Brendan Venter says it’s the All Blacks’ ruthlessness rather than any tactical innovation that makes them almost impossible to beat.
Venter, who formed part of the Springboks’ coaching team last year, highlighted in a column for Stuff.co.nz just what made the All Blacks so difficult to defeat.
‘Everybody is always trying to figure out what tactical point of difference the All Blacks bring to the game. Contrary to popular belief, the All Blacks aren’t amazing when it comes to tactical innovations.
‘If you examine the All Blacks and study the way in which they play, they really don’t try to outwit the opposition the whole time. The irony is that the more opposing teams try to come up with some weird tricks in an attempt to defeat the All Blacks, the more the men in black stay ahead.
‘Opposition have tried to rush them, go soft on them and keep numbers on their feet. However, I don’t believe there is any singular best system to utilise against the All Blacks because their click attack is second to none.
‘The concept of click attack is where they wait for opportunities to counter from broken play and pounce to devastating effect. A poor kick-chase, an up-and-under, which they field, and a turnover are all clicks for them on offence. Everybody tries to perfect click attack, but few teams actually manage to implement it successfully.’
Photo: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images
