Australia’s Super Rugby dominance of New Zealand teams should serve as a warning: Kiwi sides preoccupied with a running game have become too predictable and vulnerable.

The Aussies have won seven of the nine trans-Tasman matches this season. That’s a painful statistic, made worse by the latest loss suffered by the champion Chiefs at the hands of the Waratahs.

I’ve long been a critic of the Australian conference because it was clearly the weakest of the three countries involved.

It’s good to see them lifting their game. They have added another dimension to this year’s championship.

The Reds and Brumbies have looked pretty strong for a while now and the Waratahs appear to be growing some backbone.

Even the Rebels and Force, their two “pushovers”, are on the improve.

If you look at the New Zealand conference, the Highlanders have been as bad as any side in terms of a season start, and the rest of the teams have muddled their way to a similar standard of patchy performances.

So is the current situation a case of Australia improving or New Zealand declining? I suspect it’s a bit of both.

There has been a chorus of opinion that New Zealand teams are guilty of trying to play with the ball too much, and I think that’s a fair point.

Alby Mathewson, the Force’s New Zealand halfback, revealed that this had featured in his team’s planning over the last couple of weeks as they upset the Crusaders and went close against the Hurricanes.

There has been a presumption that the new rules, promoting a fast game, would favour the New Zealand approach.

That was initially true. But as time has ticked on, teams have worked out how to counter that.

The more rugby you play, the more mistakes you make. The Australians have been content to apply pressure, be patient, and feed off those mistakes.

Rather than trying to play more rugby than the New Zealand sides, they have taken an approach of trying to make fewer mistakes. For now, it is working.

So we aren’t helping ourselves. A lot of that comes down to the decision-making of the No 10s. Right now, the bulk of the New Zealanders wearing those jerseys are running first-fives, headed by Aaron Cruden at the Chiefs.

But there are a couple of exceptions who have been noticeable by their absence.

Dan Carter’s time away from the Crusaders has hurt them.

When you run the rule over Carter, so much is made of his running game and defensive qualities that his kicking game is underestimated.

But his kicking has been the mainstay of his success with both the Crusaders and the All Blacks. You won’t find Carter running and passing for the sake of it. His class comes through with his option taking. And much of his teams’ success comes from his ability to drive them around the paddock with his kicking and search for field position.

One well-placed kick can achieve the same sort of territory as four or five risky phases of running rugby.

It’s all about choosing the right time to kick and the right time to run.

The next-best kicking No 10 in New Zealand is Beauden Barrett and when the Hurricanes have played him at fullback, there has been a noticeable drop in their performance.

It’s interesting that the Blues’ revival has come with a comparatively conservative first-five in Chris Noakes who has allowed the razzle and dazzle to come from his three-quarters rather than the close quarters.

While we’re talking No 10s and trans-Tasman rugby, it’s been fascinating to watch the saga of Quade Cooper unfold. The Reds playmaker has been the notable omission from Robbie Deans’ first Wallabies squad as they gear up to play the British & Irish Lions.

That’s hardly surprising after Cooper described the Wallabies environment last year as “toxic”.

Like him or loathe him, Cooper is a talent. New Zealanders have loved to hate the lad from Tokoroa, seeing him as a traitor. But there’s also been a fair bit of respect for his game. And while he has the excitement of someone like Carlos Spencer with his running game, his kicking is powerful and he’s been proving that with the Reds.

It will be interesting to see if he can convince Deans that he is irresistible. I suspect the Wallabies will be poorer without him.

But don’t be surprised to see Deans opt to call up veteran flanker George Smith. Now that the Brumbies have extended Smith’s loan deal with his Japanese club, the 32-year-old will come into the selection frame for the Lions.

Without the injured David Pocock, there’s a massive hole at No 7. While they have some exciting young flankers coming through, experience is vital when you play the Lions and Smith’s 110 test caps and his compelling form will likely make him too good to resist.