{"id":502394,"date":"2026-06-30T08:15:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T08:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/502394\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T08:15:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T08:15:16","slug":"positive-outlook-all-blacks-hint-at-new-attacking-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/502394\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Positive outlook’ \u2013 All Blacks hint at new attacking style"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is very early days in the Dave Rennie era and the All Blacks haven\u2019t played a Test yet, but already there are signs the new head coach will encourage his men to play with more optimism than under his predecessor.<\/p>\n

Rennie, appointed as Scott Robertson\u2019s replacement in March<\/a>, has made no secret of wanting to design a game plan to suit his players\u2019 strengths \u2013 those being power, pace and the ability to see space and use it with their ball handling skills, no matter the jersey number on their backs.<\/p>\n

One of the criticisms of Robertson\u2019s two years in the job was his team\u2019s apparent lack of identity on the field and it appears Rennie \u2013 and his attack coach Mike Blair \u2013 will encourage an attacking style that most New Zealanders believe is inherent in their DNA or legacy. <\/p>\n

It is an interesting development considering the All Black legacy<\/a> has very much been front of mind for this group since they assembled recently.<\/p>\n

Starting against France under the roof in Christchurch on Saturday, there will be kicking, of course, but perhaps not as much as in the recent past.<\/p>\n

Forwards coach Neil Barnes today gave an insight into that thinking when he said some of the kicking in the modern game, especially box kicks from halfbacks, had its uses, but: \u201cAt the moment, I just think it\u2019s [gone] a little bit overboard, what teams are doing. Everyone has their own opinions; we\u2019ll have ours and we\u2019ll play accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barnes added: \u201cWe\u2019re here to take a positive outlook on things and not worry around the consequences if it doesn\u2019t go well. We\u2019re here to make sure it goes well and challenge other teams.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"All<\/p>\n

All Blacks assistant coach Neil Barnes speaks to the media. (Source: Photosport)<\/p>\n

As a statement of intent it may seem rather modest by international standards but, from the usually reticent All Blacks, it is a bold one \u2013 flamboyant, even.<\/p>\n

Playmaker Damian McKenzie carried on the theme when he was interviewed afterwards, saying: \u201cI think it\u2019s just a mindset thing; a bit of optimism around our counterattack and our turnover ball \u2013 just making sure we\u2019re getting our eyes up the field and seeing our opportunities and when it\u2019s on to play, we play. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor, me I love that style of rugby. You definitely have to be fit, there\u2019s nowhere to hide\u2026 it suits a lot of our guys\u2019 game styles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting the balance right under the roof at Te Kaha in what is likely to be a lively atmosphere \u2013 the first Test in Christchurch in four years \u2013 may be challenging for the All Blacks. But the positive, and fascinating, aspect of what Barnes said is that they are prepared to get things wrong along the way.<\/p>\n

Further clues into the coaches\u2019 thinking will be seen in the make-up of the team when it is announced on Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\"Crusaders<\/p>\n

Crusaders and All Blacks fullback Will Jordan appears set to play against France on Saturday. (Source: Photosport)<\/p>\n

If the All Blacks do commit to an attacking style it would make sense for either Ruben Love or McKenzie \u2013 recent rivals in the Super Rugby Pacific grand final <\/a>\u2013 to wear the No.10 jersey, with Beauden Barrett potentially on the bench or even possibly left out of the match-day squad if fullback Will Jordan is fit, which he appears to be. <\/p>\n

Both Love and McKenzie like to play at a higher tempo than Barrett, who struggled with a quadriceps injury during the latter part of the Blues\u2019 season.<\/p>\n

McKenzie, speaking on the side of the field at his former school Christ\u2019s College, also had an excellent line on Jordan, who recently struggled with a calf injury at the Crusaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s looking very fast and very good,\u201d McKenzie said. \u201cWe like to joke that he\u2019s a Ferrari and we need to get him out of the garage at the right time of the week. He\u2019s ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for his Super Rugby disappointment with the Chiefs against the Hurricanes, McKenzie, who has now played in four grand final losses in a row, said it had dissipated.<\/p>\n

Asked if the defeats take a mental toll, he said: \u201c[They] can but you have to surround yourself with people that are close to you. I was able to get home and spend time with family \u2013 my partner and boy \u2013 which was great and then getting back into camp was exciting\u2026 seeing the new faces and boys getting an opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have three Tests coming up so really excited for that challenge that we\u2019ve got this week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked whether the triumphant Hurricanes players had behaved themselves around him in camp, McKenzie replied: \u201cNo, they\u2019re good, they\u2019re humble blokes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re obviously one up for the year but they deserved everything they got, they had an awesome year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Scotsman Euan Mackintosh has been appointed as a skills coach of the All Blacks. Mackintosh, who has worked with the New Zealand Sevens team, has recently been with the Toshiba Brave Lupus in Japan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It is very early days in the Dave Rennie era and the All Blacks haven\u2019t played a Test…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":502395,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[789,111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-502394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-all-blacks","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=502394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502394\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/502395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=502394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=502394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=502394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}