Rugby: All Blacks no further ahead

By WYNNE GRAY

Three stuttering steps forward, one lurch back. The Tri-Nations segment of the All Blacks year is over and trying to chart their trends can leave you as confused as they looked yesterday when they meandered off Ellis Park, beaten 46-40.

Some of the old problems remain, some new ones have emerged, plenty of credits are due and much has been done to repair some recent deficiencies.

The All Blacks compete better against the Wallabies because both sides play high-speed, athletic, aerobic rugby. Neither pack imposes itself on the other - it suits both sides, who prefer to express themselves in the backline.

Forced to confront the Springbok forwards in two tests, the All Blacks have not answered either physical challenge competently. The test loss yesterday was the worst, with some fragile defence.

All season, just like last year and the one before, the concern has been whether the forwards can hold well enough to allow a very smart set of backs to work. It was that worry about containing the Springbok forward fury which niggled at former All Black coach Laurie Mains on the eve of the Ellis Park test.

The answer yesterday was a definite negative and there have been lesser grades of doubt in the other Tri-Nations tests. Even against a much inferior Scotland side, possession was a problem, a signal of difficulties ahead against better opponents.

The lack of regular tight five impact remains a worry.

The Highlanders' front row have not imposed themselves. Under pressure, the lineouts continue to splutter, while collecting or attacking kickoffs is a disaster.

Those dramas have not yet surfaced together but at least one has been a significant issue in each Tri-Nations international.

At halfback, Justin Marshall has been much sharper this season but yesterday his paralysing pass returned, not helped by the slow ruck ball delivery and lack of protection from his pack.

The backs threaten to explode all the time. They have been collectively strong, with their try against the Wallabies at Wellington a triumph of the training field. The skills of Christian Cullen, Tana Umaga and Jonah Lomu are as dangerous as any players in world rugby. They try some high-risk stuff but it has been regularly profitable.

But you do have to wonder why Lomu remains under-employed, why he did not get more ball at Ellis Park - or did the inside backs sense his apparent listlessness?

If the selectors remain true in the NPC to the ideals they took into the Super 12, then form should determine some changes for the tour to Japan, France and Italy at the end of the year.

However, the more the All Black panel is involved with the same group of players, as they have for the last three months, the harder it is to shed some of the "family." The 26 players have been schooled hard in Wayne Smith's methods, and he has spoken about believing in all his players.

If so, there had to be curiosity about why he did not use substitutes more yesterday. During his coaching with the Crusaders and All Blacks, Smith favoured his squad system.

Perhaps Wellington, where he got burned using Mark Hammett and Craig Dowd, brought on Smith's substitute reluctance at Ellis Park.

New players like Pita Alatini, Greg Somerville, Ron Cribb and Mark Robinson have delivered for the selectors but they should be asking more in the NPC from Leon MacDonald, Scott Robertson, Craig Dowd, Kees Meeuws and Reuben Thorne if they are to be picked for the next tour.

In the past few years, leadership has been a problem.

Todd Blackadder appears to have the confidence of his troops, he has given a steady follow-me example and for most of the schedule appeared to make the right decisions. There could be arguments about his lack of a call from a late scrum near the Wallaby goal-line in Wellington and why he did not order Andrew Mehrtens yesterday to kick twice for goal late in the test.

But no skipper gets it right every time and it is always much easier from the safety of the couch to argue these points.

Until yesterday, the coaching manual of Smith was evident in the All Blacks' play. Defence was a key element to cover for some forward weaknesses, and the backs were given both direction and the licence for spontaneous expression.

New Zealand was enthused. They saw their team trying all the time. Players like Umaga, Cullen, Kronfeld, Blackadder and Maxwell refused to yield.

But then there was yesterday. No wonder Smith lamented the All Blacks' mental fragility at Ellis Park.

Now he and his panel have to identify the reasons and whether it was a solitary slip or a sign of greater instability.