Analysis: Josh Moorby's development, when added to his team's advances under the high ball, adds optimism ahead of South Africa tour, writes Patrick McKendry.
A physical and mental barrage awaits the All Blacks in South Africa and a large percentage of the threat will be airborne via the high kick.
Dave Rennie’s men know what is coming, probably as early as the opening game against the Stormers in Cape Town on August 8.
Matches against the Sharks and Bulls follow before the first Test in the rarefied air of Johannesburg's Ellis Park on August 23.
Clear plans will be required to counter what was an Achilles heel under the previous regime headed by Scott Robertson.
Fortunately for New Zealand, they are developing the tactics and players for this. Few personify this new direction better than Josh Moorby, the left wing who made his Test debut off the bench against Italy and impressed so much he started in the No.11 jersey a week later in the 40-21 victory over Ireland.
Moorby, a 28-year-old late bloomer from the Hurricanes who spent a season at French club Montpellier, has potential to be a real success story under Rennie.
The head coach has often spoken of the benefits of having “two fullbacks” on the field in Damian McKenzie at the back and Will Jordan on the right wing, but Moorby’s progression and performance at Eden Park at the weekend was a reminder than three is generally better than two.
Starting against the No.3 team in the world at a place where the All Blacks have not lost in 32 years was a big step up for Moorby. He simply leaned on what he did the previous week and indeed what he has done all year with the Hurricanes; he played the percentages and constantly searched for and found opportunities for himself and others.
Rennie has compared Moorby to Jordan, the All Blacks’ ultimate finisher with 51 tries in 57 Tests, but there is a hint of Ben Smith about him, too. He is a player teammates can rely on and who makes the difficult look relatively easy.
Moorby is known at the Hurricanes as "Mr Consistency" – a tag that could also be applied to Jordan and Smith.
“He’s pretty handy isn’t he?”, was Jordan’s assessment afterwards. “I think he sniffs out a support line even better than I do, potentially. It’s amazing how he pops up so I was pretty proud of him for that.
“He’s a busy footballer… defensively, I thought he was great. He pops up everywhere and has an amazing ability to link. Stoked for him, he’s a great guy, Josh.”
A day later, attack coach Mike Blair said of Moorby: “He’s a really impressive character. He’s quiet but he’s got a real confidence about him.”
Jordan’s reference to Moorby’s defensive ability is significant too because he displayed almost perfectly the All Blacks’ new strategy of how to defuse the threat of the opposition's high kick.
World Rugby’s crackdown on “escort” runners in 2024 – defending players effectively blocking on-rushing attackers attempting to win the high ball – led to more contestable kicks in what was probably an unintended consequence for the governing body.
Nevertheless, the All Blacks failed to consistently deal with the increased kicking. That, and general inconsistency, was a major failing of the Robertson reign.
A noticeable tactic of the All Blacks against France and Italy was the players’ attempts to take the high ball over a shoulder while running back towards their own tryline, rather than always coming forward for it.
The tactic requires timing and players being in the right place at the right time but it appears to work. It was especially noticeable against Ireland.
“Since the escort rule got taken out, teams try to find different ways to get a higher percentage of regained ball,” attack coach Blair said in the days before the Ireland Test.
“If we’re catching back over our shoulders you end up as a bit of a block between the chaser and the catcher. Obviously, you can’t go into that space and just block, so the ability to go back is a strategy we’ve looked at.”
The All Blacks have lost their reputation as being the game's great innovators over the last decade but this, combined with their achieving success with an positive and imaginative attitude on attack compared with the kick-first mentality of many other nations, are grounds for optimism.
The All Blacks have a plan, options and Josh Moorby.
Three Tests under Rennie and things are already looking up – a good thing, too, with the world champions lying in wait.
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