All Blacks assistant Barnes demands maul defence improvement ahead of Wales clash in Cardiff

New Zealand assistant coach Neil Barnes has publicly challenged the All Blacks to raise their defensive standards at the maul ahead of their Nations Championship Round Five fixture against Wales at Principality Stadium in Cardiff this weekend.

Speaking to reporters in Bath on Tuesday, Barnes acknowledged that Scotland’s driving maul had exposed clear vulnerabilities during last weekend’s win at Murrayfield, where Ewan Ashman crossed twice in the first half to put New Zealand under early pressure.

“Look, there’s some finer detail that goes on in your maul defence that we honestly believe we can be better at,” Barnes said. “We know we’ve got to be better there, and we’re not proud of it that we let Scotland in for those tries. But good on them — they brought three backs in and exposed us in that area.”

Barnes also pointed to a refereeing adjustment the All Blacks must make while on tour in the northern hemisphere. “We’ve got to learn to accommodate the fact that the referees over here let it go. Back home, that could have been a use-it call.”

Despite the defensive concerns, Barnes was encouraged by progress in other areas. The All Blacks secured all 17 of their own lineout attempts against Scotland and scored a number of first-phase strike moves from set piece. Barnes was particularly positive about the scrum, crediting the work of scrum coach Jason.

“We had a pretty good day at the office,” he said. “Really pleased with the progress we’re making, particularly at scrum time with Jason. He’s been chipping away there, and we actually got a lot of dominance in that area.”

Barnes also hinted that New Zealand have further set-piece plays in reserve, suggesting the coaching staff will deploy them selectively depending on the opposition. “Oh, absolutely — 10 or 20 more. How many do you want? But at the end of the day, we just assess each team on how they go about their work, and if there’s an opportunity there, we’ll have a crack at it.”

Dave Rennie’s side are expected to make several changes for the Cardiff fixture against Steve Tandy’s Wales, with the coaching group keen to build on a second-half performance that ultimately secured the win in Edinburgh despite a mixed opening forty minutes.