Rugby: All Blacks may need to expand their repertoire against Springboks, Pumas

Brodie Retallick breaks a tackle during the New Zealand All Blacks v Australia. Photo/Photosport

Fast and furious in both tests against the Wallabies, the All Blacks may look to temper their game when they face Argentina and South Africa.

The Bledisloe Cup series has been devoted to all-out attack - an almost exclusive devotion to pass-and-catch rugby, where New Zealand have tried to play at a frenetic pace.

Against Australia, in both tests, their kicking game was nowhere to be seen.

They didn't crash big ball carriers off Aaron Smith the way they did in the first test against the British & Irish Lions, and nor did they show much in the way of pick and go, bar some flashes of it in the second half in Dunedin.

Tactically, the All Blacks were largely one-dimensional against the Wallabies, which was deliberate. They wanted to play, with a dry ball and fast track at both venues, at a high tempo and trust their skill execution to be at a higher level than Australia's.

It was not a sign they have little else to offer. They retained the Bledisloe, so who can say they weren't right to play the way did?

But there will inevitably have to be some adjustment, when they meet the Pumas on September 10 in New Plymouth and then again for South Africa in Albany on September 17.

It's likely that both Smith and Beauden Barrett will be asked to kick more in the coming weeks. They won't look to overdo it, but certainly the All Blacks will feel they need to introduce more aspects to their attack game to make them a harder proposition to shut down.

The Wallabies were reading the All Blacks superbly in Dunedin, epitomised by the way they were able to get off the line and target lock Brodie Retallick. They knew the All Blacks were going to use the big lock to crash over the gain line in the middle of the field, so they swarmed and shut him down.

The relentless nature of the Wallabies defence was also able to unsettle the All Blacks to the point where they lost a little faith in their own skill execution. Rather than try to play their way out of trouble with creativity and vision, the All Blacks responded to going 17-0 down by being overtly physical.

They will look to avoid making that same mistake in New Plymouth, and expect that by having more elements, more balance to their attack, they will give themselves more space and opportunity to use their running pace and skill passing game.

In terms of personnel, they know they will be without Owen Franks and Ben Smith. They could also be without Sam Cane and Ryan Crotty, both of whom are under concussion protocols.

If Cane isn't passed fit, Matt Todd will join the squad, and if Crotty isn't cleared, it is possible Jack Goodhue could step in.