All Blacks: Henry faced with giant cull

Since Graham Henry and his panel took over in 2004, the All Blacks had never lost more than twice in a season. Photo / Getty Images

Counting off the next 20 days will be a torturous drill for those All Blacks brave enough to challenge their demons.

In three weeks they suit up against the Wallabies in Sydney in a bid to staunch the worst results in Graham Henry's extended All Black coaching tenure.

Since Henry and his panel took over in 2004, the All Blacks had never lost more than twice in a season but their latest 31-19 defeat in Durban condemned them to their third failure in just six tests this year.

On the evidence of that performance and the muddled work this year, the All Blacks will be extremely fortunate not to lose again in their remaining eight internationals.

Star first five-eighth Daniel Carter will reappear during the next segment of the Tri-Nations series, but even his best form would not have saved the All Blacks' latest dross.

Their error rate was abysmal, and for those enthralled by lists, it was as bad as any performance in the 69 tests since Henry took over. It resembled the 40-26 loss to the Springboks at Ellis Park in 2004 and was as disjointed as the 21-10 defeat to the same foes at Rustenburg in 2006.

After the 2004 gremlins, the selectors culled senior players such as Justin Marshall, Andrew Mehrtens, Carlos Spencer and Kees Meeuws and overhauled the team's style and patterns. A repeat rebuild is necessary, but the cull is trickier this time as there is not a swag of alternative choices.

Some, such as Joe Rokocoko, Brendon Leonard, Rodney So'oialo, Jason Eaton and Neemia Tialata, need to play their way into form in the national championship while the lack of influence from others such as Mils Muliaina, Ma'a Nonu and Andrew Hore presents a dilemma for the panel.

You also have to question the coaches' instructions for the All Blacks to play so much football in their own half, to persist with the messy array of kicks, and the side's lack of belief in the lineouts.

Error counts will vary but the All Blacks lost possession more than 30 times. It was criminal.

They knocked on at least 15 passes, lost three of their lineouts, passed twice to the opposition, several times into touch and once over the deadball line. There were forward and spilled passes, turnovers at the ruck and at the tackle and one at an under-strength scrum when Morne Steyn scored part of his complete Bok total.

Add on the 13 penalties the All Blacks conceded to the Boks' five and it was probably a miracle the tourists were not belted by more.

They forsook the sort of advice offered in the Weekend Herald by former national coach Laurie Mains and Sharks coach John Plumtree, as men who coached in South Africa and knew the conditions and understood the Boks' mentality.

That duo suggested structure, field position and repeated aggression were the keys to success.

Henry's side tried to play high tempo, expressive but hazardous rugby which foundered on their hideous mistake rate and the Bok defence.

"The guys were trying to play the right style of football against this particular team," an unrepentant Henry said after the test.

"It's just that it's high risk, some of it. It's difficult when you're living off crumbs. When you're chasing your tail and you haven't got a lot of ball to play with, you push it. If we'd nailed a couple of the opportunities, it may have turned the game around a wee bit for us."

Assistant Wayne Smith disputed the suggestion that a kicking game would have helped.

"You kick long against this team and it relieves the pressure for about five seconds, two seconds maybe. Then it's coming back at you in the air with great chasers after it," he said.

That debate will continue to wash through rugby circles, but there will be no argument about the mistake rate.

Some of the offences were bewildering; Rokocoko trying to run the ball out from behind his line instead of forcing it, Hore choosing to throw long on his own line with Isaac Ross in the sin bin, and overcooking the delivery, Jerome Kaino penalised twice in rapid succession for not binding on the scrum.

The errors did not abate. There was little respite once Ross finished an excellent length of the field try in the 10th minute. It was a superb try, but one which may have enticed the All Blacks and their coaching staff into persevering with their high-risk and ultimately fatal attacking strategy.