Steve Hansen gives All Blacks a 'pass mark' but identifies several areas of improvement
Friday 17 July 2015 12:13, UK
Steve Hansen has identified several areas of improvement for his side after they ran out 39-18 winners over Argentina.
The All Blacks scored five tries in their first outing in the Rugby Championship, and though Hansen was pleased with the result - giving his side a 'pass mark' - he identified areas where he felt his side needed to improve.
Last week Hansen’s men struggled against a spirited Samoa side, and the Christchurch win was a more polished account of the No 1 side in the world, but they conceded two tries from Argentine driving mauls, and some opportunities were squandered out wide.
“We went up about four or five gears and we needed to, to be honest,” said Hansen.
“We still have a wee way to go but for most of the game we were pretty good.
“There was a period there for about 10 or 15 minutes where we went to sleep a bit and let them back into it, but overall a good pass mark.
“I think we’ve got to work on our chop tackles - at times we wrestled with them – and we still have to get our running lines better.
“The maul; obviously they scored a couple of tries off the maul, so there’s plenty there for us to work on, but we’ll enjoy the moment for what it is – Test wins are hard to get.”
It was the most capped All Black side in their history, and it was the performances of some of the more experienced players that satisfied Hansen, with the backs in particular the subject of praise.
“I thought Sonny (Bill Williams) was very good, both with the ball and defensively. He made some big tackles as well.
“I thought him and Ma’a (Nonu) worked well in the midfield.
“That was a combination we wanted to have a look at and both of them did what we wanted them to do so it was very, very pleasing."
Dan Carter, playing in his last international in front of the Christchurch fans, marshalled the troops confidently in the No 10 jersey. He featured at inside centre for much of the Crusaders' Super Rugby campaign, but looked at home once again in the pivotal role, and Hansen said he was particularly impressed with the way the fly-half ran at the opposition defence.
“When he did (run at the line) he looked really impressive.
“At times he got back into his old habit of just shuffling it, but most of the time I think he carried it well and carried it with a bit of acceleration which caused problems for the Argentines.
“It’s just breaking an old habit that’s crept into his game and he’s starting to work well on it – he’s ‘weaponising’ it which is the key to changing something.
“He did well.”
Israel Dagg was at the height of his game two years ago before suffering a loss of form that has seen the Highlanders’ Ben Smith step into the full-back role in the All Blacks side, but Dagg started the last two Tests in the No 15 jersey, and his coach was pleased with what he saw from the Crusaders star against the Pumas.
“He played well, didn’t he? The more game-time he gets the better he’s going to get.
“We’ve got a lot of confidence in him and we just need everyone else to believe and trust us.
“I’m just pleased for Izzy because he’s been under a bit of pressure and he stood up to it."
