Former Wales flyhalf Dan Biggar believes Dave Rennie has already begun reshaping the All Blacks into a very different team.
New Zealand started the Nations Championship with victories over France, Italy and Ireland, but for Biggar, the biggest story is not the results, but the way they are playing.
“But in the short period of time Dave Rennie has been head coach, are we starting to see glimpses of the attacking prowess that defined the great All Blacks side?” Biggar said on Biggar Thinking: Rugby Analysis.
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The former Wales and British & Irish Lions playmaker believes Rennie is steering New Zealand away from the territory-based approach that characterised much of the Scott Robertson era and back towards a more ambitious, ball-in-hand game.
“Under Dave Rennie, this All Blacks team has now become very much a possession-based team,” Biggar said.
“The recent Nations Championship rounds one, two and three, they’re the team who have the most carries and the most passes.”
According to Biggar, that change has been driven by New Zealand’s growing collection of playmakers.
“You’ve got Ruben Love, you’ve also got Damian McKenzie, you’ve also got Jordie Barrett,” he said.
“The way in which they’re looking to play is they are looking to move the ball, shift the point of contact, and not engage in a traditional game of box kick to box kick and territory-based to territory-based.”
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Biggar pointed to one statistic in particular: only Fiji have box-kicked less than the All Blacks during the tournament.
“That just goes to show that they are not looking to engage in that,” he said.
“They would rather pressure you by asking your defence, can you defend for 16, 17, 18 phases, three, four, five times in a game.”
Photo: Joe Allison/Getty Images
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Former Wales flyhalf Dan Biggar believes Dave Rennie has already begun reshaping the All Blacks into a very different team.
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