Solid platform to aid All Black line-out woes

A focal point of New Zealand’s disappointing international rugby season, the All Blacks’ lineout, has hardly been put on a pedestal – until now.

The first training session ahead of the end of year tour to Japan and Europe featured a new innovation aimed at improving the accuracy of a facet of the All Blacks’ game that has lurched from solid to shonky and back again during Steve Hansen’s stint as forwards coach.

Head coach Graham Henry inherited Hansen’s brief when the tour party was released on Sunday and he had a new tool at his disposal — a platform system that allows the locks to be stationed at their optimum jumping height without the need for props to lift.

Jason Eaton and Tom Donnelly were the first players to road test the apparatus on Tuesday, they stood in stocking feet as hookers Andrew Hore, Corey Flynn and prop Tony Woodcock aimed at their outstretched arms.

The portable stainless steel platforms were devised by the same company that has kept All Blacks scrum guru Mike Cron equipped with cutting edge machinery.

Henry was tipped off to the use of platforms by assistant Crusaders coach Mark Hammett. Canterbury and the Crusaders use a fixed platform at their Christchurch training base.

It was also recommended by Canterbury’s Flynn, one of two specialist hookers on the tour.

Henry said the platforms were indicative of the measures teams had to take to keep up with lineout supremos South Africa.

Taking charge of the lineout for the first time since his reign at Wales between 1998-2002, Henry said attention to the set piece had changed dramatically.

“The lineouts got a hell of a lot more sophisticated. A huge amount of expertise has gone into lineout, a huge amount of analysis to make the explosiveness of the jump and trying to get people off the ground.

“Now video analysis works out the number of frames it takes to get a guy to the peak of his jump.

“(Victor) Matfield is the quickest in the world off the ground to the peak of his jump,” Henry said, saying the challenge was to somehow match the Springbok.

While the platform is static, it should help the hookers find their range before the lifters take over in the game.