Jason Ryan assesses Fabian Holland's response to All Blacks omission

All Blacks assistant coach Jason Ryan said the coaching staff saw exactly what they wanted from Dutch-born lock Fabian Holland against the Wallabies in Sydney, a week after being left out of the side’s Eden Park clash.

Ryan’s All Blacks have arrived in Edinburgh following two comprehensive victories over the Wallabies in the Bledisloe Cup, the second of which saw Holland dominate in Sydney.

The lock made a game-high 24 tackles, most of which were in the second half, as the All Blacks ran rampant in the first forty minutes at Accor Stadium against their trans-Tasman rivals.

Holland returned to the starting lineup in the second Test after missing out in place of Josh Lord, who was trusted alongside Barrett.

Addressing media from their Edinburgh hotel, Ryan admitted the coaching staff were impressed by Holland.

“Yeah, we did [see what they wanted]. We thought he was outstanding. I think he and Scooter both had the most carries and probably the most tackles between them of our tight fives.

“So Fabian, like I think I said a few weeks ago, he’s had that shoulder injury and a big series in Africa where he’s still getting used to playing after a long time off.

“He’s still rehabbing, getting that confidence right. But I know that he’s got a lot of confidence out of that second Bledisloe Cup test, and he’s right where he needs to be heading into this Northern Tour.”

The long-time All Blacks assistant coach admitted they may have previously questioned where the next crop of locks would emerge from, but now it seems like one of the strongest positions of depth moving forward.

“It doesn’t seem that long ago that it was Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick who were just there all the time, and Scooter was obviously in the mix too, but now we’ve given some lads a real taste of it.

“When we named the Nations Championship team, we could have a look at Jamie over here. We’re pretty impressed with him in South Africa when he came on, but I think the competition is really exciting.

“They’re all at a great age, all of them, and Scooter’s the experienced one, and they’re all competing really hard, and it’s exciting. ”