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After watching the first Tri-Nations game on Saturday night from Auckland, it became apparent to me that the key to winning the hardest rugby tournament in the world is something of which we’ve all been craving to see more: Space.
In fact, it wasn’t even after the game that this became obvious.
Within the first ten or fifteen minutes, it was noticeable that both the All Blacks and Springboks were looking to play with space as often as they could.
It felt like there was more long and wide passing in those first fifteen minutes than the Wallabies showed in their last two games.
Both flyhalves were throwing the wide pass from the outset, and the All Blacks certainly seemed intent on running the big South African defenders around the ground.
The big difference, though, was that while Morne Steyn would link with whichever Springbok player was in the space he aimed for, Dan Carter was almost exclusively playing for centres Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith.
Width, length, height, angles run from depth. Space was there wherever you looked.
Before too long, New Zealand had turned this space into attacking dominance, and that’s pretty much how the game played out.
Even before their first try, it was abundantly clear that the All Blacks were making and breaking the advantage line almost at will, while the Springboks were still content to make their ground through the slow pick-and-drive and from Steyn’s rather large boot.
But the kick didn’t always go to plan. From a poor Ricky Januarie box-kick, fullback Mils Muliaina found himself in copious space, and with winger Cory Jane in support, he cut a swathe through the South African midfield, found captain Richie McCaw who headed wide, and in doing so was able to hold the Springbok cover up for long enough to send Smith to the corner.
It seemed that whatever the All Blacks tried there was space available, though admittedly, they did have a numbers advantage at one point during the first half with Bakkies Botha given a yellow card and ten minutes to consider the consequences of his cynical actions.
After halftime, it was more of the same too, with the All Blacks able to string the phases together quite regularly, and their back three of Muliaina, Jane, and Joe Rokocoko providing excellent service in both counter-attack and general kick returns.
No.8 Kieran Read’s try was another notable use of space, but of a different variety. With scrumhalf Piri Weepu now on, and with New Zealand pressing the South African try line, Weepu rather than handing off for the pick-and-drive from the base of the ruck, instead drifted wider, while Read came from a wider “outside-in” angle as the commentators described it.
It was perfect execution, and the use of space made it all the better.
With Weepu getting outside the defensive channel at the ruck, and Read able to run at a wider gap, it just became a matter of momentum versus technique, with the result being a converted try.
New Zealand used similar tactics throughout the game too, where rather than just driving the ball back into the ruck defenders, they ran the one-off runners wider, which also had the effect of engaging new defenders. And with new defenders drawn in, the space was there out wide. Rugby really can be a simple game sometimes.
So what does this mean for the Wallabies?
Well, for starters, by the time they play their first game, they could be taking on a Springbok side hell-bent on redemption in the Tri-Nations.
That’s a worry. Not nearly as worrying, though, as how red-hot the All Blacks might be by then.
What the Wallabies have to do is use space to their advantage. In some respects, it will just mean going back to the same attacking mindset from the first Test against England, but generally it’s going to mean playing a whole lot wider than they did in the June Tests.
For Luke Burgess and Will Genia, it’s going to mean taking a leaf out of the All Black No.9’s book, and play the pick-and-drive runner one defender wider.
Likewise, the forward runners can’t just lope at the back of the ruck and charge into the defence off flat feet. Use the space; find the width and depth, and trust the pass.
And on that topic, trusting the pass is something Matt Giteau needs to do if he manages to hold his inside centre spot. Whether it’s Giteau, Berrick Barnes, or even Wallaby squad newbie Anthony Faingaa at inside, they all need to find the space out wider and let flyhalf Quade Cooper hit them with his outstanding long pass.
And once Cooper does find them, do the right thing by the pass and stay straight, rather than running laterally.
If Kurtley Beale is reading this (and I can’t think why he wouldn’t be) ‘use the space’ does not give you licence to fluff through pointless little kicks, like the one you bombed a certain try against Ireland with.
For you, it means finding yourself in the correct position at fullback (assuming that’s where you play), running at gaps, and utilising the space with your wingers on counter-attack and kick return.
I wrote some months back about the Australian Super 14 teams needing “a dose of the Reds”, and this could easily apply to the Wallabies now too, as they start developing their Tri-Nations game plans. This is actually a point many Roarers – especially the Queenslanders amongst us – have been quick to make since watching the All Blacks’ impressive Springbok-demolition on Saturday night.
And with good reason too. All the best games of rugby this season have been those where teams have used the space available. We’ve seen glimpses of it from the Wallabies, but of late, they’ve reverted to the same play of finding the inside runner.
Use the space, look to the outside too.
Space may well be the final frontier for the Wallabies, but it is already playing a major role in the Tri-Nations. If the Wallabies are to be a chance, let’s just hope it doesn’t take a lifetime to find it.