Analysis - The dust has settled on the All Blacks' 16-15 win over England in Dunedin, with the action moving to Eden Park this Saturday for the second and final test of the series.
Most of the reaction post-match was focused on the personal emotions of new coach Scott Robertson, which is understandable given the long journey he took to assuming the role, but let's have a look at what he'll most likely be instructing his players this week:
Discipline
This was certainly something that the All Blacks can be commended on, especially since the breakdown was a real lottery under Georgian ref Nika Amashukeli. They only gave away seven in total - three of those were at the scrum and only one of the others can be classed as 'dumb'. There wasn't anything at all that would've caused Amashukeli to consider a card, with tackle height spot on.
Attacking chances
The All Blacks were their own worst enemies at times in the first half, bombing several key attacking opportunities.
Assistant coach Jason Holland, whose official role is designing the team's 'strike packages', said that the English defence was "full on" and that they're "identifying key areas… that will give us a bit more momentum", however they can't accuse their forwards of not already doing that - Scott Barrett, Patrick Tuipulotu and Dalton Papali'i all had big carries before England's defence tightened up significantly after halftime.
Tupou Vaa'i is tackled by England's Sam Underhill at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on 6 July, 2024. Photo: AFP/SANKA VIDANAGAMA
Scrum
No complaints here, given that the penalties conceded were pretty debatable. Especially the one after Damian McKenzie's non-shot at goal, where it seemed that Amashukeli had a problem with them pushing too hard. Definitely a case of keep up the good work for the engine room.
Lineout
But the other side of the set piece was a little rickety. A couple of throws were wonky, while one lineout at a crucial stage saw Codie Taylor wandering infield to confirm the call just as his jumpers started in motion.
Taylor's experience saw him able to moonwalk back to the touchline and find his man, but it shows that there's still a bit of work to do with Samipeni Finau as a main target.
Patrick Tuipulotu of the All Blacks contests a lineout. Photo: Steve McArthur/www.photosport.nz
Halfback
TJ Perenara is out, so it's almost certain that Finlay Christie will start the biggest test of his career. The 40 minutes he played on Saturday showed that he had been very much engineered to finish the game, with a kick heavy diet that saw the English pinned in their own half for most of the last 10 minutes. So it's likely he'll need to play a big part in the aforementioned attacking accuracy to really make the most of this chance.
Time management
Well, this was always going to be a talking point, but this isn't a go at McKenzie for his blooper. Rather, if the All Blacks really wanted to wind down the clock in that situation, why not kick to the corner, take as much time as possible to win the lineout and then grind it out in a drive or series of pick and go's?
The worst case in that scenario would be the English getting messy ball of a lineout five metres out from their own line, rather than potentially regaining a kick-off in the All Blacks' half.
