Umaga warns All Blacks must adapt as Kiss stamps his mark on resurgent Wallabies

All Blacks defence coach Tana Umaga has called on New Zealand to adapt their defensive structures ahead of the Bledisloe Cup opener in Auckland this weekend, openly crediting Les Kiss for transforming the Wallabies into a more dangerous attacking side.

Speaking to media after Tuesday’s training session, Umaga identified width and ball movement as the clearest signs of Kiss’s influence since the Australian took charge. “I think they’re playing with a lot more width, and having numbers across the field,” Umaga said. “You can definitely see the stamp of Les Kiss on this Wallabies side, and you’ve got to think that that’s a positive with the way they’ve been playing. So, we’ve got to adjust to that and make sure that we have the answers to the questions that they’ll pose to us.”

Kiss has made an immediate impression since taking the Wallabies job, overseeing wins over Japan, Argentina and South Africa in his first year — a run that has raised genuine expectations heading into a home Rugby World Cup in 2026. Australia arrive in Auckland with the added motivation of ending both a two-decade-long Bledisloe Cup drought and New Zealand’s famous unbeaten record at Eden Park, which stretches back more than 30 years.

Umaga, the former All Blacks captain, noted that Australia present a distinct challenge compared to the opponents New Zealand have faced earlier in 2026. “They’ve got a mindset like us; they want to play, and that’s great,” he said. “I’m sure they would have learned and seen some things from South Africa, when we struggled, so we’ve got to make sure we look after ourselves and control what we can control. Also, when we do get the opportunities, we make the most of those and finish those.”

New Zealand are not ignoring the lessons from their recent series defeat to the Springboks, and Umaga confirmed the coaching staff have been working on specific defensive tweaks in the short turnaround. “If we keep doing the same thing, then we’re going to get beaten in the same areas,” he said. “We’ve definitely worked on that; we’ve looked at ourselves hard around those areas.”

He was careful, however, to temper expectations of wholesale change given the limited preparation time available. “We only got in on Sunday, so we’ve got to be mindful of how much you can change in six days; three training runs. For us, there’s not too much; we’ve just got to make sure we sharpen up in certain areas.”