Sam Whitelock during an All Blacks training session. Photo / Photosport
Sam Whitelock during an All Blacks training session. Photo / Photosport
By Liam Napier in Edinburgh
Reinforcing standards on a weekly basis, tapping into pearls of wisdom from All Blacks legends and soaking in the historical significance of touring the Northern Hemisphere’s revered rugby venues are notable shifts from the All Blacks as they seek to maintain new-found momentum.
Aaron Smithoffered a telling insight after the dominant victory against Wales in Cardiff when he said the team had drilled down into the meaning behind being an All Black.
Naturally the All Blacks weren’t happy with their poor performance the previous week in Tokyo, where they were pushed to the brink by Japan. That prompted an honesty session, led by senior All Blacks, that suspended lock Brodie Retallick detailed in an interview with the Herald in Edinburgh.
“The team has some values and standards and with the year it’s been we’ve focused a bit more on that the last couple of weeks and making sure everyone understands with the players that have been here a while really touching on that,” Retallick explained.
It was, after all, at this stage last year during their near three-month Covid-bubble tour the All Blacks suffered successive away losses to Ireland and France.
“It’s a massive tour for us after last year so getting everyone on board with what we wanted to achieve is going to play a big part,” Retallick said.
“With the inconsistencies we’ve had during the year, the ups and downs, this is a chance to go and prove we can have another good performance against Scotland.”
In Tokyo the All Blacks welcomed Richie McCaw and Dan Carter into their shed post match. Photos of their presence were widely shared on social media but All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan revealed they offered some poignant words, too.
McCaw and Carter aren’t the only legends to be invited into camp in the last two weeks, either, with fellow former captain Sean Fitzpatrick and Zinzan Brooke making an appearance in Cardiff.
“The likes of Fitzy and Zinny were at our captain’s run last week. Just seeing them there are little reminders about what they did,” Ryan said as the All Blacks warmed into their work in Edinburgh.
“Always having that touch, connection and appreciating what those boys have done for the jersey helps the All Blacks.
“Now and again during the week an ex All Black might send something through to us which is quite inspiring in each area depending on where that is.
“DC and Richie were in the shed in Japan and they said a couple of things which was pretty special to us. That stays in the circle to a certain extent, but I’m sure you can understand when you have those guys who achieved the greatest of all time what they say you’d like to think it’d stick.
“That’s vital. I’m big on tradition myself so I like to connect with those guys and see what they’re seeing, send a message and be open. They want to feel part of it.”
All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan during a training session. Photo / Photosport
With only eight players having spent time in Scotland and played at Murrayfield, this All Blacks squad is decidedly light on Northern Hemisphere experience.
Just as they did last week by outlining the significance of Wales welcoming the All Blacks, and what to expect from the singing, the enclosed roof at Principality Stadium, a similar theme is emerging in Edinburgh.
The All Blacks haven’t played at Murrayfield for five years and in their last test here they escaped with a tense five-point victory thanks to Beauden Barrett pulling off a try-saving tackle on Scotland fullback Stuart Hogg.
Reliving those occasions, and absorbing the adjustments in tactics needed, are integral to this week’s assignment.
“There’s a lot of history over here in the UK teams and we love that,” Ryan said. “You come out of Super Rugby where it’s quick and fast whereas here the contact is more aggressive so you have to tap into a bit of that legacy stuff.”
As they strive to deliver successive, standout performances for the first time this year the All Blacks coaches continue to demand the team remains grounded after another honest review to start their training week.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s one point or 55 if we’re really serious about growing our habits as an All Blacks team the score is irrelevant,” Ryan said. “We’ve been thorough on that and making sure we’re not getting ahead of ourselves. We’re never satisfied. We’re really challenging the group at the moment to keep building on performances.”
Wayne Barnes love in
Wayne Barnes. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The All Blacks and Wayne Barnes sure have come full circle. Fifteen years have passed since Barnes was blamed for missing the French forward pass as the All Blacks tumbled out of the 2007 World Cup quarterfinals in Cardiff.
As fate or symmetry would have it at the same venue last weekend, Barnes was invited into the All Blacks sheds where captain Sam Whitelock made a speech paying tribute to the Englishman as he notched a century of officiating.
All Blacks coach Ian Foster also had this to say post-match: “Congratulations to Wayne Barnes on his 100th test. It’s a pretty special feat for a ref to put up with everything they do and to perform at that level for so long. He’s been a pretty iconic referee and he deserves a lot of credit for tonight as well.”
Victory always helps the charm offensive, but it seems if the All Blacks could pick any referee to control a World Cup knockout match next year Barnes would be top of the list.
Betting tip
Record: 15/32 ($30.5)
The Sauce is on a roll. Last week’s Black Ferns, All Blacks –4.5, Australia and Black Caps in a $2.15 multi landed on the back of Wellington’s NPC win to boost a healthy couple of weeks. This week we’re going to the Rugby World Cup and the Black Ferns +7.5 combined with Canada +12.5 multi that offers $2.80.
