All Blacks take Springbok lessons into Scotland showdown

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The Springboks may have handed the All Blacks a painful lesson earlier this season, but New Zealand are determined to ensure those mistakes are not repeated as they prepare for a testing November tour.

After suffering a 3-1 Greatest Rivalry Series defeat to South Africa, the All Blacks have been working hard to address weaknesses exposed by Rassie Erasmus’ world champions.

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And with Scotland next on the agenda, New Zealand forwards coach Jason Ryan believes his side have already made encouraging strides in the right direction.

The All Blacks begin their November campaign against Scotland at Murrayfield, where they boast an unbeaten record. However, Ryan knows history will count for little against a dangerous Scottish side.

New Zealand will also have to navigate the tour without several established stars. Richie Mo’unga and Ethan Blackadder remain sidelined through injury, while a dozen regular selections, including captain Ardie Savea, have been ruled out of the tour.

That leaves new head coach Dave Rennie and his coaching staff with plenty of selection challenges, particularly as they look to establish consistency in their combinations.

“Well, I think we probably need to get a bit of consistency with combinations, and I think that we probably saw that in the second Bledisloe Test,” Ryan told reporters on Monday.

“Though we had guys play back-to-back Tests in some key areas, we gave a few other guys an opportunity.

“But I think we will definitely pick our strongest side this week against Scotland. We’re going to need to, and we’re going to have to be at our absolute best to win.”

The Springboks exposed several areas of concern during their series victory over New Zealand, and Ryan admits the All Blacks have taken important lessons from that bruising experience.

Their recent performances suggest progress, with the forwards coach particularly encouraged by improvements in their maul defence, ball carrying and work at the breakdown.

“I think we made some good shifts from, I guess, a couple of lessons that we had in South Africa,” he said.

“We tidied up a couple of areas around our maul D, and we’re pretty satisfied with how our ball carry and clean went using our footwork at the line.”

However, the challenge does not end with Scotland.

The All Blacks must also adapt to the European conditions, where colder weather could make their attacking approach more difficult.

Ryan believes his players need to be smarter with their decision-making, particularly when it comes to offloading and taking unnecessary risks.

“As we come to Europe, we know that the conditions are a little bit different over here, potentially with the colder weather. So, not forcing offloads if they aren’t there, the 50-50s that probably would stick in the games where we’ve had the sun at our backs.

“Although we still want to get the boys to play with skill and offload in the tackle, we just have to make sure we get the balance right there.”

While the Springboks have provided the blueprint for areas New Zealand need to improve, Scotland will offer another stern examination.

Gregor Townsend’s side enjoyed a positive July block in the Nations Championship, beating Argentina and Fiji before losing to South Africa. They finished second in the North table, collecting bonus points in all three matches.

Ryan believes Scotland’s established combinations and attacking width make them particularly dangerous.

He also remembers how close they came to upsetting the All Blacks in their previous meeting, when New Zealand’s disciplinary problems allowed the Scots back into the contest.

“Scotland have been together for a long time, I think probably six or seven years now. Their playing group are pretty established, and their coaching group is pretty established,” he said.

“I think last year we got off to a good start, and I think we got two or three yellow cards and that let them back into the game. They can play on top of you. They can use the ball really, really well with width, and they can get momentum pretty quick. So, I think our defensive efforts will be really important this week.”

*Additional reporting: Rugbypass