Eddie Jones: The game’s gone away from All Blacks’ strength as ‘guerrilla warfare’ suits England and Springboks
All Blacks full-back Will Jordan and an inset of Eddie Jones.
Eddie Jones says that one of the All Blacks’ strengths has died, and New Zealand may need to lose some of their attacking identity to adapt.
The All Blacks are renowned for their attacking prowess and brilliance, but that has somewhat dwindled in recent times, particularly during Scott Robertson’s time in charge.
This was mostly due to the change in the laws around the kick chase, with World Rugby outlawing the escort runners. That significantly changed the tactical kicking game, with teams kicking shorter in order to create a contest.
All Blacks’ strength depowered
According to Jones, the longer kicking game always favoured the All Blacks but the new tactics suit the likes of South Africa and England more with the duo thriving in the ‘guerrilla warfare’ that ensues after the contest in the air.
This means that New Zealand’s athletic prowess is less prominent at the highest level at the moment but he does believe that could change very quickly.
“The game goes through nuances,” Jones told the DSPN podcast with Martin Devlin when asked about what he saw from the way the All Blacks were playing under Robertson.
“We’re in this part of the game at the moment where basically, what do teams most do? They have one or two rucks, there’s a high ball, a contest, and then you win that ball, and the really good teams are so good on that transition – they move the ball quickly.
“I’m thinking here of England and South Africa, they move the ball quickly up the field, get in the opposition’s 22, and then it becomes guerrilla warfare, like it’s big men one-on-one charging at the line, a little bit of subtlety, but generally it becomes a power game.
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“So, does that suit the way New Zealand traditionally played rugby? Well, New Zealand traditionally have been at their best when there’s been a long kicking game.
“Where there’s space and they move the ball quickly to space and they break the game up. To me, New Zealand Rugby has been about being a great counterattacking team. So, they don’t play a lot off their own ball. They kick long and then they get into a long kicking game and then they’re able to use their athleticism.
“I always think about New Zealand, there’s a long kick, it gets caught and there’s a quick throw and it goes to the other side of the field so quickly that you can’t reorganise your defence and now they got you on the hop and now they got big men running in space with athleticism.”
That counterattacking style of play is far less effective nowadays, according to the Japan head coach, who continued: “That part of the game has died at the moment, and it can always come back in very quickly.
“So I think the game’s gone a little bit away from how New Zealand play at their best, and then as a team, you’ve got that difficult decision. Do we go away from what’s been great for us, and then how do we do that without taking too much away from ourselves?”
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Scott Robertson’s sacking
The removal of the escorts has been a hot topic ahead of World Rugby’s Shape of the Game conference and Jones has spoken at length about its impact.
He believes that the lawmakers should follow rugby league in introducing a ‘disruption law’ which would require players who are competing for possession to make a genuine attempt to catch the ball.
Jones also hit out at the time of Robertson’s sacking, as he feels that the now former head coach had proven his worth during his time with the Crusaders and deserved more of an opportunity to turn things around.
“Sacking a coach who’s won seven Super Rugby, seven Super Rugby titles, you can’t do better than that,” he added.
“No one can even dream of doing that. He’s got the runs on the board. It’s not like he’s coming into the team with a questionable record. He’s a winning coach. Give him a little bit more time to put his influence on the team.”
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