All Blacks' planning reason for success - Ashton

Former England coach Brian Ashton. Photo / Getty Images

Former England coach Brian Ashton has heaped praise on the All Blacks saying their flexible approach to rugby is what puts them ahead of their opponents.

In his column for the Independent newspaper Ashton, who coached England at the last Rugby World Cup, wrote that the All Blacks staff are thinking differently about rugby compared to their one dimensional opponents.

"The New Zealanders, armed with a smart back-room staff and some very smart performers, are thinking differently about the game - and playing it differently - to everyone else," he wrote.

"The November matches reminded us that teams who prepare for the hostile environment of Test rugby in a one-dimensional manner should not be in the least surprised if they are blown out of the water when the game fails to unfold in the way they predicted.

The All Blacks won their fourth Grand Slam, the third under Graham Henry, with four convincing wins over the Home Unions last month.

Ashton says that teams are over-planning before a game while the All Blacks are more flexible in their approach.

"The reality, particularly in Test rugby, is that once the whistle blows things can go in any number of directions.

"The best sides - sides like the All Blacks, with all the flexibility and elasticity they have in their game - practise to play rugby in its widest possible sense rather than manacle themselves to a predetermined system.

"If, as we head into World Cup year, their rivals are serious about closing in on them, they will surely have to take a similarly broad approach."

Ashton also said that the All Blacks are streaks ahead of other teams in world rugby even though they didn't reach their potential during the recent end-of-year tour.

"The All Blacks are some distance ahead of the pack, even though they spent most of their Grand Slam trip in third gear.

"Those opposing coaches who blamed error counts and poor decision-making for their sides' failures against the tourists were deluding themselves," he wrote.

- NZHERALD STAFF