Former Ireland winger Shane Horgan has delivered a sobering assessment of the current All Blacks, while an ex-Wales international claims they’re “making a lot of mistakes” under new coach Scott Robertson.
The All Blacks are unbeaten in two tightly fought Tests against England to start Robertson’s reign – and should make it three against Fiji on Saturday (AEST).
YUnder Ian Foster, the All Blacks made it to the World Cup final, losing by a point despite having Sam Cane sent off – but it appears they are failing to convince northern hemisphere types of their worth.
Sam Cane of New Zealand walks past the The Webb Ellis Cup following the Rugby World Cup Final match between New Zealand and South Africa. (Photo by David Ramos – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)
“Something weird has happened with New Zealand in the last couple of years. That complete aura which felt like invincibility is not there in the same way as it was, it’s just not,” Horgan said on the The Good, The Bad and The Rugby podcast this week.
“They may build that up again with a new generation of players, but it’s not right now. Let’s keep them down while we can.
“That’s not to say they’re not a great team, of course they knocked Ireland out of the World Cup, but there is a sense that there is slightly more fragility that there’s been in maybe the last 100 years.”
Horgan said Robertson would need change their style to make the team dominant again.
“I’m keen to see how they innovate, and I think they will innovate during this period,” Horgan said.
“That All Blacks jersey I felt in many ways insulated them against pressure. It was a powerful cloak they had on and it meant that, one, they intimated the opposition, but it also actually elevated their performance.
“The thing we are seeing in the last little while is almost a pressure that comes with the All Blacks jersey which means they are inhibited the way they play; in the same way we’ve seen other teams be intimidated by pressure.
“Part of this redevelopment with Razor will be trying to re-establish that as a comfort blanket as opposed to it being an issue for them.”
All Black Head Coach Scott Robertson. (Photo by Joe Allison – RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, ex-Wales centre Jonathan Davies told the podcast that he couldn’t see a defined style in the All Blacks.
“Obviously, they’ve got great talent but they seem to make a lot of mistakes. They feel pressure. Razor’s going to have a little bit of time now before this Rugby Championship to really debrief what they’ve seen and try and get an improvement,” said Davies.
“They can get more out of Jordie Barrett, you didn’t see much of him in the first two Tests. I think Rieko Ioane is one of the best players in the team, but these boys need to touch the ball.
“They have got a platform with a great scrum, we’ve seen that, but let’s really try and test teams out, that’s what New Zealand’s always done.
“They’ve tested you, they’ve upped the speed of the game, they’ve really tried to put you under pressure by taking you out of your comfort zone.
“Will we see them go back to that real confident-looking team? I don’t know but they still have the talent, you can see that, but it’s just whether or not they can decide on what they want to be.”