Jason Ryan says All Blacks have 'got to be careful' as Rennie-ball gathers pace

Another Bledisloe Cup sweep has added two wins to the All Blacks‘ 2026 season tally, and “the most pleasing thing” about the games, according to forwards coach Jason Ryan, is the progress made in the team’s search for an 80-minute performance of the high-paced Rennie-ball. However, that progress has also come with a warning as the team’s injury list grows.

While both Tests featured dramatic momentum swings, New Zealand’s 93 points over the two weekends came from some of the team’s fastest, most clinical periods of play to date in the Dave Rennie era.

The opening Auckland Test ended with a bang, and the Sydney Test started with one, accounting for 69 of those 93 points. The first half at Eden Park and the second half at Accor Stadium saw much more even contests, with the Wallabies outscoring the All Blacks by four points across those two periods.

But speaking with Jason Pine on Newstalk ZB after Saturday’s Sydney win, Ryan was pleased with what he saw from his side, even during the periods in which they weren’t as dominant on the scoreboard.

“I think it was a real reward for what we’ve learned as a team together in the last few months,” Ryan said, reflecting on the wins.

“And then, we had a lot of chaos, I guess, in our training week, and a few guys pulled out with injuries and bits and pieces last minute, and then we also had Quinn Tupaea who went down with a head knock, and then we lost Shannon Frizell.

“There’s a lot of stuff going on that can really break your timing, but I think what we proved last night, which was probably the most pleasing thing, is during this season, I guess we’ve had glimpses, we’ve played real red hot 20 minutes, and then we’ve had 40 and probably last night we put 60 together. That was the standard we’d like to play at, and the speed – which we’re getting used to trying to play as well. So it was satisfying.”

That speed of play demands a level of fitness that’s been one of the biggest challenges for the All Blacks this season, and it remains a focus for the side. Continuity has also been a challenge, with selectors more interested in rewarding form and giving opportunities than their predecessors, while also dealing with the mounting injuries.

Ryan had all of the above front of mind when asked what the biggest factors in New Zealand’s success have been over the past two weeks.

“I think it’s probably a balance of a couple of things, but more importantly, guys have got to get used to it; how you train that and how you move,” he replied.

“We’ve had a few changes and bits and pieces and, God, there’s a lot of guys injured, right? So piecing that together when we’ve lost experience and different guys – the importance of how we train is to set the boys up on Saturday. So I think we’re getting there as a team in how we’re doing that.

“But it’s pretty fatiguing as well. Like, we’ve got to be careful. We’re trying to fatigue the opposition, but there are a couple of times with the ball in play we’re probably fatiguing ourselves a little bit. So it’s about getting that balance right. But we’re really, really, really pleased with how the boys came out of the box yesterday.”