Do these All Blacks have the ruthless final quarter in them?
Where are you at with these All Blacks?
Take away national pride and your basic hopes and aspirations for the side. When you see these players – as individuals and as a collective – do you feel like you’re looking at one of the great All Black teams?
We don’t really do works in progress here and rightly so. We expect excellence and, frankly, history has largely shown that we’re entitled to demand that.
I’m not an Ian Foster enthusiast. I’ve never supported his ascension from assistant coach to head coach and I was appalled when New Zealand Rugby (NZR) appointed him.
Rightly or wrongly, that probably means I’m looking for fault more often than not. That I’m looking for signs that the All Blacks aren’t making progress under his stewardship and consequently not giving Foster and the team the credit they deserve.
I was underwhelmed by Saturday’s 33-25 win over Australia at Eden Park. I’m not sure the Wallabies are any good and, at 33-8, it certainly didn’t look like it.
Come full time, though, there wasn’t a lot between the teams.
So, honestly, is that because the Wallabies are in fact an elite side? Or was the final score more of a reflection of the All Blacks’ inadequacies?
I’ve already flagged my potential bias here, so let’s eliminate Foster. Let’s look at the men in the black jumpers and wonder aloud about them.
Are you convinced that Damian McKenzie is a test-quality fullback? Outstanding Super Rugby player, obviously, but does he instill you with confidence at this level?
What about Sevu Reece on the right wing?
Anton Lienert-Brown is an admirable player and person and a genuine leader within the All Blacks environment, so he’s going to play 12 or 13 whenever fit. This week it was centre and, while Lienert-Brown is industrious and dependable, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen better 13s in my time.
I like David Havili and would love to see him do well, but Saturday wasn’t his best night. At this early stage of his All Blacks career, the jury is still out.
Rieko Ioane was good against Australia and I prefer him on the wing.
Richie Mo’unga showed us glimpses of his undoubted ability, but we’re still yet to see him regularly stamp his authority on test rugby. Hopefully he’s given an extended run at first five-eighth and is able to fully show his wares.
Aaron Smith is an all-time great, so no dramas there.
I’m not sure Ardie Savea is a test No.8. Just as I feel Dalton Papalii is only a stop-gap No.7.
As for Akira Ioane, I’m not sure he’d be in my team at all.
Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick are two of the best locks we’ve ever seen and then there’s the front row.
Codie Taylor is world class, it’s too soon to judge George Bower and Nepo Laulala is a proven performer.
There’s long been a ruthless efficiency about All Black teams. How many times have we seen them put 20 or 30 points on teams in the final quarter of tests? Opponents might be able to hang in there for an hour, but they eventually succumb to the intensity and speed of New Zealand’s play.
I’m not convinced Ian Foster’s All Blacks have that in them. I’m not sure teams fear them or that these All Blacks have the accuracy and discipline to dominate the way so many previous sides have.
Is that them or is that him? Do we lack outstanding players or are they not getting outstanding coaching?
Foster’s unfortunate in the sense that his appointment was not universally popular. And, as we go along, even those who were in favour of him succeeding Steve Hansen – or at least those who were happy to see how things would go – are surely beginning to wonder if it was the right decision.
To put it bluntly, none of the potential doubts about Foster are being erased by the quality and cohesion of the team’s performances.
Again, though, is that down to him and his coaching team or the crop of players we possess?
Either way, I’m not hugely convinced by this All Blacks team and I suspect I’m not alone there.
What are the chances they beat Australia by 30 points this weekend? Let’s say 46-16 or something in that ballpark.
I’d wager that’s a fair reflection of the two teams’ ability and, on that score, I sympathise with Foster. When the team plays well – it’s as we all expected – and when they’re bad, it’s his fault.
Actually, this is all on NZR and the more these All Blacks struggle to put away mediocre opponents, the more the governing body ought to be criticised for promoting a guy above his station.
Or am I barking up the wrong tree?
Comments on RugbyPass
It’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
6 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
44 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
6 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
44 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
44 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to commentsThis is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?
35 Go to commentsWow, didn’t realise there was such apathy to URC in SA, or by Champions Cup teams. Just read Nick’s article on Crusaders, are Sharks a similar circumstance? I think SA rugby has been far more balanced than NZs, no?
4 Go to commentsBut here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.
44 Go to commentsIt could be coincidental or prescient that the All Blacks most dominant period under Steve Hansen was when the Crusaders had their least successful period under Todd Blackadder and then the positions reversed when Razor took over the Crusaders.
44 Go to commentsDefinitely sound read everybodyexpects immediate results these days, I don't think any team would travel well at all having lost three of the most important game changers in the game,compiled with the massive injury list they are now carrying, good to see a different more in depth perspective of a coaches history.
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