We’ve got work to do, says All Blacks boss Rennie

The All Blacks have made slow starts in their two SA tour games up to now. All Blacks coach Dave Rennie admitted that his team would be focusing on improving their slow starts, after their opening two matches of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry against the Stormers and Shark. Against the Stormers last Friday the All Blacks scored early, but were then pegged back by the hosts and only led 14-5 at halftime, while against the Sharks on Tuesday night the Durban side were the better team in the opening 15 minutes, before the All Blacks slowly got going and eventually led 14-0 at the break. They kicked on to win both games comfortably, 38-21 in Cape Town, while they gave the Sharks a good 54-0 hiding, but Rennie is well aware how dangerous slow starts like that will be against the Springboks. “We are frustrated with that first 40. We gave away a lot of penalties early and struggled to get our hands on the ball. When we did [get our hands on the ball] we looked good. But we didn’t build enough pressure for long enough. That second half was excellent though,” said Rennie. “We are trying to build the way we want to play, and the conditions made it difficult to shift the ball, but I thought overall we did a good job there on the back of a really solid defensive effort. “We have a lot more in us, but we can’t afford the starts we have had in the two games so far, so that will be a big focus for us going forward.” First Test looming However, the main goal for the All Blacks in these games has been getting more time on the field into their extended squad so that they are all aligned by the time they face the Springboks in the opening Test next weekend, and from that perspective Rennie is happy. “The majority of the squad have played. A lot of guys have got good minutes and more of them did tonight,” said Rennie. “It is all about getting more footy into this group. We have now had five games this season, and we have a better understanding of how we want to play. “We have a lot more people with good time (under their belts), and there is really good competition for spots, so I think that is really important heading into the (first) Test in a couple of weeks.” The All Blacks now take on the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday, before gearing up for the Springboks at Ellis Park.