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Message: [QUOTE="Big Pete, post: 2710551, member: 1899"] New Zealand are going to have to improve on their performance against Leeds. Maybe it was rust, but they were poor in a few areas. Offensively, they lacked creativity. The name of the game was earning quick play the balls, which is fine, but it can't be the only thing you can do, not against the better sides. They'll need more shape against England, with Lolohea and Hiku calling for more ball to try and put RTS one-on-one with a defender. While Lolohea is their only recognised half, they'll need him to play to his strengths which is his running game. If he can find a good balance between distributing the ball to Proctor, RTS and taking the line on, he could be a real weapon for the Kiwis. Unfortunately I can't see him receiving too much support from Hiku who is basically playing the Josh Hoffman circa 2014 role. Filling the space because there's nobody else available. His instruction should be to give good early ball to Kahu and play a supporting role like all the good five eighths (Milford, Morgan, Maloney, Austin etc.) have. If they can improve in those areas, they maybe able to apply enough scoreboard pressure to keep England at bay. The key will be getting a handy lead, then defending it. If you can zap the English playmakers of confidence and negate their best moves, they'll begin to panic and come up with questionable plays. To achieve this, NZ are really going to have to improve their ruck defence. Like a lot of fans, I enjoy watching Taupau carry the football, but if he's going to retain his place in the Kiwis side, he's going to have to improve his decence. Leeds targeted him and were able to instigate two clean line-breaks as a result. It's probably the one area that's preventing him from taking the place of Parker, Gallen, Mannering etc as one of the premier locks of the game. Taumalolo suffers from a similar issue, but he makes up for it with a better running-game. His foot-work is among the best of anybody in the game. In concert with Bromwich and Blair, it was easy to see why the Kiwis were so good in 2014. [/QUOTE]

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