I just don't get the tactics of a lot of the NH teams. Very conservative, with a lot of kicking. Which I get when it's raining and the opposition back 3 have got butter fingers, but to continually give away decent ball on a dry day when the back 3 are making decent yards on the return - just seems nonsensical. And to continually do it during a game. I think last year or 2014, Scotland kept on doing these stupid box kicks to the Italian winger who kept on making the gain line. He also enabled the team to score a 70m try, returning a box kick. You would think Scotland would have changed tactics after the try, but no. They continued in the vain hope that he'd drop the ball, which he didn't. It just seemed such an amateurish tactic, something you wouldn't even see your local pub XV do. NZ will play conservatively from time to time, they'll box kick, but they will ensure it's a positive move, they'll defend well and make ground and get a turnover/penalty. If it doesn't work, they'll switch to plan b or c. I think a team like England with the players they've got, could really thrive if they played a more open game. Obviously switching to 10 man rugby when the need arises. But when they do try and play expansive rugby, they tend to look a bit awkward, like it's a foreign concept to them. One game springs to mind, during the world cup, they'd already lost to Wales, down against Australia, they got a turnover in their 22 and the Australian backs were all over the shop, perfect time to counter attack, ball comes back to the 10 and gets hoofed out.Australia back on the attack... what a complete waste of possession. You see a team like NZ running it from their 22, it's not because they have a cavalier attitude or highly superior players, they are playing rugby for what it is, a numbers game. They have greater numbers than the defence, so they run it. I wonder how many times England train in counter-attack vs actually employing it in a game.
