Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Sonny Bill Williams’ blunt take on where the All Blacks have gone wrong

All Blacks dejected after the try of Malcolm Marx of the Springboks during the Castle Lager Rugby Championship match between South Africa and New Zealand at DHL Stadium on September 07, 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

Two-time Rugby World Cup winner Sonny Bill Williams has kept it honest when sharing a blunt take on where the All Blacks are currently at. The All Blacks were beaten in two Tests over South Africa and have lost three of their four Rugby Championship matches so far.

ADVERTISEMENT

New Zealand’s current ranking as the third side on the four-team Rugby Championship ladder doesn’t reflect how close both Tests were over in the Republic. The visitors should’ve won the first match in Johannesburg and had every chance of taking out the second Test as well.

The All Blacks led 27-17 with just over 10 minutes to play at Emirates Airline Park before the Springboks famed ‘Bomb Squad’ helped the hosts pull off an incredible comeback win. One week later in Cape Town, the bench was once again the difference in a 18-12 triumph.

Video Spacer
Video Spacer

In four Tests under coach Scott Robertson this year, the All Blacks have failed to score in the last 20 minutes of a match. To put that into context, they’ve only played seven matches in total. It’s clear that something isn’t quite working, and Williams has had his say.

As the hype and anticipation for this weekend’s Bledisloe Cup Test at Sydney’s Accor Stadium continues to build, the dual international has explained how the All Blacks’ approach to their team selection has become an issue.

“Shaky to say the least. Shaky to say the least if we’re being honest,” Williams said on Stan Sports’ Between Two Posts.

“I tweeted during the week or after the South African game, the Springboks are leading the way because they’ve worked out that it’s a 23-man game and I just don’t think we are there yet.

ADVERTISEMENT

“That’s not me having a dig at the players – I still think we have some of the best, if not the best, players in the world. I just don’t think from a coaching perspective we’ve nailed down the 23-man game mindset yet.

“That’s where I’m at.

Related

“But I still think there’s been some great signs and I still think we will win this weekend and win well but that’s my honest thoughts on where we’re at.”

Following the narrow loss in Johannesburg, the All Blacks made a handful of their changes to their starting side ahead of the second Test at DHL Stadium. As part of these decisions, Test veterans TJ Perenara and Beauden Barrett dropped back to the bench.

The reaction from fans on social media was largely quite positive, but it didn’t ended up working on the night in Cape Town. Perenara and Barrett failed to fire, and replacement lock Sam Darry wasn’t subbed on at all.

ADVERTISEMENT

As Williams discussed, one clear issue was the approach to the front row. Tyrel Lomax was still on the field after 72 minutes of play, and that fatigue appeared to take its toll with the tighthead prop being shown a yellow card for an off-the-ball hit on Boks winger Cheslin Kolbe.

“This is me keeping it really, really simple, the game’s won through where? Through the middle,” Williams explained.

“When was the last time we saw a prop from the Boks come off the field or still be on the field in the 72nd minute?

“The greatest team that I’ve been involved with, 2015… it was a full 23-man squad  game.

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins
0
Draws
0
Wins
5
Average Points scored
16
33
First try wins
60%
Home team wins
60%

“(Lomax) played really, really well, he’s at the top of his game right now but you put that pressure on a player playing at that level in South Africa, 70 minutes into the game, him making that mistake I think that was just a coaching error more than himself.

“South Africa, the first Test, they played amazing. Some of those players were arguably the best on the field but didn’t play the next week,” he added.

“Whatever it is over there, it’s a total belief in the full squad. (But) if I’m 16 to 23 right now in the All Blacks sitting on the bench, and I’m being used for seven minutes, I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Man am I part of this squad or am I a part of this team?’’

Watch the highly acclaimed five-part documentary Chasing the Sun 2, chronicling the journey of the Springboks as they strive to successfully defend the Rugby World Cup, free on RugbyPass TV (*unavailable in Africa)

ADVERTISEMENT

Boks Office | Episode 39 | The Investec Champions Cup is back

Argentina v France | HSBC SVNS Hong Kong 2025 | Men's Match Highlights

New Zealand v Australia | HSBC SVNS Hong Kong 2025 | Women's Match Highlights

Tokyo Sungoliath vs Shizuoka BlueRevs | Japan Rugby League One 2024/25 | Full Match Replay

Reds vs Force | Super Rugby W 2025 | Full Match Replay

The Rise of Kenya | The Report

New Zealand in Hong Kong | Brady Rush | Sevens Wonders | Episode 4

The Fixture: How This Rugby Rivalry Has Lasted 59 Years

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

3 Comments
C
Cosmo 198 days ago

Well Sonny, if you hadn't cost us the B&I tour with your brain-dead red card tackle on AW in the 2nd test, maybe I'd listen to you.

