KEY POINTS:
It was some admission. Facing their third successive defeat, the All Black selectors have been forced into changes they did not foresee for Saturday's return test against the Wallabies.
When they announced their side yesterday it showed the return of captain Richie McCaw, fullback Leon MacDonald and centre
Conrad Smith with a positional switch to wing for Mils Muliaina.
Halfback and hooker were also bracketed because of injuries to Andrew Ellis (ribs), Jimmy Cowan (knee) and Andrew Hore (hip).
But around those alterations was the acceptance they had made tactical and technical blunders in Sydney in the opening of their four-test Bledisloe Cup series.
"We have to have the right game plan and execution," coach Graham Henry admitted in the wake of his side's 34-19 defeat last week in Sydney. "We've made some tactical changes in our selections but we also need to change how we play."
Coaching assistant Wayne Smith accepted he lost the tactical battle in Sydney and that it would not be the last time that occurred. But he, Henry and Steve Hansen were working hard to overcome their lack of match practice under the ELVs and had bulked up the kicking firepower in the backline to return some of the Wallaby punts.
"We're all learning under the ELVs. I've been out-coached before and I'll be out-coached again. We played too much behind our own gain line."
McCaw's return after a six-week spell with an ankle injury is a fillip and one which allows the loose forwards to form a more familiar pattern with Rodney So'oialo at No 8 and Jerome Kaino on the blindside. However after his false start last week, there is no guarantee that McCaw will make the start line or finish the Eden Park test.
Muliaina has played the bulk of his 62 tests at fullback but has also featured a dozen times on the wing since making his test debut there as a substitute in 2003 and both he and MacDonald have increased the kick-return capability of the All Blacks.
"You can study them all you like ... but until you go through a time of playing under these new rules you are not going to cement it all in and we certainly didn't last week,"Henry said.
"Hopefully we have learned quite a bit from that so we will be more competitive this week."
One major learning point had been that the All Blacks received 38 kicks last week whereas they would normally field about a third of that number during a test. The Wallabies wanted to avoid the dangers of being exposed to turnovers or free kicks, so kicked a great deal more than the All Blacks were used to.
"I would say that is the biggest influence these new laws are having on the game, it is becoming much more of a kick-chase game and putting pressure on, than it was before."
Smith said the ball was also in play for about 39 minutes in Sydney whereas the average time under the old rules was about 28 minutes, so that changed how teams would play the game.
The panel had done plenty of work on the new laws but there were plenty of subtleties they had to comprehend and adapt.
Kicking would become a major weapon and Smith noted that in league, about 80 per cent of tries came from kicks and he thought that would become a trend in rugby as well.
Henry accepted it was a difficult and frustrating time for the team and coaching staff but the object for everyone, was not to be sidetracked or diverted from their primary jobs of coaching and playing rugby. It was a huge change going to the new laws but everyone was working hard on that transition.
All Blacks
Leon MacDonald, Mils Muliaina, Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Dan Carter, Jimmy Cowan/Piri Weepu/Andy Ellis, Rodney So'oialo, Richie McCaw (captain), Jerome Kaino, Ali Williams, Brad Thorn, Greg Somerville, Andrew Hore/Keven Mealamu, Tony Woodcock.
Reserves: Andrew Hore/Keven Mealamu, John Afoa, Anthony Boric, Adam Thomson/Daniel Braid, Jimmy Cowan/Piri Weepu/Andy Ellis, Stephen Donald, Richard Kahui.
Wallabies
Adam Ashley-Cooper, Peter Hynes, Stirling Mortlock (captain), Berrick Barnes, Lote Tuqiri, Matt Giteau, Luke Burgess, Wycliff Palu, George Smith, Phil Waugh, Nathan Sharpe, James Horwill, Al Baxter, Stephen Moore, Benn Robinson.
Reserves: Tatafu Polota-Nau, Matt Dunning, Dan Vickerman, Hugh McMeniman, Sam Cordingley, Ryan Cross, Drew Mitchell.
