All Blacks coach Steve Hansen and with defensive coach Scott McLeod. Photo / Photosport
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen and with defensive coach Scott McLeod. Photo / Photosport
An unexpected loss in Wellington and an equally surprising Argentinian resurgence are unlikely to have persuaded the All Blacks they need to vastly re-think their selections or strategy for the next test against the Pumas in Buenos Aries.
What will be under scrutiny is the All Blacks' attitude, as headingto South America on the back of a loss will have instilled a sense of urgency, especially with the Rugby Championship still very much alive.
Not that the All Blacks were ever likely to mentally coast, but the changed circumstances have ensured there will be greater psychological intensity in the next two tests.
Unlike last year when several senior players were left at home for the away test against the Pumas, the All Blacks always intended to take their strongest squad to Argentina this year and for the same group to make the connecting trip to South Africa.
Last year, ever wary of the volume of rugby still to be played, the All Blacks decided to take a risk at the corresponding stage of the season in a bid to keep something in the tank for the European tour in November.
They gambled that they didn't need to take the likes of Brodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock, Sam Cane, Beauden Barrett and Ryan Crotty to Argentina and instead gave them an extra week off before they flew to South Africa to rejoin the squad.
That meant the team that played the Pumas was missing a number of familiar faces and consequently lacking experience.
But with the Rugby Championship already in the bag and the need to preserve some of the already over-worked senior core, the All Blacks felt it was a calculated risk and one worth taking.
Beauden Barrett and Anton Lienert-Brown at the final whistle after losing to the Springboks. Photo / Photosport
While the risk paid off in Argentina with a comprehensive 36-10 bonus point victory, the All Blacks felt it backfired the next week in Cape Town when some of the senior players, who had been resting in New Zealand the previous week, struggled with the pace and intensity of the test.
In reviewing what happened last year, the All Blacks decided not to repeat their split-shift philosophy in 2018 - partly because it didn't quite work, but more because the third Bledisloe Cup test is being played a week later than normal, providing an opportunity for players to have a longer break once they return from South Africa.
There is a third difference between last year and this which is that the key goal in 2018 has been to take performance to a higher level and embed combinations.
The All Blacks' thinking pre-Rugby Championship, therefore, was that they would take their best players on the road and would most likely select from that, a relatively established and experienced match day 23 in Buenos Aires that would only have a few spots taken by fringe players.
That's still likely to be the plan as the All Blacks want a bonus point victory to secure the Rugby Championship, improve their performance from Wellington and also keep in mind they face more long haul travel to get to Pretoria where they face an epic return encounter with the Boks.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen and with defensive coach Scott McLeod. Photo / Photosport
They also have a few key injuries which reduces their options. The only three fit locks - Whitelock, Scott Barrett and Patrick Tuipulotu - are going to share the workload across the next two tests, and so too will Shannon Frizell and Jackson Hemopo most likely be job sharing at blindside with the former more likely to win the greater game time.
Sonny Bill Williams will return to action - maybe from the bench in Argentina with a view to starting him in South Africa, and possibly Nathan Harris will start at hooker in Argentina or at least be given an extended run to ensure the in-form Codie Taylor is fresh for the Springboks.
