The All Blacks' World Cup attacking blueprint is clear: generate momentum for one of the quickest backlines in the tournament, writes Patrick McKendry.
If it wasn’t evident in their demolitions of Namibia and Italy, it was against Uruguay this morning. The attacking blueprint the All Blacks will use in their quarter-final next weekend will be based around pace.
Once the All Blacks settled down against the South Americans after an inaccurate first quarter which could be blamed on the nine changes to the team, the eagerness of those included to press their cases ahead of the knockout stage, and Uruguay’s doggedness, it was their speed which impressed the most.
Their first three tries for Damian McKenzie, Richie Mo’unga and Will Jordan were constructed by pace – the first two from attacking scrums and the third by McKenzie’s Hail Mary pass.
The Uruguayans matched up on defence for the first two but couldn’t cope with McKenzie’s or Mo’unga’s footwork and the finishing ability of Jordan, now with 27 tries in 28 Tests, speaks for itself.
The bonus point fourth try for the All Blacks was scored by Cam Roigard from another attacking scrum. It was his footwork which bamboozled Uruguay wing Nicolas Freitas, and the 22-year-old halfback is looming as a big part of the All Black puzzle at this World Cup and for a long time to come.
The All Blacks won’t have such an easy set piece ride against their quarter-final opponents in Paris – and Ireland, South Africa and Scotland remain in the mix – but as long as they achieve parity there they will retain the potential to stress and break any of those defences via the speed and footwork of Aaron Smith, Mo’unga, Jordie Barrett, Rieko Ioane, Mark Telea, Jordan and Beauden Barrett.
Jordie Barrett and Ioane, both originally wings, have additional trump cards: size and strength.
Jordie Barrett had a quieter game today (and Ioane wasn't included in the 23) but the All Blacks didn’t need him to go as direct as they did against Italy, although the threat of his power helped pave the way for Mo’unga’s try.
As the pack worked the kinks out of their game, the space was further out and McKenzie, Jordan, Roigard and Leicester Fainga’anuku were direct beneficiaries, along with Beauden Barrett and Caleb Clarke following their arrival off the bench.
In the end, that is the aspect that may please head coach Ian Foster the most about the 73-0 victory which followed the 96-17 demolition of Italy and before that the 71-3 win over Namibia, along with the All Blacks’ improved defence, which was confrontational at times.
It may also have settled any remaining questions Foster had about the selection of his backline for next Sunday at the Stade de France.
Beauden Barrett, Smith, Telea and Ioane will almost certainly return to the starting line-up, with McKenzie cementing his position on the bench.
The only major question is whether Fainga’anuku or Lienert-Brown gets a place on the bench along with back reserves Roigard and McKenzie. One notable slip by Fainga’anuku, who scored a second-half hat-trick in 28 minutes, was how easily beaten he was on the outside by Uruguay wing Gaston Mieres after only 12 minutes.
McKenzie said afterwards he thought the All Blacks had got the balance of attack right in their three pool match victories.
"The last few games have been pretty open - the balance between the running and kicking game," he said. "We know it’s not going to be that open in the quarter-final, so it’s about getting that balance right. I think we have done that pretty well in our pool matches."
The All Blacks showed more variation on attack against Italy than they did this morning; a case probably of them wanting to keep a few surprises under wraps.
There will of course be a requirement for the pack to start the way they did against the Springboks in their Rugby Championship victory at Mt Smart Stadium this year, and as recently as Italy in Lyon, to create the platform for what must rate as one of the quickest backlines at this tournament.
If they do, and admittedly it's a rather big if, the All Blacks have the ability to run away with it.
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