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The All black people are looking forward to facing a familiar foe with a similar attacking mindset when the Bledisloe Cup kicks off at Auckland this weekend, but their rivals across the ditch have some new quirks to their game that require defensive adjustments.
The Kiwis aren’t the only team to introduce a new head coach’s game plan this year, with Les Kiss being the new kid on the Wallabies block. Victory over Japan, Argentina and South Africa have got Kiss’ tenure off to a flying start just a year after their home Rugby World Cup, and there could be no better way to confirm that momentum than to not only end more than two decades of Bledisloe Cup drought, but also New Zealand’s three-decade unbeaten run at Eden Park.
The changes Kiss made have paid off and All Blacks defense coach Tana Umaga was quick to put his finger on where they came from when he spoke to the media after training on Tuesday.
“I think they play with a lot more width, and they have the numbers on the field,” he said. “You can definitely see the stamp of Les Kiss on this Wallabies side, and you have to think that’s a positive for the way they’re playing. So we’ve got to adapt to that and make sure we have the answers to the questions they’re going to ask us.”
The former All Black captain went on to explain how “Australia bring a different set of problems” compared to the opponents his side have faced so far in 2026.
“They have the same mindset as us; they want to play, and that’s great. I’m sure they would have learned and seen some things from South Africa, when we were struggling, so we have to make sure we look after ourselves and control what we can control.”
“Also, when we get opportunities, we make the most of them and finish them.”
New Zealand will not be fooled into overreacting to the shortcomings revealed by the Springboks, keeping the positives of the Greatest Rivalries in Rugby series in mind as they prepare to defend a different style of rugby.
However, Umaga admitted that his team has some development to do in their structures, saying: “Something is definitely changing.
“If we keep doing the same thing, then we’re going to get beat in the same areas. So we’ve definitely worked on that; we’ve looked carefully at those areas. And hopefully those adjustments are, to cure what South Africa gave us but also to understand what the Wallabies bring and make sure we can cater to that as well.
“We only got into Sunday so we have to be mindful of how much you can change in six days; three practices. It’s not too much for us; we just have to make sure we sharpen up in certain areas.”
