All Blacks get tips from Swans coach
October 21, 2009 - 4:32pm
Story by: NZPA
The All Blacks are taking advice from an unusual Australian source ahead of their Bledisloe Cup Rugby clash with the Qantas Wallabies in Tokyo on Saturday week.
Sydney Swans assistant coach John Longmire has joined the New Zealand camp in Auckland, using his AFL expertise to work with the All Blacks backs on their kicking skills.
He is helping their kicking and skills expert Mick Byrne, himself a former AFL player who worked with the Qantas Wallabies when they won the 1999 Rugby World Cup.
Longmire, who will take over as Swans head coach in 2011, is there as a continuation of a working relationship started earlier this year between the New Zealand Rugby Union and the AFL club.
All Blacks head coach Graham Henry has shown recently he's willing to change things up when it comes to coaching.
Last week he reshuffled the roles of his assistants Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith to take personal responsibility for the forwards and their shaky lineout and putting Hansen in charge of the back with Smith shifting to defence.
He's also called in former All Blacks hooker John Mills on a short term basis to improve the team's mauling before they head off on their northern hemisphere tour.
The maul is back in vogue now the formation can no longer be pulled down as it was under the experimental law variations (ELVS).
"He (Mills) has got some really good ideas," said hooker Corey Flynn.
"In the last couple of years the All Blacks and New Zealand mauls in general haven't been strong. We're trying to broaden our horizons there and use it as a bit of a tool."
Mills' involvement followed Tuesday's unveiling of a virtual lineout contraption designed to help hookers with their accuracy by throwing at locks positioned on elevated platforms - the height they would usually soar with the assistance of lifters.
Meanwhile, Sitiveni Sivivatu looks certain to regain the All Blacks left wing berth after a hamstring injury and centre Conrad Smith is also poised to return.
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