Legendary former All Blacks assistant coach Wayne Smith has hit out at the 'robotic' nature of the New Zealand franchises in Super Rugby Aotearoa this year.

Smith is regarded as one of the best thinkers in the game, having helped New Zealand to successive World Cup titles.

The 63-year-old is currently in Japan guiding the Kobelco Steelers in the Top League, but says he is disappointed by what he has seen in his homeland.

"Everyone's playing pods - they'll have three forwards off the nine for example. But we seem to have become almost robotic, going through the phases," Smith told The Breakdown.

"How many phases does it take to score a try? I'm picking it's probably three or four phases, probably 75 per cent of your tries come from those three or four phases. I'd like to see a bit more efficiency and effectiveness off those plays.

"You get three guys coming forward off nine for example, you hit the middle guy, the two guys on the outside are there to clean, no one's coming forward outside them for the offload and it becomes a bit predictable. I'd like to see an option or two outside that third guy."

One team to escape Smith's ire is the Highlanders, despite the Dunedin outfit residing at the bottom of the table, with the former All Blacks coach impressed by their approach to the game.

He said: "They know how to keep the ball alive. Parts of the game aren't working for them, but they're beautiful to watch at times with their support play. Their players arrive thinking they're going to get an offload before they clean ... I really enjoy that about them."

New Zealanders are renowned for the tempo they play at, but Smith insists that it is even quicker in Japan, which has forced some of the star signings to adapt.

"The game's different over there, if you watch Kobe play at the moment and see Brodie Retallick - he's down to 117 kgs because he's got to be able to keep up with the game. He's magnificent, he's absolutely magnificent," he added.

"It's a faster game ... we have a real attacking style. We put a lot of work into our support play."

Source: News24