Why the All Blacks' scrum should be better in the UK than it was in South Africa

The All Blacks‘ scrum was a major talking point during the Greatest Rivalry series as the Springboks proved their dominance and won crucial penalties in the process. However, a couple of changes since then have left New Zealand scrum coach Jason Ryan confident ahead of the coming November Tests.

New Zealand will face Scotland, Wales, England, and then an unknown opponent in the inaugural Nations Championship finals, and they’ll do so without premier tighthead prop Tyrel Lomax, who has been left at home to rehab a persistent neck injury.

But that isn’t necessarily bad news, according to Ryan, who says injuries have held Lomax back this season. The 30-year-old, who played just 166 minutes of the 2026 Super Rugby season due to various injuries, missed selection for the final match of the Springboks series and both of the Bledisloe Cup Tests and has now been given the opportunity to focus on his recovery full-time.

While the Springboks are widely renowned as the world’s best scrummagers, the European opponents ahead of the All Blacks, starting with Scotland this weekend, can also cause the Kiwis some serious trouble should they fail to fire.

“It’s going to be another challenge,” Ryan said. “I think we made some good shifts on the back end of that (Greatest Rivalry) series, in particular the last game against South Africa, and then transferred that into the Wallaby Tests.

“We knew that Lowey (Lomax) wasn’t at full fitness in that South Africa series, so we’re bringing in Saula (Ma’u), a young fella who will get an opportunity, and we believe he’s deserved that.

“I think Scott Barrett has added a bit of a good solid platform and some real power to our tight end side of the scrum, which we’ve seen some benefits from as well. But Scotland’s a good scrummaging team; they’ve got a good pack, and they’ve been together a while, so they’ve got some good experience there with (Pierre) Schoeman and (Zander) Fagerson.”

Barrett returned from a back injury during the Bledisloe Cup series, after missing the Greatest Rivalry tour and every match preceding it in 2026. There’s more good news on the injury front for New Zealand, with Ethan de Groot on track to return against Scotland after missing the second Bledisloe Test.

While Tamaiti Williams still faces an uncertain timeline with his back infection, De Groot’s availability makes for a compelling selection race in the loosehead prop stocks.

“It’s going to be pretty tasty,” Ryan grinned. “I think the boys are competing really, really well. We’re hoping that Grooter (De Groot) will get through the bit of knee agility work he’s been getting through in the break since the Bledisloe.

“So I think they’re all complementing each other pretty well in different areas. Georgie Bower’s immensely experienced; he’s really accurate at scrum time. And Xavier (Numia) is exciting, and he adds a whole different dimension to our ball carry game around the park. But they’re definitely all competing.”