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Reviewing the All Blacks' Test series against England

Roar Rookie
23rd June, 2014
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The All Blacks are number one but England are advancing slowly. (AFP PHOTO / MARTY MELVILLE)
Roar Rookie
23rd June, 2014
89
1677 Reads

The All Blacks got better with each Test, just as the English worsened in each of theirs.

This is not to denigrate the Roses, who are on an upward trend, well coached, have significant depth and whose Under-20 side have just won back-to-back Junior World Cups.

They may not be the finished product in London in 2015 but in my opinion they will be hard to beat in a one-off fixture at Twickenham.

I also thought the All Blacks’ set-pieces got better and better. Pretty good in the first Test, strong in the second Test and culminating in a dominant performance in Hamilton.

Once familiar combinations were established as this series progressed, so the All Blacks shook off their rust and grabbed ascendancy over their rivals. The back three – Cory Jane on the right wing, Ben Smith at fullback and the return of Julian Savea at 11 – made mincemeat of their opposites in the third Test.

As for the back row, how good was it to see the powerful Jerome Kaino back at blindside? With Kieran Read back at eight and Richie McCaw at seven we have some balance in an area where Chris Robshaw, Ben Morgan, James Haskell and Tom Wood had the wood on us for long periods in the first two Tests.

Aaron Cruden answered his critics emphatically in the third Test. He was direct, fearless and had some very deft touches. An excellent game that will see him continue to hold off Beauden Barrett.

Barrett has been great from the pine and for me is a better carrier, but if Crudes is going to play like he did on Saturday he will remain the incumbent.

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Aaron Smith was also much more enterprising, quicker to the rucks for second, third and fourth phase. He made some great runs himself and apart from an awful box kick in the first half appeared better with the boot, probably because he used it less.

I have heard critics describe Woody as past it. You could have fooled me. Strong at set-pieces, he made some prominent carries in that third Test and his defence included some heavy tackling. Dane Coles continues to impress around the park, another decent carrier, but he has work to do at scrum time.

Brodie Retallick would go close as man of the series, such has been the workload he has carried. Line-outs, clearing out, defence – an absolute warrior. His bruising visage popped up everywhere. One gem saw the All Blacks ball turned over only for Retallick to steal it back. Superb.

Kaino has come back from the land of small, reliable (and recalled) cars, rejoined the fray with the Blues and then immediately made an impact for the All Blacks. In short he is remarkable. Not as big as when he left in 2012, but he has lost none of his power, neither in defence nor when carrying beyond the gain line.

The last Test was the best I have seen from Cory Jane since he was injured in 2011. There was great vision in some of his off-loads and he was excellent down that right wing where he produced that fend. He was great under the high ball and kick chase again. Jane will have his work cut out keeping Charles Piutau out on his return though.

Savea has made an outstanding contribution to the All Blacks since his return in the second Test. His penetration was sorely missed but it is his all round game that makes him one of the best wings in rugby right now. It was interesting to watch Kaino provide him with an offload to score, much in the same way Savea and Read did to sides last season.

How good was Malakai Fekitoa? Touted as Conrad Smith’s heir I had my doubts, and I still do to be honest. The English centres have been papier-mache, no more so than in the third Test where Manu Tuilagi didn’t have the space he had in the first Test and where Kyle Eastmond was all at sea.

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Ma’a Nonu and Fekitoa made metres with ease, and the vital part of Conrad’s game is his vision to be at the pre-requisite position on the park to shut down any opportunity in defence.

Finally a word for the new incumbent fullback. Ben Smith is my man of the series. Brilliant on the wing but just a revelation at this level wearing the 15 jumper. He was fearless under the high ball and superb in defence – that Tuilagi tackle in the first half of the second Test will get plenty of air-play.

Smith runs superb lines to receive and carry well beyond the first or second tackler. He’s always supporting and one of the best broken play runners in the game. About the only thing he did wrong was a forward pass to Savea in the first half.

After the usual stutters for the first Test in June the All Blacks were a different team in Hamilton and will only get better as those combinations continue to gel. I would like to see us start better, as we did in Hamilton. They can be slow out of the blocks and it could have been costly in this series, the French series last year and against the Irish the year before that.

Nevertheless, it appears the All Blacks are well on track for the Rugby Championship again this year.

At the risk of being labelled negative I expect the All Blacks to drop a match this year, in South Africa or Twickenham, maybe even at Home Bush. We have seen that this team remains vulnerable to the right physicality and directness they themselves employ, particularly early on.

I am of the opinion that a loss may benefit this All Blacks team.

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