Former All Black Steve Devine believes Joe Schmidt’s recent appointment as the new attack coach will help to turn them around in the “exact area” they have been struggling.
In the June/July Steinlager Series, the touring Irish effectively shut down the All Blacks’ attack, leading to the departure of former backs coach Brad Mooar.
In his absence, head coach Ian Foster had to take the reins, adding extra pressure to an already-stressful environment.
However, the New Zealand Rugby board have since decided to hand the job over to independent selector and analyst Schmidt, in the hopes he can find the same success with the All Blacks as he did with the Blues in Super Rugby.
“Joe Schmidt, you look at what he’s done to the Blues this year … the Blues went from being a team that struggled to hang onto their own ball to this year probably being the best in the competition,” Devine said on SENZ Mornings.
“They built pressure on attack, built phases and scored points so (he’s entering) the exact area that the All Blacks need a giant amount of help (in) and he’s going to be awesome for that.
“He’s going to give us quick ruck ball and that’s what we need (because) that’s how we play in New Zealand.”
Before turning their form around in the last Test match against South Africa, the Boks and Ireland had successfully stifled the All Blacks’ attack, forcing handling errors and leaving them uninspired and limited in the backline.
Devine says holding the ball is the side’s “biggest problem” but should be a “simple” fix for the internationally renowned coach.
“The biggest problem the All Blacks have had in the last year is they have not been able to retain their own ball,” Devine added.
“You can’t build pressure, you can’t do anything if you can’t look after your own ball on attack.
“We look at the Irish team, they got the ball in our half and they kept the ball in our half and they scored points in our half, that’s how simple Test match rugby has become. We haven’t been able to do that.”
Any immediate changes under Schmidt’s guidance will be on show next weekend as the All Blacks move into the third week of the Rugby Championship.
They will take on the Los Pumas at Orangetheory Stadium on August 27, before heading north to FMG Stadium for a re-match the following weekend.