Trust, confidence and faith in the system have built within the All Blacks in the 12 months since they were last in Europe, and it was those qualities which saw them snatch a late win against Scotland.
This time last year the AllBlacks couldn’t finish off either Ireland nor France.
They had their chances to do so, but come the final quarter, they couldn’t nail the big moments — couldn’t find the calm and composure to nudge the scoreboard in their favour when they had the momentum.
Two potential wins were recorded as two actual losses and the All Blacks were unable to be composed and clinical in those critical moments that swing games.
But in Edinburgh, the growth of the All Blacks was evident. The Scots had them scrambling for 40-plus minutes after the All Blacks had taken a 14-0 lead after as many minutes.
For the best part of the game, it was all Scotland, and they scored 23 unanswered points. New Zealand were wobbling.
At 23-14 down with 20 minutes to go, they were on the brink of disaster as one more score by Scotland would potentially have put them into an unassailable lead.
And that score looked likely as the Scots were playing with invention and confidence and creating ample opportunity.
This All Blacks team, however, has found the steel it needs to dig in and take back control of games that are slipping away from them.
In Dublin and Paris last year they couldn’t cash-in on the opportunities they gave themselves, but in Edinburgh, they had the fight, the instincts and the composure to score tries in the last 15 minutes and sneak home.
“I just think compared with last year — there has been growth in the group, the players and the coaches,” said All Blacks hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho.
“Knowing there are moments that we have to win and if we do that then we come away with the wins like the one we got tonight.
“So come the last 15-20 minutes, we wrestled back the momentum and got a few tries.”
All Blacks players acknowledge the crowd after their win over Scotland. Photo / Photosport
What helped the All Blacks stay calm was the clarity they had around fixing their game.
They knew at 23-14, where things were going wrong and what had to be changed.
“I think the biggest thing that we needed was efficiency at ruck time,” says halfback TJ Perenara.
“Scotland did really well to slow us down there earlier in the game and I think the directness and accuracy of our forwards and our backs in that contact area really helped us later on.”
And the veteran halfback, who was playing his first test of the year, says that the team has now built a depth of understanding of how it wants to play and a belief in the systems that have been set up that maybe wasn’t the case last year.
“I think any place where you fall behind on the scoreboard against a sharp football team it is tough, but you just have to fall back on your processes and your identity as a team,” he said.
“And for us, we understand how we want to play the game and we understand the strengths we have and so when things get hard, we can’t go into our shell.
“We have to dig deeper with what we are good at, and understand how we want to play and put our game-breakers into a position where they can do that.
“You see Ardie and Rieko and the way they play the game, even Jordie a few of his carries to put them under pressure, even his goal-kicking. You trust in the system and that allows you to have the best chance to win.”
