‘Push harder, boys’: Scott Barrett puts All Blacks’ Boks struggles into perspective

89-Test All Black lock Scott Barrett has weighed in on the recent four-Test series between the Springboks and the All Blacks, providing insight into how difficult it is to contain the back-to-back World Champions.

Barrett had to watch the Test series from afar, spending most of it rehabbing a bulged disc in his back from the start of the 2026 season.

The former All Blacks captain took the field for the first time in the 2026 season on Sunday for Taranaki against Hawke’s Bay, after missing the whole Super Rugby Pacific campaign with the Crusaders.

The experienced lock, speaking to Millsy & Guy on Sport Nation, shared his take on the All Blacks’ set-piece struggles against the Springboks.

“Oh yeah, it’s really easy when you’re sitting on the couch at home, and you’re a fan. You can say, yeah, push harder, boys. But I think it’s not until you’re in that cauldron and up against the Springboks and Ox Nche and Wilco Louw, who are like walking tanks,” Barrett said on Sport Nation.

“Honestly, it’s a serious front row, and it’s a big part of their game. It sort of feeds their psyche and their DNA. So the team will be better for that.

“As much as it would have hurt getting a couple of pushover tries and that sort of thing, the team would have learned from those experiences, and I’m not 100% sure what that was.”

Barrett added that he caught up with All Blacks assistant coach Neil Barnes in Taranaki after the tour, explaining that he “certainly wasn’t a happy camper”.

“But I think that last test was pleasing that they actually held their own in the scrum, and the game was actually a little bit more competitive. But when you’re giving away a penalty almost every time they put the ball, and it’s sort of pretty hard to stay competitive in the Test match when you’re just giving away easy territory up the park.

“I bumped into Neil Barnes in and around New Plymouth and the Taranaki Bulls, and he certainly wasn’t a happy camper with the way that the sort of pack was going in terms of the set piece at times.

“But yeah, I think they’ll be looking to bounce back and retain the Bledisloe Cup going forward.”

Despite the 3-1 series defeat, Barrett thinks the coaching staff would be pleased with the amount of depth they’ve built.

“Like, that series was pretty brutal and intense: four Test matches against Africa, three away, like they’re a pretty sharp team, and tested us in areas that we need to get better in.

“And I think equally, there were a lot of positives that All Blacks took away from the tour with blooding new players in and probably growing in depth. I think that was something that the coaching group would have been pretty happy with, despite going down.”