All Blacks to the drawing board

All Black assistant coach Wayne Smith (centre right) taking the All Blacks through some moves in Palmerston North last year. Picture / Fotopress

An acknowledgement that the All Blacks have slipped behind England's training technology has led to a hasty revamping of their speed and agility testing.

England under Sir Clive Woodward have used ProZone software technology to formulate rugby-specific fitness programmes, while the All Blacks have relied on more traditional means of testing.

All Blacks fitness trainer Graham Lowe is working on processes and video analysis which will see a paradigm shift in fitness testing.

"With due respect to the English, it's something they've addressed quite some time ago. They've invested a lot of manpower in it ... and made some good moves."

Lowe is hoping to bring All Black programmes up to speed and beyond where the British are. The focus will not just be on improving fitness but helping players improve their decision-making.

"What we're in the process of doing is adjusting our focus. Traditionally the 40m [timed sprint] has been hung up as a key marker."

There was no scientific basis for this other than it was the benchmark used by NFL scouts when attending pre-NFL draft camps. However, the patterns of running in the NFL are vastly different to what you will find on a rugby field.

"In reality the only people it really applies to in terms of players is the outside backs," Lowe said. "They're the only ones that would run those distances at high velocity. All our information suggests the testing should be shorter [distances]."

Lowe said acceleration over distances of 20m, 10m and even shorter was what the All Blacks management were becoming more and more interested in.

But straight-line speed is also becoming an outmoded marker. Agility is seen as just as important.

"We need a clear definition of what movement patterns the players are doing. Once we do that we'll create agility testing to match that."

Lowe and his team will look specifically at the distances players are accelerating over and the individual stepping patterns of players to formulate specific programmes.

They will also take their testing off the track and on to grass.

"We can compare stepping off the left foot to right foot to analyse weaknesses in stepping patterns."

To do this means hour after hour spent monitoring video footage to track player movement and velocities. The popular GPS method of tracking - used by the men's hockey team before last year's Olympics and AFL teams - was found to be unsuitable for rugby because of safety issues with the GPS 'packs' players are required to wear.

In Australia they are looking at 3-D footage using video from above, but this is not being trialled here yet.

Lowe said that often over the shorter distances, the inside backs will post similar times to the flyers.

"It's the Carl Lewis versus Ben Johnson," Lowe said, drugs excluded.

"Johnson is the inside-backs-with-large-muscle man, quick out of the blocks with powerful short strides, then further down the track Lewis takes over."

- HERALD ON SUNDAY