All Blacks: Tour raises halfback as another All Black issue

Brendon Leonard's tour suffered when he was kicked in the head in the match against Wales. Photo / Getty Images

Halfback has for so long been a traditional strength of All Black rugby that it is surprising to see the position coming out of the tour of Europe as an issue.

Jimmy Cowan's struggles against England last weekend highlighted that none of the three halfbacks on tour - Cowan, Brendon Leonard and Andy Ellis - have really covered themselves in glory ahead of this morning's test against France and that top halfback stocks in New Zealand are low at present.

Cowan was repeatedly caught in possession against England. He also gave away penalties, giving vent to the darker side of his intensely competitive nature.

That the All Blacks rate Cowan as their No 1 at present is no surprise. He has the sort of support-your-mates, in-the-trenches feistiness that rugby players value and is probably the finest defensive halfback in the game.

Leonard is clearly not in his best form and suffering from that head kick against Wales.

Ellis hasn't been seen enough to form any valid conclusions.

But there is a question mark over the delivery of the ball from the All Black rucks and scrums, as demonstrated by Cowan's travails against England.

Former All Black halfback Chris Laidlaw knows the game has changed and that halfbacks these days are different creatures from the traffic-directing, ball-clearing, swift-passing martinets, barking at their forwards and putting in the odd kick from the base of the scrum or ruck.

Changes at ruck and maul mean that halfbacks are encouraged these days to take two or three steps before passing - whereas in the days of yore, a bullet-like delivery to the hands of the first five-eighths was prized because of the extra time and space it gave the backs.

Halfbacks are actually coached to take steps before passing - drawing in those fringe defenders instead of simply giving them an easy target as the ball is moved predictably.

"[Former Wallaby halfback] George Gregan invented it," said Laidlaw, "and he became the master of it - the little run, the little shuffle, sometimes passing behind his back to a forward running on an angle.

"He would always suck in one or two defenders and so the halfback role has changed profoundly."

Gregan was never a great passer of the ball, in purist halfback terms, but rugby coaches soon saw the advantage in creating uncertainty in close-in defenders and the run-run-run-pass halfback was born.

"But there is a counter-theory to that," said Laidlaw, "which is that, these days, the first receiver is often not the first five-eighths. In fact, often, the No 10 is in the minority when it comes to first receiver.

"That automatically creates an element of uncertainty [for the side with the ball] as to who and where the first receiver is and what he will do with it once he gets it."

Laidlaw maintains there is still a place in rugby for the fast-passing halfback - a sentiment echoed by former All Black coach John Hart.

"There's no doubt halfback is an issue coming out of this tour," said Hart. "I do think we haven't seen the best of Brendon Leonard yet.

"However, if he does regain his confidence and form, I think he has the best all-round game in terms of clearance, speed and kicking."

Laidlaw rated Cowan and especially Ellis as more likely to be caught in possession behind the gain line.

Both are slower on the pass than Leonard, even when clearing directly to the first-five from a set play such as a scrum.

Hart said the need for fast ball was still there. "The first requirement is fast ball from the forwards. If you are talking about playing the wide game, then that still requires fast clearance from the base. "

The run-run-run-pass syndrome simply gave opposing defences too much time to organise out wide - where the All Blacks were most dangerous - and that extra metre of space and seconds of time was invaluable at test level to teams who, almost without exception these days, emphasise defence heavily.

Hart doesn't think the All Blacks are deliberately bypassing their back play in Europe - "I think they are just being realistic about where the game is at the moment" - but says the level of halfback play was a concern.

"Cowan is a great competitor and very combative and that is both a good thing and a bad thing but I am not sure he is the best thing we have for getting the ball wide. I think we have a lot more of Leonard to see yet."

Left-behind halfback Piri Weepu has an army of fans but neither Laidlaw nor Hart were convinced he was the answer.

New Zealand's halfback stocks are not over-burdened with talent at present and there may be few options to the current crop.

Some rugby observers are keen on Alby Mathewson, the fast-passing Wellington halfback who will play for the Blues this year - but they also pepper their regard with the caveat that he might not yet be up to the mark when put under pressure.

Mathewson's year with the Blues will be a key one for him regarding his international future and Laidlaw said: "I don't know if this was just a Wellington thing or not but there was often too much chaos around him."

Laidlaw does, however, have a sneaking regard for another halfback who will play in the capital next year - Canterbury's Tyson Keats who will turn out for the Hurricanes behind Weepu.

Keats is no youngster - he's 28 - but has impressed as a combative, all-round halfback in a reasonably brief Canterbury career thus far and may be one for future consideration.