Aussies prove too clever for Hansen's brains trust

All Blacks captain Richie McCaw and All Blacks coach Steve Hansen. Photo / Getty Images

National coach Steve Hansen has often talked about the All Blacks being the most analysed rugby team in the world.

It's why his message is about constantly evolving to stay a step ahead. I sensed the team were out-thought by the Wallabies on Saturday night in Sydney.

The Wallabies' coaching staff had clearly done their homework and I wonder whether the All Blacks' tactics were a big part of their problem.

The All Blacks were possibly a little predictable. The Wallabies knew where they were going and that allowed them to produce the line speed on defence which the All Blacks often couldn't deal with.

I can't remember the All Blacks producing a lineout drive until deep into the second half. By taking quick ball off the top, and not driving the lineout, they didn't hold David Pocock and Michael Hooper.

Changing the picture a bit - driving the lineout - would have kept the dynamic Aussie loosies within 10m of the set piece. Then, they can't afford to take off and create havoc among the backs or at the breakdown, because that leaves them vulnerable to the drive.

Australia drove and did it well. They also showed some good manipulation off the lineout through Pocock and halfback Nick Phipps, who at one stage linked with Adam Ashley-Cooper.

The All Blacks have a good lineout drive, too, but we haven't seen it for a while. We saw some clever stuff against England last year, with wings coming in as first receivers, but they've gone away from it for some reason. We know Hansen's not a fan of the lineout drive (he was quoted recently as saying it's boring), and I'm not sure if they're going away from it on principle, but it's part of the game and they should use it as a weapon.

Another area of predictability was their attack. They would generally fold the same way twice, which allowed Hooper to attack the first breakdown and Pocock the second. They were so well organised I can't remember them both attending the same ruck.

The All Blacks have subtle variations with an offload or a pass out the back but whatever it is it's usually two phases the same way. A lot of the turnovers Pocock got were at the second breakdown.

How do the All Blacks change the picture? Get Ben Smith to play like he does for the Highlanders or Nehe Milner-Skudder the Hurricanes. Both of those outside backs are threats as first receivers. Smith was a catalyst for just about everything the Highlanders did well this season.

In Sydney, everything went through Dan Carter. But a scenario where Carter stands on one side of the ruck and Smith or Milner-Skudder on the other changes the outlook for Australia.

Maybe they're holding a few things back for the World Cup, and with their three tough pool games, I guess they do have some time to change things up slightly. But on Saturday, I felt Australia always had an answer, although at times the ABs still cut them open and looked dangerous.