Aaron Smith has become a respected leader within the All Blacks environment over the past few years. Photo / Getty
Aaron Smith has become a respected leader within the All Blacks environment over the past few years. Photo / Getty
OPINION:
Neither Steve Hansen nor Ian Foster can remember exactly when in 2011 they met to discuss potentially coming together to coach the All Blacks.
What they do both remember was how aligned they were in rugby philosophy and strategic vision.
They agreed the All Blacks needed to generate quickerruck ball, play at a higher tempo and put more emphasis on developing individual skill-sets and decision-making.
By early 2012, once Hansen was installed as head coach and Foster as his assistant, they began to talk about how specifically they would speed up and straighten their attack and what sort of players they would need to be successful.
As Super Rugby played out that year, there was one player they started to believe would be instrumental in delivering what they were after. One player who could potentially jump the team to a new level in terms of attacking prowess.
That was 23-year-old Aaron Smith, the diminutive Highlanders halfback who, at 1.71m and 80kg, would be significantly smaller than any number nine the All Blacks had picked in the last 20 years.
Aaron Smith (R) with one of his All Blacks protégés Piri Weepu in 2012. Photo / Photosport
But whatever defensive risk he carried, Hansen and Foster argued it was outweighed by what he could do in revolutionising the All Blacks attack.
With Smith at halfback, Foster and Hansen reasoned the All Blacks would be able to play faster than they ever had, so they named him in their first wider-training squad of the year in May 2012, where they told him he needed to drop several skin-folds but not any weight, because while he was fit, he was nowhere near fit enough for how they planned to use him.
And so began a bold and brilliant new era – one that would prove the value of brave selection and mutual commitment and lead to Smith becoming the greatest halfback in All Blacks history, something which will be confirmed when he wins his 100th cap at Eden Park this Saturday.
Smith did indeed respond to the request to change his body composition and with it, became able to play at the edge of his aerobic capacity for significantly longer.
That work ethic has come to define him and amazingly, at almost 33, he's fitter, stronger and more durable than he's ever been.
When he first came into the All Blacks he was able to hold his maximum effort for about 40 minutes. These days he can go flat out for 70 minutes with no real discomfort and is probably the only halfback in the world who can endure 80 minutes without any hint of fatigue biting.
His commitment to get better has been total and is why his team-mates are as inspired by him in the same way many of the previous generation were by former captain Richie McCaw; who also had a legendary capacity to push himself.
"I see a man that's been through a lot on his journey," Ardie Savea says of Smith. "I see discipline, consistency in preparation, and just a great man in terms of what a professional rugby player should be."
But just as Smith has been committed to self-improvement and delivering a specific style of rugby, so too has a major commitment been made to him.
He owes his longevity as much to Foster and Hansen as he does to himself as both have shown a loyalty to him that few players of the professional age have known.
Aaron Smith looks on in frustration from the Highlanders bench in 2013. Photo / Photosport
In 2013 Smith lost his way entirely in Super Rugby as part of a catastrophically bad Highlanders campaign. He was even dropped for the last few games and was in a terrible mental state about it all when he flew to Auckland to play the Blues – a game which he would start from the bench.
Fearing he'd never play for the All Blacks again, his season changed the night before that game when Hansen texted Smith to tell him to relax, that he was still going to be named in the All Blacks squad.
An hour before the game another text arrived, this time Hansen telling Smith to do nothing more than pass and run once he got on the field.
It was simple but season-changing advice and Smith rediscovered his best form and produced it for the next six months.
Aaron Smith has become a respected leader within the All Blacks environment over the past few years. Photo / Getty
In fact, Smith has been producing his best form ever since – give or take the odd blip - with the All Blacks becoming a significantly better attacking team between 2012 and 2019; evidenced by their try-scoring stats which show they scored 60 per cent more tries than England, South Africa and Australia and double the number posted by France.
Smith has changed the game in New Zealand from fast to super-fast and while the All Blacks have seen a string of influential players flow through their ranks in the last decade, arguably none has had the same profound impact as Smith.
The All Blacks would not have enjoyed the success they have without him. He changed the speed and width of their attack and perhaps there is no greater testament to the impact he's had in international rugby than the appearance around the world of similarly-small halfbacks trying to revolutionise their team's attack.
