the loose forwards are having a chat with the wings.

P
Peter 832 days ago

Excellent article. And just goes to show the amazing options the ABs have. Totally agree with Ioane. The combo of RTS and Clarke would certainly straighten the back line. But I wonder if Clarke has the nuanced passing skills to find a wing. I'd certainly like to see the combo. The Barret bros would get into any international team, But....? So many options. The wealth of talent available to ABs is amazing. And yes we the forwards need a good look.

J
Josh 832 days ago

They should have never let laumape go. He would have been the perfect 12 for All Blacks right now and have RTS at 13 to collect the off load pass at speed. RTS needs depth and speed to create good movements and playing him at 13 will suit him and his style of playing.

E
Euan 832 days ago

I'd put either Goodhue or Clarke at centre, to punch holes in the defence, which Reiko doesn't seem to do, unless there's a great big gap in front of him.

a
ala 833 days ago

I'm pretty sure Ben Smith knows alot more than any of us.

M
Martyn 833 days ago

I just don't rate Havili at international level. He may be playing out of position but is he a better fullback than Jordan and the Barrett boys?

C
Chris 833 days ago

It is difficult to imagine any of these combinations working. Havili and Tupia are both donkey crash ballers when the pressure is on. Ioane is not a centre. He is a very good runner but never looks to set up his outsides. He goes awol in big games.
Big bird should go 12 and Fainganuku a stop gap at 13 till Goodhue gets back.
The forwards are just a hopeless bunch of pussies

M
Mark 833 days ago

Tipical of Nz, u guys worry about the backs, the problem is your pack is weak a d that's as simple as that. U got to find props and locks and a proper no 7,

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JW 3 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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