Former All Blacks duo Mils Muliaina and Jeff Wilson believe that there is one damning statistic which shows why Scott Robertson’s side have endured a mediocre season.
New Zealand only lost three of their matches in 2025, but they ultimately failed to achieve their aims this year.
Defeats to Argentina and the Springboks stopped them from winning the Rugby Championship title, while a 33-19 reversal against England ended their Grand Slam hopes.
Pressure has therefore increased on Robertson with one thing particularly standing out to Muliaina and Wilson when they poured over the stats.
Defence also an issue?
While there has been plenty of criticism over the All Blacks attack, their defence has also struggled at times and they were shocked by the lack of dominant tackles.
The number stood at 4.5 per cent, 102 of the 2,234 for they made.
“I tell you what, if you’re sitting at full-back and you’re seeing five per cent dominance, you’re thinking, ‘man, I’m going to be making some tackles today’,” Muliaina said.
“That’s not good enough and that’s where teams have been able to get momentum. We’re sort of carrying and riding teams [in defence], and it means then that teams are dictating their terms and you can’t afford to have that.
“That’s why decision-making becomes a really key factor. If you’re riding tackles and you’re not dominating, five per cent is low, that is really low.”
Credit: The Breakdown
Wilson then chimed in, claiming that the All Blacks’ defensive stats would have paled in comparison to the Ireland v Springboks clash in Dublin on the same day.
“If you watched other Test matches this weekend, it’s not five per cent. If you’re watching Ireland take on South Africa, that’s more like 60 or 70 per cent from both sides in terms of the defensive intensity they’re bringing,” he said.
Are All Blacks legends right?
While Wilson was correct that there were more dominant tackles in that Dublin clash, according to Oval Insights, the All Blacks are not quite as far behind as they would seem.
Those statistics showed that South Africa stood at around 10 per cent while Ireland were at 5.6, but they are right that New Zealand have some ground to make up on the very best in that regard.
In the July series, the Boks’ dominant tackle success rate was as high as 15 per cent. That is considered unusual but Rassie Erasmus’ men have consistently been one of the better countries in that area.
The All Blacks do therefore have some ground to make up if they are to match the South African defence, but it is not quite as poor as Muliaina and Wilson have suggested.
It does imply, however, that Robertson’s team are perhaps slightly too passive in defence or are simply not winning the battle on the gain line often enough.