England great praises latest ‘inventive’ New Zealand tactic but calls on Maro Itoje and co. to target two areas of All Blacks ‘vulnerability’
The All Blacks celebrate last Saturday's Damian McKenzie try against Scotland and, inset, England's try-scoring captain, Maro Itoje
Ex-England hooker Brian Moore has called out two areas of New Zealand “vulnerability” that Maro Itoje’s side must target if they are to win Saturday’s glamour Autumn Nations Series fixture.
With both England and the All Blacks two wins from two so far this November, the hype has started ahead of this weekend’s massive clash at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
Beaten three times in 2024 by Scott Robertson’s Kiwis, Steve Borthwick’s England will be keen on finally defeating the All Blacks and extending their current nine-match winning streak to 10.
That would confirm them as favourites to win the 2026 Six Nations and greatly add to the growing optimism surrounding them two years out from the Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia.
“Exploit unintended consequences of rugby’s laws…”
Defeating the All Blacks, though, won’t be easy. Before identifying the two areas of alleged New Zealand weakness that he wants skipper Itoje and co. to get stuck into, Moore paid a massive compliment to Robertson’s side for a “cute” tactic they used to great effect when beating Scotland 25-17 last Saturday in Edinburgh.
Writing in The Telegraph, the retired hooker explained: “The tactic of New Zealand forwards dragging Scotland’s attacking players over their goal line is just the latest example of how quickly and inventively New Zealand identify and exploit the unintended consequences of rugby’s laws.
“The law was amended on the supposition that it would avoid five-metre scrums and encourage attacking variety. New Zealand have shown it is now possible to use it to reward defences for being cute, an entirely different, and unwelcome, outcome.”
Moore’s praise for the All Blacks ended there, though, and he went on to suggest where England must target the visitors if they are to secure a much-desired victory.
“Among the hours of video that England’s squad will consume of New Zealand tactics, they need to have sections which show the Kiwis’ vulnerability in other areas like indiscipline under pressure. Three yellow cards in one game should be fatal and had Scotland been able to sustain their second half effort, they might have carried the day.
“Like any other team, when New Zealand are put consistently on the back foot mistakes follow. England must then make sure that they are precise in converting their attacks into points. Captain Maro Itoje has a big job in balancing the need to score tries and aggregating scoreboard pressure by kicking penalty goals.”
Moore then switched his focus to the aerial battle. “Another area in which the Kiwis have shown vulnerability is in the battle around the ball in the air. In the Scotland game, none of the New Zealand back three looked comfortable under high kicks that were sufficiently short to allow a proper contest in the air.
“To exploit this area, Borthwick has some interesting calls to make in selection, as does Lee Blackett as attack coach. To what extent can England rely on making ground and regaining possession from their short-range, offensive kicking game? Against Australia they used the tactic successfully but not definitively.
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“If they are to make more of this ploy, of the two No.10s chosen so far in the series, George Ford is probably the better tactical kicker, but it is in the back three that more interesting choices might be mooted. Do you sacrifice the pace of Henry Arundell and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso for the size, height and aerial superiority of Tommy Freeman?”
Moore ended by emphasising the need for England’s squad to genuinely believe they can win rather than just saying in public for the sake of saying it.
“Whatever the case, Borthwick and England have the potential to build on what they have registered so far this autumn. Their ambition should not be hamstrung by history, but that requires a genuine belief, not just a publicly professed one, that at home they will be the better team.”
