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Why are the All Blacks always so good?

Roar Guru
3rd October, 2017
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Kieran Read of the All Blacks lifts the Bledisloe Cup. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)
Roar Guru
3rd October, 2017
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4829 Reads

The Argentinians asked the age old question in the past few days – “why are the All Blacks always so good?”

They are not alone in asking that. What is the secret behind New Zealand having the best record of any nation in this sport?

Further, to put the naysayers in their place, why is their record suggestive of the All Blacks being the most successful sporting team of all time?

Least anyone comes up with something to dispute this, let the question remain: why are they so damned hard to beat and why does this amazing record continue in the professional age?

The All Blacks are not always the top dogs and have been out-gunned by the Springboks in 1937, the Wallabies especially following the 1999 World Cup, the English in 2003 and the Bokkie grilled them in 2009.

But no other nation has traditionally bounced back so quickly from defeat and the dynasty rolls on. I believe I may have found the answer …. it is called “rugby smarts.”

We are seeing it now right before our eyes. They are never satisfied to stick to the same game plan or to allow others rugby coaches to come up with a formula to counter their current playing style.

After the 37 Boks cleaned them up, it became a nationalistic crusade for the men in black to prove their manhood and overturn the South Africans in the 1956 series. It was crude and tough and with Kevin Skinner sorting out the visitors in the front row, the All Blacks overcame the “invincibility” aura of their greatest rival.

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But it was in 1967 under Freddie Allen that the mantra 15 man rugby beats ten man rugby became the new way of thinking for New Zealand. It was no longer important to necessarily have the best forward pack {the corollary of which was that backline play was often undervalued and stifled with the first five directing play back to the forwards).

This, I believe, was the genesis for them to expand their tactics and give them more than one string in their bow to tackle any and all other teams. They were able to overcome the might of the strong South African and English forwards and to compete with the flair of the French and Australian backlines. All because of 15 man rugby.

But that is only part of the formula for ongoing success. Never satisfied with their performances, the coaches and players always looked for ways to improve and to learn and adapt from defeat.

The most recent example is 2009 when the Springboks beat the Kiwis three to nil by exposing the weakness in the All Black backline under the high ball and by playing a territorial game.

The answer came swiftly when the three to nil results were overturned the following season when the wingers and fullback were changed to those with great skills under the high ball.

And therein lies the secret of the continuing dominance (with occasional exceptions) by this small country with its resolve to stay on top. It is the willingness to look beyond today and change tactics, to stay in front in the thinking of the game and how to disarm potential opposition who have worked out how to counter the All Blacks tactics.

Look at how the game plan is different to that of two to three years ago. The emphasis on territorial kicking and attacking from deep while still important has been replaced by playing under extreme pressure from rush defences.

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Recognising the difficulty of coping with screen and shallow defences and reaping the rewards is the work-on at present. Whether they succeed remains to be seen but the oppositions are now faced with something new from the Abs.

So, to conclude, the secret to their success lies in them not resting on their laurels and reinventing themselves to remain one step ahead. Looking at themselves first and foremost and changing the profile of the wheel so to speak.

Eddie Jones will have little or no idea what will be presented to him and England when they meet next year and I would suggest the coaches and players with the Black colours may not either. But sure as hell, it will be different to what we see now.

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