Paul Lewis: Softly, softly All Blacks

Waisake Naholo and the other All Black wings have seen plenty of the ball during pool play but that will change in the knockout rounds. Photo / Brett Phibbs

The All Blacks just need to get to the knockout phases now. There will be a lot of angst and frustration about their flawed performance against minnows Georgia, even though the Georgians were always going to be a physical, they-shall-not-pass team who would never threaten to produce much in the way of attacking danger and whose major achievement was always going to be to not lose by much.

There was also some eccentric refereeing but all that is just excuses. The concern for most onlookers is how the All Blacks are playing.

And that's what will change once they get to the knockout phases. It's not so much withholding secret moves or tactics, they are just not giving much away, persisting with a frothy, fling-the-ball-around approach that has given opposing defences some tempting targets and led to the dropped passes and inaccuracies irritating us all. They have set their mind on playing with width in the pool phases but have tended to rush things.

They won't be too upset at what is now being perceived as an All Blacks team a little off colour. They will be navigating the hurdles, traps and hidden dangers of the World Cup without worrying about the expectations of winning every test in style. Their eyes will be fixed on the end, rather than the means.

Unless this perspective is hugely wrong, they will tighten up in the quarter-finals and thereafter, instead of giving opposing analysts too much to study before the knockout phases.

In all three matches so far, the All Blacks have sent the ball wide, sometimes using pat-a-cake passes to move the ball on quickly ahead of tacklers not impeded by the lack of vigilance around the offside rule. They haven't sucked defenders in with forward drives and pick-and-go work and they haven't pitched a lot of bodies into the breakdowns. They have kicked very little.

Expect all that to change. The rule yesterday - and in much of the other two games - has largely been to shift the ball wide and let athleticism, pace and support play win the day. But that is not enough in tight matches against major opposition in pressure situations.

They may try to tighten things up a little against Tonga but my guess is they will maintain the get-it-wide approach for that game, too, while training for the trench warfare of the knockouts.

From the quarters on, there will be far more driving play, far more physical work at the breakdowns, more kicking for territory and high kicks - but maybe not against the likes of Ireland and Australia - and far more emphasis on taking the tackles, recycling, setting up phases and counter-attacking.

Even though there were too many mistakes to leave anyone comfortable with the All Blacks' progress thus far, there were some questions answered yesterday.

The decision to start Charlie Faumuina and Wyatt Crockett in the front row was a good one - and deserved - but it brought out the best in Tony Woodcock and Owen Franks when they came on.

Woodcock steadied the scrum and Franks, who made a name for himself when he first came into the All Blacks for his tackling and work in the rucks, was also back to his best in that area.

It must be said the Georgian scrum replacements were maybe not as good as those they replaced but the two older stagers looked to have done enough to win back their places in the knockout phases. Crockett and Faumuina are better players with the ball in hand but that probably cements their participation from the bench.

Dan Carter's goalkicking is a concern - we have only rarely seen his radar this erratic - but we can only trust he gets it right in training. Beauden Barrett's kicking has been similarly imperfect and the decision to leave Lima Sopoaga at home is looking a little less valid right now.

It was also interesting to see Sonny Bill Williams' partnership with Conrad Smith looking nowhere near as polished as Nonu and Smith's combination but Williams and Malakai Fekitoa gelled better when the latter came on.

And how's this for a stab in the dark? Sam Cane, when he came on, gave the All Blacks a bit more link-work and options and was more accurate than Jerome Kaino yesterday. He is also a better ball-grubber and raises the possibility of playing him at No 7 and Richie McCaw at 6.

There is no doubt Kaino's physical presence is important but the combination of Australia's two openside loose forwards, David Pocock and Michael Hooper, has been perhaps the most effective new weapon unveiled by any major side and the All Blacks have the option of pairing Cane and McCaw against the Wallabies or other opponents where turnover ball is crucial.