Hansen needs to rethink the breakdown

In 2013, after the 36-man training camp in Newlands, Heyneke Meyer made a presentation in which he claimed South Africa were languishing behind their Rugby Championship rivals in the breakdown.

By the close of the Rugby Championship, they were leading the stats in ball retention and turnovers. It could be argued that their breakdown transformation was the leading cause of them finishing as the top try scorer.

2014 has, if anything, seen South Africa make further gains in this area. Their Scottish import and breakdown specialist coach, Richie Gray, preaches the “KISS” principle. Keep it simple stupid.

Tellingly, South Africa have also kept discipline in this area and the results have been compelling.

In 2013, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen shifted defence coach Brian ‘Aussie’ McLean into a strategic analyst role. I suggest it is time he switched from analysing overseas teams to looking at why New Zealand’s defence has slipped dramatically in recent games.

The problem, in my view, is the breakdown and how the All Black players defend. In a way the first half of the third Test against England in June is what happened to New Zealand in the last two Tests. The fringe players standing off from the rucks are sucked in and then the New Zealand line is exposed through the middle or out wide because they are like butter scraped too thin across bread.

The penny has dropped that the worst thing you can do is kick possession away. The Hands Across America style of defence encourages teams to kick the ball away because they see a long line of players fanned out across the field. But, much like a fan, the different parts are at their weakest when stretched apart.

I must confess to not having seen a full replay of the last two games but my impression was that there was very little in the way of kicking, particularly in the last game. I can recall an Israel Folau grubber and an equally disappointing aerial cross kick by Bernard Foley when the situation screamed out for keeping it in hand and passing out wide. Then there was that Nic White box kick.

Similarly, there were a few clearing kicks from New Zealand, but Israel Dagg seemed to make very few punts.

The Wallaby forwards lifted their intensity and the pack got a roll on and the backs standing flat got a lot of front foot ball to play with. Craig Joubert was the ref last year in the England Test and allowed English players to seal off the ball. He was more stringent last Saturday but Australia were allowed far too much in the way of continuity.

Only in the dying moments did the New Zealand defence lift in intensity and drive the Wallabies back. There was more hunger for the ball but the bench had been cleared so it was not because our players were fresher. They just came up quicker, in numbers and hit harder.

Part of New Zealand’s weaponry is that normally they are able to secure a safety cushion of points. Too often in the past few years New Zealand has little in the way of a lead and are often chasing the game. Their resilience and determination to win is admirable, but it is all very well to have enough energy to come back stronger in the final quarter because you have been not committing numbers and expending energy. Often, we are chasing teams who have the safety cushion of points.

The problem is not just one in defence. New Zealand have prided themselves on their ability to convert pressure into points. New Zealand may be still scoring tries but they appear to be leaving more points out on the field.

Obviously there are numerous factors to consider, but one important factor is the lack of continuity in the opposition danger zone. We are hot on attack and spreading out wide and our ball is plundered.

It brings me back to my primary school days and the naive children who foolishly decided to open up their fish and chips only for children to swoop down like seagulls and grab greedily what is not theirs.

The opposition is waiting patiently for the moment to strike and then getting players standing over the ball and getting either a turnover or a penalty for holding on.

There are things we improved on last year. Our scrum looked shaky and we shored that up. We added a lineout maul and used it to good effect. I think the time has come to acknowledge that the opposition is getting too much of an advantage by retaining ball easily and by keeping it in hand, as opposed to kicking. They are able to work New Zealand into vulnerable positions.

When something wrong happens so many times during a game, it’s important to get it right. The time has come for Hansen and his men to rethink their strategy with the breakdown.