Blair calls for refereeing consistency as All Blacks target breakdown battle
INTERVIEW: All Blacks attack coach Mike Blair has called for consistency from referees at the breakdown ahead of the final Test of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry in Baltimore on Saturday.
Blair, who believes the Springboks slowed down their ruck speed in the third Test at FNB Stadium in Soweto, said players who infringe illegally should be penalised rather than coached by referees.
Officials have officiated the breakdown differently throughout the series, but one constant has been referees telling players what to do and when.
Repeated calls of ‘hands away’, ‘leave it’ and ‘get onside’ have been common during the three Test matches.
The All Blacks believe those calls are slowing down their ball, and referees must act on infringements.
“I feel for the referees because it’s a really difficult game that they are refereeing,” Blair said.
“I think you could go through a Test match, and you can pick out 20 or 30 times where you could’ve made a different decision.
“We respect the fact that it’s a really difficult job for the referees at the moment, but what we ask for is consistency within that.
“They are doing the best job they can, and sometimes they get it bang on, and sometimes they don’t, and we have to accept that and play within that.”
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When asked whether he prefers referees to strictly manage the breakdown by verbalising what players should do, the coach said:
“Our attack is based on our ability to move the ball and move the opposition around, so the cleaner our breakdown, the better for us.
“I think if you are doing something illegal, you should be penalised for it.”
*Also read: ‘It’s not a bad stat’: All Blacks are still thumping Boks in one area
Shifting his attention to the All Blacks’ ruck speed, Blair said he was pleased with the improvements they’ve shown in that department across the first three Tests.
In Soweto, the All Blacks won 93 rucks, with 56 percent of those being recycled within three seconds.
“There’s a balance with the gain line and ruck speed,” he explained.
“You don’t want one without the other, so it’s a balance of having that. We have improved our gain line through the three Tests, which has been excellent.
“South Africa have a very strong defence and are very collision-based, but they were able to slow a little bit of our ball down.
“We are comfortable with what we’re trying to do, our balance of manipulation and brutality in winning collisions to set up opportunities.
“We’re pretty good in that area, and there’s a lot of stuff we’re doing well.”
Blair expects the Springboks to bring more of the same in the final Test, although he wouldn’t be surprised to see a change in their game plan with the Boks holding a 2-1 lead.
“We expect the same again.
“I thought they showed a good ability to move the ball as well once they got a little bit of dominance in some of the collisions.
“I thought we defended really well at times, and we were unfortunate that a couple of one-on-one tackles let them in when our system was really good.
“Potentially with them being 2-1, they might look at exploring a slightly different game, and they’ve certainly got the players to be able to do that, and we saw a lot of that on Saturday.”
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