Lee Stensness: South African display part of the plan

People have been asking why the All Blacks, during last weekend's defeat to South Africa in Cape Town, didn't change to a Plan B. Plan A consisted of attacking rather than kicking when in their own half, a number of attacking cross-field kicks to counter the Springbok rushing defence and the taking of high risk, short 22m drop-outs.

It's unusual to see one short drop-out in a game, yet the All Blacks attempted three, persevering even though each previous attempt had not paid off.

They also chose not to drive from a single lineout, as the aim of the game plan was to run the 'battle-weary' Springboks off their feet. But it wasn't quite working.

They would have known what they were doing was contrary to one of the traditional fundamentals of test rugby - field position.

The All Blacks could easily have changed to a plan B - Graham Henry's an astute coach.

With a support staff of Wayne Smith, Steve Hansen and Brian Lochore at his side, a Plan B - probably involving a more traditional style of test rugby, ie, playing for field position - must have occurred to them.

It is simple enough for a coach to relay a change of game plan to a team. All it takes is a word to the designated on-field 'water' provider, who relays the message to the captain, and the team immediately can slip into one of the three or four pre-existing possible game-playing styles.

All top-level teams have a variety of game plans/styles/themes that they train for and they can slip in and out of these at will. The All Blacks comprise the best players and coaches in the country.

There's no doubt they would have a number of different game plans available to them. So why didn't they?

The reason they didn't change was because, for the All Blacks, this test match was a controlled experiment. The result was important, yet more important was the opportunity to test out a specific game plan for a specific opposition, South Africa.

This meant the coaches had to have the courage to implement the plan and the players the faith to follow it through for the full 80 minutes.

The fact that the coaches have job security, provided by their contracts which take them through to the 2007 World Cup, allows them the latitude they need to do this. I, for one, applaud this.

While the result may tell us that South Africa won on the day, the raw data provided may well produce the information that helps the All Black coaches to formulate a blueprint to ultimately triumph in the World Cup.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY