What to make of All Blacks test squad named to face England. Video / Sky Sport
Former Ireland, Wales and British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland has identified weaknesses in both the All Blacks and England sides that are ripe to be exploited on Sunday morning.
Gatland, writing for the UK’s Daily Telegraph, says the matchup between the two teams - the season finale for the All Blacks - is intriguing, given both have struggled with inconsistency over the past 12 months.
However, Gatland says there are clear flaws within each team that, if he were coaching either side, he would look to target.
His target within the All Blacks team could also easily be listed as a strength, if not for some positional inexperience. Gatland says Jordie Barrett is yet to be fully tested as a defensive number 12.
“The All Blacks are still working on that midfield combination of Jordie Barrett at 12 with Richie Mo’unga and Rieko Ioane either side of him. Jordie is still learning defensively at rest level,” Gatland wrote.
“He is obviously a quality fullback, and he brings kicking options and can get across the gain line. But New Zealand have to shut down Manu Tuilagi and the space he creates with his carrying.
“That battle between Tuilagi and those All Blacks centres is pretty mouth-watering. I would be trying to get Tuilagi’s hands on the ball early, giving him some momentum.”
Jordie Barrett is relatively unproven as a defensive force at No 12. Photo / Photosport
For the All Blacks to conquer England, it’s all about strategy.
Gatland points out that when the two sides last met, in the 2019 World Cup semifinal, the All Blacks handed England a host of set-piece situations in which they dominated; leading to a 19-7 defeat for Kieran Read’s team. Reversing that approach is something that’s worked for Gatland in the past.
“One thing that surprised me in that World Cup semifinal, when England were brilliant, was how many set-pieces the All Blacks gave England. I think there were about 30 lineouts and scrums.
“My experience is that you try and limit those with England, take the game away from those areas. One game with Wales in the Principality Stadium where we won, we kept the ball on the field, were disciplined and limited England, amazingly, to only four lineouts in the game.”
As far as strengths on the park go for the All Blacks, Gatland reserved praise for winger Mark Telea who he says has what it takes to thrive once again in the black jersey after a strong debut against Scotland last week.
“Even though he scored a couple of tries, one of his great attributes as a winger is defence. He is one of the best defensive wingers I have seen in the game.
“He is very good in that area and excellent in the air too. He knows when to come up hard and shut the space down, but backs off really well too. It’ll be a good battle with Jonny May.”
The All Blacks take on England on Sunday morning, with kickoff at 6:30am.
