Jason Ryan: 'I made a few mistakes this year'

There’s no doubt the All Blacks and New Zealand Rugby will conduct a review on the International season in 2025, after what was in part, a frustrating year for Scott Robertson’s side.

Robertson and his coaching staff will take a good look at themselves, dust themselves off, and review the three losses against Argentina in Buenos Aires, South Africa in Wellington, and England in London respectively.

Not only did the All Blacks coaching staff lose Leon MacDonald in 2024, former Hurricanes head coach Jason Holland has finished up with New Zealand Rugby at the conclusion of his two year contract, which he chose not to re-apply for going into 2026.

Jason Ryan, who has been with this team since Ian Foster was in charge, spoke to Taylah Johnson from Sky Sport after the All Blacks’ 52-26 victory over Wales in Cardiff.

Ryan explains that despite being pleased with the Wales victory, he admits that his coaching may not have been perfect over the course of the 2025 season.

“Look, we came over here to win a Grand Slam, and that never happened. So the England test will hurt for a while, and through the summer a little bit, but we’re pretty realistic about where we’re at and what we need to improve on,” Ryan said on The Breakdown.

“We can’t look past our inconsistency, and we’ve got to be really honest with that, and I know personally, I made a few mistakes this year, and I’ve got to learn from them pretty quick.

In the past couple of weeks, the All Blacks coaches have talked about the 45 players that they used this year, which is three more than they used in 2024, largely due to a number of injuries they had picked up during the year.

The former Crusaders assistant explains that he’s proud of the forwards group, especially with the amount of experience that was left at home in New Zealand due to injury, including the likes of Tupou Vaa’i, Patrick Tuipulotu, and Tyrel Lomax.

“But think it’s 20 new All Blacks or 19 new All Blacks in two years, and we’ve got nearly 150-200 plus, or nearly 200 caps in the forward pack sitting at home.

“So I’m proud of the young fellas that we have brought through in the forwards, and we’ll be better for it.”

But when asked whether using that many players is actually a positive thing, Ryan thinks that there’s negatives and positives to both sides.

“I think it’s a mix of both, to be honest, and I think what this group on the Northern Tour is showing, is that we can play some really good rugby.

“That Scottish Test was tough, and we came out of the blocks against Ireland, and we didn’t get the job against England, but we’ll be better for the experience of playing on a Northern Tour and big crowds and big moments.

“We’ve been through the furnace like every All Black, coach, player, team has been through the furnace at some stage, and we’ve been in the furnace a couple of times. And it’s good for us, it’s how we react and how we grow our game and evolve, and I got every confidence we will do that.”

One of the major problems for the All Blacks in 2025 has been the small lapses in concentration in games, normally in the third quarter, which has often cost Robertson’s side games throughout this International season.

Ryan pinpoints that as a key work on for this side, especially ahead of such a big campaign next season with a historic trip to South Africa, and the first Nations Championship tournament.

“We’ve got be consistent, and we’ve got to keep the tension on in Test matches and not let them slip, so we’re going to look pretty hard of that.

“She’s some calendar next year, like the greatest rivalry is going to be good, but it’s exciting. We need it heading in towards the World Cup. So yeah, we’re confident of where we’re going to head, that’s for sure.”