Justin Marshall continues to ‘bang the drum’ on All Blacks ‘problem’ as he takes hope from Dave Rennie message
All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie and former Test scrum-half Justin Marshall.
Former All Blacks scrum-half Justin Marshall wants Dave Rennie to give his New Zealand side clarity after they became “a little bit lost” under Scott Robertson.
The 62-year-old has taken the reins from the Crusaders legend, who was sacked in January despite achieving a 74 per cent win rate.
NZ Rugby were left concerned by the ‘trajectory’ the All Blacks were on with Robertson at the helm and duly decided to make a change.
Rennie’s task is to therefore return to the type of attacking game plan which became synonymous with the team over the years.
Rennie’s ‘key words’
Marshall was intrigued to see the new boss reference their style of play after naming his squad and hopes it points to a change in their performances.
“When I read the media release and Dave Rennie’s comments were that they’ve picked this side for the Nations Championship in relation to the way they want to play – they were the key words for me,” he said on the GBRANZ podcast.
“That is the thing that interests me the most. I’ve got some areas of the All Blacks that I’ve got concerns about, I’ve got some selections I don’t agree with but the one thing I want to see, which I’ve banged this drum on, is us evolving as a side to play a different style of game that we’ve been persevering with over the last one or two calendar years.
“It’s causing us inconsistency and we are a little lost at times in exactly how we want to play – stuck between a funny kick strategy, where to use and not use the ball and what areas you want to play in or don’t want to play in.
“That’s never been a problem for the All Blacks – to play from anywhere – and to rather play with the ball than without it.”
Justin Marshall: Why Dave Rennie’s left-field scrum-half call is ‘not surprising’
Some believe that Rennie should copy the Hurricanes’ game plan after their stunning Super Rugby Pacific campaign.
While it may not translate to Test level, Marshall believes that the All Blacks can certainly take the positivity the Wellington outfit had in their approach to the game.
“All of that comes into the mix with what type of side they pick and the Hurricanes were doing that. The way that they were playing, they weren’t afraid to play from any part of the field,” he said.
“The slickness in their passing and handling skills pre and post-contact was so impressive. The speed they were playing at, they just weren’t containable.”
Possible All Blacks ‘cliques’
Following their title success, plenty of Hurricanes stars have quite rightly been included in the Nations Championship squad, but that can create another issue according to Marshall.
“What you’ve got to look at is the culture that they create to make sure that there isn’t too many cliques within there,” he added.
“They will have their many groups that they operate in and when there’s a lot of one team within a team then others can feel alienated.
“The key thing will be them creating a good culture in the first two weeks, making sure everyone’s inclusive if there is a high number of one team in any squad the All Blacks name. I’m sure they’re on top of that and will be aware of that.”
