Dave Rennie has urged his All Blacks side to be positive in every action they take as he discussed their mentality in this new era.
There was criticism over Scott Robertson’s conservative approach, from his team selection to the tactics they used in Tests.
Since Rennie has come in he as often used the word “optimism”, looking to re-ignite the attacking brilliance they had in years gone by.
‘We want them to express themselves’
“Playing with optimism is a mindset around how do you score from here? I want us if the opposition spill the ball or we get an advantage five metres from our line, we’re thinking, ‘how do we score from here?’” Rennie told reporters.
“But optimism is also around your work ethic, so if we’re optimistic, we’ll get people back and people into position quickly so you can play.
“It doesn’t mean that we’re not going to kick. We’ll still kick a lot but we want to kick on our terms.
“We’ve talked a fair bit in our camp, the boys are well aware of the importance of that mindset and the work ethic required that goes with it.
“You guys wouldn’t have seen the training today but it was excellent. There was lots of energy and excitement.
“We want them to express themselves. It’s Test match footy, I understand that, so there are going to be times when we’re going to have to get into an arm wrestle, but we want to play with optimism.”
The evidence of whether that message has seeped through to his All Blacks players will be demonstrated this weekend against France and in the following games.
Although Fabien Galthie has named a weaker side for the encounter in Christchurch, it is a much stronger squad than the All Blacks faced in a three-Test series last year.
“We picked the side that we think suits us. We’re well aware of what the French can bring. They’re big, they come alive when they’ve got opportunities to play and off-load,” Rennie said.
“They’ve got amazing guys who can kick distance, kick contestables, so we don’t think they will go too far away from that DNA.”
France missing star duo
Star wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey has been rested and the great Antoine Dupont has picked up a calf injury, but Galthie has still been able to pick the likes of Maxime Lucu and Matthieu Jalibert in his side.
“The French have got 28 professional teams. I’m not sure how much of the French competition you guys watch but it’s the best competition in the world. It’s high quality, they’ve got so much depth and it will be a quality side,” he said.
“The way their competition goes, they play a lot of games and it’s often this time of year they’re a week away from a final and they often don’t tour.
“You play what’s in front of you but what we know is it’s going to be a good side.”