I
IS 198 days ago

He literally didn't lose is the series seeing it was a drawn series maybe you should do more listening and less talking because you need too

Load More Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

f
fl 1 hour ago
Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

“He won a ECL and a domestic treble at the beginning of his career.”

He won 2 ECLs at the beginning of his career (2009, 2011). Since then he’s won 1 in 15 years.


“He then won 3 leagues on the bounce later in his career”

He won 3 leagues on the bounce at the start of his career too - (2009, 2010, 2011).


If we’re judging him by champions league wins, he peaked in his late 30s, early 40s. If we’re judging him by domestic titles he’s stayed pretty consistent over his career. If we’re judging him by overall win rate he peaked at Bayern, and was better at Barcelona than at City. So no, he hasn’t gotten better by every measure.


“You mentioned coaches were older around the mid-2010’s compared to the mid-2000’s. Robson was well above the average age you’ve given for those periods even in the 90’s when in his pomp.”

Robson was 63-64 when he was at Barcelona, so he wasn’t very old. But yeah, he was slightly above the average age of 60 I gave for the top 4 premier league coaches in 2015, and quite a bit above the averages for 2005 and 2025.


“Also, comparing coaches - and their experiences, achievements - at different ages is unstable. It’s not a valid way to compare and tends to torpedo your own logic when you do compare them on equal terms. I can see why you don’t like doing it.”

Well my logic certainly hasn’t been torpedoed. Currently the most successful premier league coaches right now are younger than they were ten years ago. You can throw all the nuance at it that you want, but that fact won’t change. It’s not even clear what comparing managers “on equal terms” would even mean, or why it would be relevant to anything I’ve said.


“You still haven’t answered why Kiss could be a risker appointment?”

Because I’ve been talking to you about football managers. If you want to change the subject then great - I care a lot more about rugby than I do football.

But wrt Kiss, I don’t agree that 25 years experience is actually that useful, given what a different sport rugby was 25 years ago. Obviously in theory more experience can never be a bad thing, but I think 10 years of coaching experience is actually more than enough these days. Erasmus had been a coach for 13 years when he got the SA top job. Andy Farrell had been a coach for 9 when he got the Ireland job. I don’t think anyone would say that either of them were lacking in experience.


Now - what about coaches who do have 25+ years experience? The clearest example of that would be Eddie Jones, who started coaching 31 years ago. He did pretty well everywhere he worked until around 2021 (when he was 61), when results with England hit a sharp decline. He similarly oversaw a terrible run with Australia, and currently isn’t doing a great job with Japan.

Another example is Warren Gatland, who also started coaching full-time 31 years ago, after 5 years as a player-coach. Gatland did pretty well everywhere he went until 2020 (when he was 56), when he did a relatively poor job with the Chiefs, before doing a pretty poor job with the Lions, and then overseeing a genuine disaster with Wales. There are very few other examples, as most coaches retire or step back into lesser roles when they enter their 60s. Mick Byrne actually has 34 years experience in coaching (but only 23 years coaching in rugby) and at 66 he’s the oldest coach of a top 10 side, and he’s actually doing really well. He goes to show that you can continue to be a good coach well into your 60s, but he seems like an outlier.


So the point is - right now, Les Kiss looks like a pretty reliable option, but 5 years ago so did Eddie Jones and Warren Gatland before they went on to prove that coaches often decline as they get older. If Australia want Kiss as a short term appointment to take over after Schmidt leaves in the summer, I don’t think that would be a terrible idea - but NB wanted Kiss as a long term appointment starting in 2027! That’s a massive risk, given the chance that his aptitude will begin to decline.


Its kind of analagous to how players decline. We know (for example) that a fly-half can still be world class at 38, but we also know that most fly-halves peak in their mid-to-late 20s, so it is generally considered a risk to build your game plan around someone much older than that.

