Loose forward Jerome Kaino says the All Blacks' opponents did not allow them to play their natural game during their four pool matches at the World Cup.
It's an alarming statistic at first sight even if it's not entirely a surprise.
Twenty turnovers per match. That's how many times the All Blacks have coughed up the ball on average during their four pool matches at the Rugby World Cup.
And it's a major reason why one big question hangs over the defending champions as they prepare for a quarterfinal against France in Cardiff.
Just what shape are the defending champions actually in ahead of their biggest test since the World Cup final four years ago in Auckland?
They are physically and mentally in good shape, but have been frustrated at the constant insinuation they are playing poorly across the board.
It's a perception essentially born out of their inability to hold onto possession, often in the face of a rushing defence.
"We haven't been able to play the natural way we want to play," loose forward Jerome Kaino said. "But that's partly because some of the opposition we've come up against have been quality. Hopefully this week we can take another step toward how we want to play."
Kaino's compliment was generous, but Georgia and Namibia should not have caused so many errors. To put the All Blacks' turnover rate in perspective, it was the worst of any of the 20 teams that contested the pool phase of the World Cup.
A positive spin would be that the more rugby a team plays, the
more often they risk a fumble or an isolated ball carrier. It's true that the All Blacks have had the best attack at the tournament, their 6.3 tries per match more than twice as many as France.
But 20 turnovers per test are a lot in anyone's language. That's four more than France and seven more than South Africa. Even the lowest ranked side, Namibia, only conceded possession 16 times per match.
"Our skill execution wasn't great, but if there was one problem I'd say was easy to fix in this team it would be skill execution because we have plenty of talent," Hansen said after the Georgia match.
It would not surprise if there was some anxiety that the crisp pass and catch of training had not transferred into matches until the final quarter against Tonga.
Hansen and assistant Ian Foster have struck positive figures since the team transferred to Swansea and if the passes continue to stick, overall statistics suggest there is good reason for their optimism.
Take the popular belief that the All Blacks are no longer a force at the ruck. Openside Richie McCaw is too slow and Kieran Read is out of form. The Wallabies are setting a new bar with their dual opensides David Pocock and Michael Hooper.
The statistics tell a different story.
The All Blacks have earned an average of eight turnovers per match. That's not quite as good as Wales' 9.3, but it's better than fellow quarterfinalists Argentina, France, Scotland, and South Africa, and on a par with Australia (8.3) and Ireland (8.8).
Read, for the record, leads the way for the All Blacks with seven snaffles, just three shy of Pocock's benchmark.
And there is a discipline to the All Blacks' work.
Openside Sam Cane spoke this week of the team's ability to tweak its tactics at the breakdown. They have clearly put defensive structure and line speed ahead of chasing turnovers to this point and, along with Ireland, have missed less tackles than any other side at just 10.5 per match.
Notably the All Blacks have conceded just nine penalties per game. Only Japan (eight) have troubled the referees less.
And the set-piece has been exceptional. Hooker Dane Coles has nailed 97 per cent of his throws and the scrum has operated at 100 per cent on the All Blacks' feed.
Yet still, the perception remains that the All Blacks are off well off their game.
Which brings us back to the start, and those frustrating handling errors that have dogged them since wing Nehe Milner-Skudder shelled a sitter against Argentina.
Since then most members of the team have suffered from a case of the dropsies.
Hansen is confident the prospect of being knocked out of the tournament will be enough to focus his players' minds.
If it does, then the rhetoric around the All Blacks might change quite dramatically. If not then they risk dropping far more than just the simple passes that have too often not found their mark.
- Stuff
