A new-look All Blacks coaching staff headed up by Scott Robertson has ripped through the old playbook and is instead cooking up fresh ideas for the July internationals.
The New Zealand squad gathered near Wellington on Wednesday to begin preparations under new head coach Robertson.
The former All Blacks loose forward, who coached the Crusaders to seven consecutive Super Rugby titles, is leading a talented fresh-looking coaching staff, which includes former Blues head coach Leon MacDonald, now in charge of the All Blacks attack.
Speaking to Suff.co.nz, after Robertson named five new caps in the squad for the series against England, MacDonald said that the All Blacks coaches will implement a new gameplan.
“We ripped up the play book and started fresh,” MacDonald told Stuff. “We looked around at a lot of rugby, we’ve all had projects and come together. And we feel we’ve got a game that suits our players and the way we want to play the game at international level.
“Now, it’s up to us to make sure we give the players everything they need to succeed and understanding how we want them to play. And also coaching them, supporting them and developing their game.
“It’s on us now to bring this group together and get some cohesion early on.”
With just 10 days to prepare with the full squad for the two Tests in Dunedin and Auckland, MacDonald says that some of the changes won’t be immediate.
“We have to be really clever with what we install,” MacDonald said. “We can’t be too left-field, we need some cohesion.
“Some familiarity is good. But also we need enough to stamp our own mark on the game, as well. We have already been in camp for one week with our non-finalists, and that was a really good dry run.”
Photo: Sanka Vidanagama/AFP
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Src: sarugbymag.co.za
