All Blacks: Honing basic skills key to success

Aaron Cruden says instinct gives the ABs an edge. Photo / Getty Images

As the All Blacks stand on the precipice of history, the rest of the rugby world is determined to find out what sets the world's best team apart.

The mystique and aura of the All Blacks have only grown in recent weeks, with the Northern Hemisphere even more intrigued about what it is that makes the All Blacks so successful.

Everyone, it seems, is convinced that there is a secret. That a little like Team Oracle, there is this belief that some magic device is at work. It can't really be that they work harder and smarter?

It kind of is, though. There certainly isn't any secret formula. Training is short and sharp and repetitive. Repetitive rather than monotonous.

The emphasis is on quality and from props to fullbacks, everyone spends time with ball in hand; everyone does contact work, too. The simplicity of their training is almost surprising - it's pass and catch and straight line running. It's mostly the same drills - never for too long.

The contact work is precise and specific and never complicated. There's nothing difficult or complex the All Blacks are doing that every other side couldn't do. Few, however, could match them for accuracy. It's not uncommon for the backline to go a whole session without dropping a ball.

Come match day, it's so often those basic skills that make the difference. Under pressure the All Blacks find their passing technique holds up. They can catch with defenders in their face. They make their tackles and their basics are as sound on the field as they are in training. That's the beauty of repetition - it leaves skills ingrained. And it's those basics that matter.

From that foundation, they have been able to back themselves to occasionally pull off the more adventurous. Against France and England it was spectacular offloading that enabled the All Blacks to see off dangerous and physical opponents.

"We'd like to think a little bit of X-factor but it comes down to a little bit of instinct as well," says Aaron Cruden on what he feels has been the All Blacks' key weapon on this tour.

"Growing up in New Zealand you are always throwing a ball around with your mates, trying to do the offload out the back door and we showed a couple of fantastic offloads where we were able to break the English defence and score a couple of great tries."

If there is something more to the All Blacks' success, it's perhaps the depth of the connection to the jersey. The legacy is a powerful, galvanising and motivating force. History demands that the players perform, but it also demands that they conduct themselves in a certain way as well.

Every other nation's players talk of their pride in representing their country, but maybe the All Blacks feel a deeper emotion than others.

"For us," says Kieran Read, "it is about something which is much bigger than the game, much more important than the players or the team. It is about a whole country.

"It is based upon a rich tradition and culture stretching back over a century, and it is that history which forces each and every one of us to maximise our potential as All Black players ..."