168 Go to comments
A
AlanCriner 1 hour ago
Ian Foster address injury rumours to key All Black before World Cup final

My name is Alan Criner, and I'm a resident of Toronto, CA. I'm a 45-year-old financial analyst who has always been cautious with my investments. However, in my quest to diversify my portfolio, I fell prey to a devastating fake crypto investment scam, losing 125,000 Canadian dollars' worth of Bitcoin. This traumatic experience sent my life into a downward spiral, leaving me depressed and feeling hopeless.

Despite my repeated attempts to contact the account manager who initially approached me on Telegram, I was met with silence. They refused to provide any explanation or information, and I was locked out of my account on their website. The authorities were unable to assist me, as the scammers were untraceable.

Just when I thought all was lost, my nephew, a Canadian government lawyer, introduced me to Morphohack Cyber Service, a reputable private investigator and crypto recovery company. I visited their website (www . morphohackcyber . com) and, after mustering the courage, contacted them. They listened attentively as I recounted my ordeal and educated me on the scam, revealing that numerous others had fallen victim to the same scheme.

Although skeptical at first, I decided to take a chance. Morphohack guided me through the process, instructing me to set up a new wallet. To my astonishment, they successfully recovered my stolen Bitcoin and transferred it to my new wallet. I was stunned, struggling to comprehend how this was possible.

I initially wanted to keep this experience private, but I realized that there may be others out there who have suffered similar losses. If you're a victim of crypto theft, I urge you to reach out to Morphohack Cyber Service. They can be contacted through their website or email. (Morphohack@cyberservices . com, Info@morphohackcyber . com) Don't give up hope, there is a way to recover your stolen crypto assets.

29 Go to comments
A
AlanCriner 1 hour ago
Exeter look to Charlie Chapman to boost scrum-half options

My name is Alan Criner, and I'm a resident of Toronto, CA. I'm a 45-year-old financial analyst who has always been cautious with my investments. However, in my quest to diversify my portfolio, I fell prey to a devastating fake crypto investment scam, losing 125,000 Canadian dollars' worth of Bitcoin. This traumatic experience sent my life into a downward spiral, leaving me depressed and feeling hopeless.

Despite my repeated attempts to contact the account manager who initially approached me on Telegram, I was met with silence. They refused to provide any explanation or information, and I was locked out of my account on their website. The authorities were unable to assist me, as the scammers were untraceable.

Just when I thought all was lost, my nephew, a Canadian government lawyer, introduced me to Morphohack Cyber Service, a reputable private investigator and crypto recovery company. I visited their website (www . morphohackcyber . com) and, after mustering the courage, contacted them. They listened attentively as I recounted my ordeal and educated me on the scam, revealing that numerous others had fallen victim to the same scheme.

Although skeptical at first, I decided to take a chance. Morphohack guided me through the process, instructing me to set up a new wallet. To my astonishment, they successfully recovered my stolen Bitcoin and transferred it to my new wallet. I was stunned, struggling to comprehend how this was possible.

I initially wanted to keep this experience private, but I realized that there may be others out there who have suffered similar losses. If you're a victim of crypto theft, I urge you to reach out to Morphohack Cyber Service. They can be contacted through their website or email. (Morphohack@cyberservices . com, Info@morphohackcyber . com) Don't give up hope, there is a way to recover your stolen crypto assets.

0 Go to comments
T
Theresa Wright 2 hours ago
Six Nations: 5 things we've learned from half-way point weekend

Have always had trust issues with my boyfriend but to clear my doubt I had to hire verifiedprohackers@gmail.com to help monitor all activities done on my boyfriend phone just to be sure his not cheating because am tired of always stalking him when ever he doesn’t pick my calls or has a call and refuses to pick his calls I tend to feel his seeing  another woman so in other to make things easy for me verifiedprohackers@gmail.com gave me the best phone hack with no trace and now I feel satisfied. Thank you so much verifiedprohackers@gmail.com

5 Go to comments
N
NB 3 hours ago
Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

https://www.london.edu/think/how-claudio-ranieri-transformed-leicester-city


He jts knew how to use that deep well of knowledge accumulate over many years of management. A true Moneyball story!

168 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING Exeter Chiefs confirm latest Heaven sent arrival at Sandy Park Exeter Chiefs confirm latest Heaven sent arrival
Search