Neil Barnes: All Blacks assistant coach on how the team can improve following narrow win over France

One All Blacks coach says there's room for the team to improve ahead of the team's next match against Italy.

The All Blacks ran in five tries to four in the win over France in Christchurch, but were noticeably more willing to keep the ball in hand to attack.

All Blacks assistant coach Neil Barnes joined Piney to discuss.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from Newstalk.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Zed b roy got look at the quickboard, how to
the back it goes Mackenzie and Jordy Barren, Will Jordant
there Jordan for the right week corner flight through there.
I think it there, I think it's given fine and
I think that is Will Jordan's forty sixty try.

Speaker 3 (00:27):
And then it was He added another to go to
forty seven All Blacks thirty four France thirty two last
night to All Black's assistant coach Neil Barnes is with us. Neil,
thanks for your time. Dave Renie said afterwards, there was
more relief than celebration. Was that your overriding emotion as well?

Speaker 4 (00:45):
Yeah, look it's all the close contest that's always could
get the one under your belt. But I think we
painted a lot of good Pitcher's mindset wise and have
it want to play. And I guess the awesome thing
you take away from it is that there are a
lot of lessons to take out of it. The worst
thing is you get a result and you didn't get
things right in the plaza. She think we'll got nothing

(01:07):
to learn, So I open. It is a perfect result.

Speaker 3 (01:10):
To be honest, what is at the top of the
review list for you and the other coaches today, look at.

Speaker 4 (01:16):
The end of the day, just decision making. Our guess
during the obvious at times we're a little bit frantic,
but we asked the boys to play and they certainly
did so it's just making good decisions while you're doing it.

Speaker 3 (01:29):
Asking them to play in that way with the optimism,
I think that's the word Dave Renny's use a lot
this week. Do you sacrifice a bit of accuracy when
you play that way or do you expect them to
be accurate and optimistic?

Speaker 4 (01:42):
No, we need to get both otherwise, yeah, we won't
get the results. So yeah, there's a I guess there's
a need for us to practice being under pressure like
that and being comfortable making good decisions while are you're playing,
and that's at that pace, I guess.

Speaker 3 (02:00):
But any way i'd put it, how much confidence do
you get though that your key attacking players were able
to produce in those big moments?

Speaker 4 (02:09):
Oh a lot. But if you don't have a go
you're never going to find out you can do these things.
So yeah, we'll fine tune what we're doing it the
first chance the boys have had to play under the
system we had. We only had a short amount of preparations,
so pretty comfortable or we got to inside one week?

Speaker 3 (02:29):
Yeah, pretty short runway into this game. What did you
place your focus on given such a short time frame
to prep.

Speaker 4 (02:37):
Just what we were talking about. Really, it was our
mindset to play positively and have a go first before
we look at simple exit and things like that. We're
just trying to create more in the game, make it
a better spectacle to people to watch them, for us
to play.

Speaker 3 (02:53):
What did you make of the way Cam Royguard controlled things?

Speaker 4 (02:56):
Oh it's awesome, mate, but we're going an all back
teav here. The whole team were awesome, So yeah, it
was good.

Speaker 3 (03:04):
Three new All Blacks last night as well. How are
they celebrated internally?

Speaker 4 (03:09):
Oh yeah, there's a lot of family involvement in that.
It's an honor so it's tread with a huge amount
of respect and hats off to Jamie Hannah who came
in late and yeah, did a great job for us.

Speaker 3 (03:25):
Was it what you expected, Neil? Your first week with
the team in camp, new coaching team, new year, Was
it what you expected or were there some surprises.

Speaker 4 (03:34):
Well, to be fair, Jason Ryan had warned me that, mate,
there's a big machine that just keeps bloody turning and
everything's moving fast and here's one hundred percent right, So yeah,
we're under the pump. You get a lot of commitments
to get through in the first week and try and
get some content and so yeah, I'm I'm stoked to
get through the first week, to be frank and get
a win.

Speaker 3 (03:54):
And for those watching last night, either at Takaha or
on television, if there's one impression that you want them
to take away about what the All Blacks are going
to be like in twenty twenty six and beyond, what
do you hope that impression.

Speaker 4 (04:08):
That you got a team that wants to make them
more proud. You know, we take the responsibility of being
an All that team highly. It's a legacy we want
to look after and we want our people to be
aligned to what we're doing.

Speaker 3 (04:21):
Neil, I appreciate your time this afternoon. Thanks indeed, Neil Barnes,
assistant coach with the All Blacks, joining us here on
news talks. There be the first All Blacks test of
any year. Never perfect, never ever, We shouldn't expect it
to be, and last night certainly was not. But getting
underway with a win was the most important thing, making
sure that the narrative this week wasn't a first up defeat.

(04:43):
It was a win, despite the fact it was a
rusty one with plenty of imperfection, but a win. Nonetheless.
What we did see was the intent with which Dave
Renny wants the All Blacks to play, the desire to
get quick ball, to attack white spaces, to play with
pace and positivity. Accuracy can sometimes be sacrificed in those situations,

(05:07):
not intentionally, but sometimes when you're playing at that pace,
you can't possibly expect to be one hundred percent accurate.
But as you heard Neil Barnes say, then they need
to be both if they can, and I think they
will combine that accuracy of execution with the dynamic way
in which they want to play. We will have a

(05:27):
team which is both great to watch and a team
that will win test matches. I like one hundred eighty
ten eighty is our number. Cam Roy Guart stand out.
The gap between him and the rest in the half
back ranks was already wide and it's getting wider. If
anyone is going to enjoy playing for the All Blacks

(05:48):
under Dave Rennie, it is cam Roy Gut. I thought
he was terrific last night. This was Sam Dowie's best
Test match. With the locking stocks severely depleted, Fabian Holland
to play, Scott Barrett all out and Patrick Tewey pilot
to late withdrawal. He really stepped up Sam Dowry on

(06:09):
both sides of the ball. I was really really impressed
with him last night. And Will Jordan his try scoring
is just inevitable now, isn't it. As is the fact
that he'll become our leading tri scorer in Test matches
probably before the end of the month. Forty seven tries
now for Will Jordan. He went past Christian Cullen, Joe

(06:31):
Rocathoko and Julian Savia last night. Only Doug Howllett is
now ahead forty nine. He got those in sixty two
Test matches. Will Jordan has forty seven tries and fifty
five tests. It's an incredible strike rate and you wonder
just how many he might end up with. And of

(06:51):
course a word on France. Despite all the talk of
this being a French b side, what we saw last
night was just further evidence of the incredible depth that
has been built in French rugby. Something happens when you
put a blue jersey on the back of a French
player and then send them into battle against the All Blacks.

(07:11):
They can never ever ever be written off, regardless of
who's playing for them. They will be a force to
be reckoned with at the World Cup next year and
I'm not sure really why we underestimate them so much.
Regardless of who's in the jumpers, they always always step
up against us.

Speaker 1 (07:32):
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