All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie and his assistants are all about the numbers as they drill into effort levels and workrates at the start of their campaign – but even the most casual of observers will have noticed a couple of concerning numbers from the weekend.
The 32 points that France scored under the roof in Christchurch and the four tries – and one was disallowed, remember – are two figures that quickly stood out as unacceptable.
Another is three – the number of times the All Blacks were penalised for high tackles in the first half at Te Kaha – the first resulting in a yellow card for Ruben Love after only two minutes.
There is no doubt that the relief of victory in Rennie’s first Test in his new role has given way to a determination to be far better when his men don’t have the ball.
Italy, the All Blacks’ next opponents, may not have the strike weapons to hurt the hosts as badly as France in Wellington on Saturday but Rennie and company will be measuring their players’ defensive effectiveness in different ways.
“We know our defence has got to be a lot better,” lock Sam Darry said as he and his teammates continued their preparations in Auckland before travelling to Wellington on Thursday. “Conceding 32 points in a Test match isn’t acceptable for us.”
Early high tackles aside, France’s short-passing game troubled the All Blacks and – in many ways – mirrored New Zealand’s which was one of the reasons why the Test was such a close and enthralling spectacle.
The visitors would get the ball to width and then quickly pass back inside, although No.10 Matthieu Jalibert’s late converted try that narrowed the gap to two points with two minutes to go may concern the All Blacks in a different way as he took a brutal and brave line back through the heart of the defence.
Darry added: “There are a few things we looked at around that – around how we can slow opposition ball down to allow us time to set and then winning collisions; it sounds very simple but often defence comes down to that.”
Forwards coach Neil Barnes said today of his team's defensive effort: “It’s just one of many [areas to improve]. I don’t think we’re going to be comfortable leaking that many tries, to be honest."
Barnes, a former Italy assistant coach, is probably a good man to have in the All Blacks camp this week as they prepare for the visit of the Azzurri.
Italy lost to Japan 27-10 in Tokyo at the weekend, with the Brave Blossoms scoring all 10 points in the second half. The visitors, therefore, would present as an opponent several levels below France. A week later, the All Blacks play France at Eden Park – a different challenge altogether.
Asked about advice for facing Italy, Barnes said: “The massive one would be to show them respect.
“We’re talking about a team that knocked over England and Scotland last year. I was involved with them when they beat Australia and Samoa and pushed South Africa for a while.
“They’ve been together for five or six years now and I’m well aware as a coach that, if you keep a group of players together for that long, you start to become cohesive and really strong inside about who you’re representing.
“There will be no lack of respect from us over what they bring.”
The selectors, including Barnes, will likely shuffle the deck this week to give others opportunities after a tough Test on a hard pitch against France.
Loose forward Anton Segner is likely to play a significant role on debut, as is Beauden Barrett, who has played 144 Tests and wasn't required in Christchurch. Josh Moorby is another possibility to play on his home pitch at the Cake Tin.
Darry, part of a locking partnership with Josh Lord that performed well at the weekend after the disruption of Patrick Tuipulotu’s late withdrawal due to a tight calf, is hoping for another chance this week.
Canterbury representative Darry, who was playing his first Test in Christchurch, and ninth in total, will know tomorrow whether his number comes up – the team will be announced to the public on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Rennie’s insistence that his side play an up-tempo and “optimistic” style is clearly resonating with his players – the attacking numbers are evidence of that.
“It’s great for us,” Darry said. “As a tight forward, you pride yourself about being good in the contact zone and I guess this is another string for us to add to our bow. I like to think that workrate is one of my strengths so I’m really enjoying the challenge that Rens and the coaches have set for us around getting off the ground and getting set in position to play.”
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