Streets Ahead...

Cast your minds back to this recent series of Rugby Union Autumn Internationals....

Yes I know this post might seem a little irrelevant and a bit late but nonetheless the matches between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres certainly provided us with food for thought.

Only England and Scotland managed to post victories over any of the Tri-Nations and, although Wales and Ireland pushed them close, at times it looked like neither South Africa, Australia or New Zealand got out of second gear.

What really struck me though was the All Blacks.

I know anybody sitting reading this will tell me that they are 'chokers' and that they historically 'peak too early' but I'm going to be bold with my prediction at this early stage. They WILL win the World Cup at home.

Not only are they streets ahead of the rest in terms of player resources, their tactics and skills in the recent International matches were absolutely outstanding. Okay, so it helps if Dan Carter is your fly-half and Richie McCaw is your Captain but if we stop and look at a few other things it becomes clearer to why they were so dominant.

At the breakdown they were brutal and at set-piece they surprised and outscrummaged most but i want to specifically pick up on a couple of points.

1) The Offload

The offload isn't just all about keeping the 'ball alive', that is far too simplistic a description. Where the All Blacks were able to rip teams apart was in their timing of the offload from the ball carrier and the angles that the reciever picked. What troubles an opposition defence is marking other players when their focus is on the man in possession. Take New Zealand's first try against England. When the ball is spun wide off the top of the lineout each England defender can easily pick his man up and Tindall is drawn towards Sonny Bill-Williams. It's then when Sonny is able to get his arms free that the problems are posed. Both the full-back and the winger can recieve the pass from the outside center and have the opportunity to pick an angle from a deeper position. Another defender is drawn to the ball carrier to stop either the offload or a continued carry and that frees up space for the three-quarters.

Now this isn't all about Sonny Bill. He undoubtedly has brought those skills from his Rugby League background, but this was across the board, this was every player on the pitch willing to not only chance the offload but time it.

2) Defence

I'm not just talking about your typical All Black impenetrable 'wall', brutal and all-consuming. I'm talking about their focus on the ball. The growing trend in Rugby Union is to carry the ball in one hand and because players are not protected from having possession stripped they risk having it done to them on a regular basis. Time and time again the howls of British supporters were heard over their teams inability to keep hold of the ball against New Zealand. It's not a coincidence though. After watching each side that the All Blacks faced repeatedly turn over the ball, I started to notice the emphasis that they placed on getting two men in the tackle; one high and one low. Graham Henry and his defence coach have focused on stripping the ball from the opposition and dangerously counter-attacking from the resulting turnover.

Now, you might argue that these are two simple and minor reasons behind their success. That really any team containing Carter, McCaw, Reid, Nonu, Muliaina etc... should be winning every match that they play. But, I'd argue differently. It's this sort of attention to detail, it's this sort of Rugby evolution that differentiates the best from the very good and it's this sort of innovative thinking that will see Richie lift that Web-Ellis trophy in 2011.