Bledisloe a triumph for mental toughness

Test matches are won by a combination of passion, skill and taking chances. Scoring the All Blacks and Wallabies on these yardsticks, passion goes to the Wallabies, skill is shared and in taking chances the All Blacks are the runaway winners.
All Blacks win in Brisbane
ABs press conference

The three attributes are not evenly weighted in the calculation of what it takes to win.

Passion can make up 50% of the requirement. That the All Blacks were beaten for hunger, urgency and desperation for long periods of the match and still won says much about how adept they were at taking their chances and in absorbing the passion of a proud Wallaby team.

The Wallabies were totally ready for this match. Forget a lingering influence from the debacle in Johannesburg two weeks before. It was obvious the players had moved on.

They had a clear game plan and they played to it. Numbers to the breakdown, quick ball, smash up the channel between Carter and Nonu and rely on the decision-making and accuracy of Matt Giteau to turn quick ball going forward into points. All based of course on stable scrum and lineout performances.

The Wallabies delivered their coach's plan to the letter and did it with aggression and accuracy. They scored three converted tries doing it, and they lost.

So while they will have woken up on Sunday morning proud of their effort, they should be mighty concerned that they can do it all right and end up losing. Where to from here?

As for the All Blacks they did it about two-thirds right and won. I take a lot of heart from that.

The thing that makes sport so interesting is that it is played by imperfect human beings. People whose decisions and actions in the short period of the contest are forged from a coarse weld of genetic capability, conditioning through training and their own unique emotional make-up.

Most of the time we focus on the coach's role in developing physical team skills but the most important contribution in the long run is the development of emotional strength.

The All Blacks have been, correctly, criticised in the past for lacking the calm, clear-headed decision-making required to win the very biggest matches. Multiple Wold Cup failures are the prime exhibits.

This test win was one to redress the balance.

The All Blacks played calm, intelligent rugby while the Wallaby fire raged about them. They won less than 40% of the ball in the first half and spent virtually no time in the Wallaby 22.

They threw in to half as many lineouts as the Wallabies. They made many, many more tackles.  Carter had no penalty attempts at goal in the match, partly because there were few penalties but also because the All Blacks spent so little time within shooting range. The All Blacks led and then fell behind 17-7.

And through it all they kept their composure and they won well.

Another related element of the mental game was also important.

There is a big difference in sport between desperate energy and directed energy. The Wallabies were guilty of applying too much desperate energy. They smashed into everything.

The key is to apply the energy, the physical force, where it can make the most difference. The All Blacks knew that this was at the breakdown.

There were very few turnovers in the match but that is only half the story. The pressure the All Blacks put on the Wallabies at the breakdown meant that their ball was slowed or a short arm penalty was awarded to the All Blacks for the Wallabies not releasing quickly enough.

If one area of the game determined the outcome of the match this was it. 

Winning the battle at the breakdown is almost mathematical. Get there first, get there with greater numbers and apply the most force.

I say almost mathematical because the dark arts of the breakdown are always a factor. The hand on the ball a moment longer than strictly allowed, the twisting around on the feet that somehow ends up blocking a quick release. Numerically and artistically the All Blacks owned the breakdown.

The All Blacks have rebuilt quickly after the loss of two thirds of the team to European clubs. The Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cups are won.

New young players have shown that they are of test match standard, but just as importantly the players showed in Saturday's match that they can win by drawing on reserves of emotional strength. And that may be the most important thing of all.

- © Fairfax NZ News