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'New laws suit All Blacks'

Johannesburg - This year's new law interpretations perfectly suit the style of play the All Blacks set in motion on their 2009 tour of Europe, New Zealand assistant coach Wayne Smith said on Sunday.

There is a now a greater emphasis on the tackler not being allowed to play the ball in the tackle, stricter policing of players being in front of the kicker and tightening up on players obstructing during the formation of rolling mauls.

The All Blacks lost all three Tri-Nations Tests they played against the Springboks last year, succumbing to the South Africans' territory-based kicking game and a strong chase to close down any counter-attack.

Smith told reporters on Sunday that they had decided to play a more expansive, ball-in-hand game against France in Marseille on November 28, 2009, because they felt that was the direction in which the game would be heading. The All Blacks ran in five tries as they marched to a spectacular 39-12 victory.

"We were swimming against the tide in last year's Tri-Nations because we were trying to play with the ball in hand because that's what inspires our players, that's what motivates them, while the kick-chase does not. But we were not helped by the laws last year and our skills also let us down," said Smith.

"But I'll say Marseille was the watershed for us because it showed it was possible to use that style of play. It's a great way to play footy and it set us up for this year when the laws did change.

"We made the assumption that the game couldn't continue the way it was going because it was losing its fan base and it wasn't great to watch. We went forward with our vision of how we believed the game should be played."

New Zealand, with four straight wins in this year's Tri-Nations, take on the Springboks on August 21 at Johannesburg's FNB Stadium, the venue for last month's soccer World Cup final, and Smith said it was a timely challenge.

"This weekend they have (Springbok captain) John Smit's 100th Test, the first game of rugby at that stadium, a crowd of 90 000 and the fact we have beaten them twice to spur them on. So it's a really good challenge at a good time for this team," said Smith.

South Africa have lost their opening three Tri-Nations matches, comprehensively beaten twice by the All Blacks and once by Australia, all away from home.

Former All Black flyhalf Smith said he still wanted to see a 25% improvement from the team before next year's World Cup, which New Zealand is hosting.

"We still have to go another 25% if you take into account the improvement of the other teams ... There are areas of our game that we have not got into gear yet, there's still some polishing needed, and there are some areas that we haven't even attempted yet," he said.

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