Sam Darry: 'Conceding 32 points isn't acceptable for us'

All Blacks lock Sam Darry admits they will need to improve on the defensive front come Saturday afternoon against Italy in Wellington.

Darry, who captained the Blues for the first time in Super Rugby Pacific in 2026, was the “experienced” lock last Saturday against France in Christchurch, despite only appearing in his ninth Test.

The Canterbury-born lock called the lineout the whole 80 minutes for the first time in an All Blacks jersey, after coming off the bench during the 2025 end-of-year tour to assume the lineout role under former head coach Scott Robertson.

Darry was one of Dave Rennie’s strongest performers against France at One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch, contributing eleven carries and 17 tackles.

But, as Darry and the team reviewed the narrow, two-point triumph, there were clear areas they must improve on.

“There’s a fair bit of stuff, won’t go into all of it, but obviously you know we know that defence has got to be a lot better,” Darry said in Auckland as the All Blacks begin preparations for Italy.

“Conceding 32 points in a test match isn’t acceptable for us, so there’s a few things we looked at around that.

“I guess, how we can slow opposition ball down to allow us time to set, and then just, I guess, winning collisions sounds very simple, but often defence comes down to that.”

Having played under Robertson and now Rennie, Darry said that the coaching staff’s intent and philosophy has been easy for the players to adjust.

“I can’t call me too much on last year, I was only in for the back end of the year, but the coaches have brought an awesome, I guess, energy to the group.

“As you say, we haven’t been together long, but coaches and players have made a real effort to connect with each other and get on the same page, and the coaches have been very clear about the way we want to play, which has made it easy for us players.

“They haven’t overloaded us with too much and allowed us to kind of still have our freedom to play what’s in front of us, and really, really driven, I guess, accountability on us, accountability on us to have a look at what we’re seeing and play what’s in front of us, whilst giving us kind of structures around that.

“Personally, I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s been great so far, and obviously it’s awesome now having a body of work from the weekend that we can look at and look at areas where we can be better as individuals and better as a team.”

Player Carries

1

Tom Staniforth

14

2

Ardie Savea

12

3

Matthieu Jalibert

12

The 25-year-old explained how Rennie’s work-rate philosophy has suited his game style, giving Darry the opportunity to showcase his wide-ranging skillset.

“As a tight forward, you pride yourself, I guess, being good in the contact zone, and this is just another string for us to add to our bow.

“I like to think that work great is one of my strengths, so I’ve really enjoyed the challenge that Rennie and the coaches have set for us around getting off the ground, getting set in position to play, and I think it’s really exciting for us.”

“I think we created a lot of opportunities through that kind of work rate and stuff in the weekend, so it’s exciting moving forward.”