We think we are great, but the brutal reality is we overestimate our player ability until we are really tested, then we fail. The islands and Australia are not good for our game. We need European exposure at franchise level, not only a few tests a year. \u2013 James C<\/p>\n
\u2018Once-in-a-decade\u2019<\/p>\n
At least we have got the regular once-in-a-decade-or-so loss to England out of the way before the World Cup year. \u2013 Harry A<\/p>\n
\u2018The usual stature of an All Blacks captain\u2019<\/p>\n
All Blacks captain needs to be Ardie Savea. Having a captain who is not the best on the field and who is barely holding his place in the side is not the usual stature of an All Blacks captain. \u2013 Russell H<\/p>\n
Savea is missing in action and seems to be focused on his future playing career. \u2013 Faye S<\/p>\n
Savea is ineffective under pressure. He didn\u2019t influence the second half positively either. On the way down in terms of form. \u2013 Robyn D<\/p>\n
Scott Robertson needs to remove his rose-speckled Canterbury glasses and appoint Savea as captain. Scott Barrett is the most uninspiring leader the ABs have had \u2013 doesn\u2019t seem to know how to rally the troops or change tactics when required. \u2013 Mike I<\/p>\n
All Blacks loosie Ardie Savea reflects after defeat to England at Twickenham. Photo \/ SmartFrame<\/p>\n
\u2018Met for the first time in the pub\u2019<\/p>\n
The backline continues to look like they met for the first time in the pub the night before and Beauden Barrett is rapidly putting dents in what has been a great career. \u2013 Chris B<\/p>\n
\u2018King last week\u2019<\/p>\n
I look forward to these comments after an All Blacks game, so many wannabe coaches and experts commenting on the game.<\/p>\n
Everything is great in hindsight: \u201cI told you so, should have done this, should have done that, etc, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n
Damian McKenzie was king last week, now he\u2019s been trashed by many. \u2013 Gordon B<\/p>\n
Damian McKenzie in action for the All Blacks against England. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
\u2018Results not excuses\u2019<\/p>\n
The problem is the slow slide to mediocrity in the New Zealand culture. This whole \u201croad cone, work-life balance, NCEA credits\u201d rubbish. The under-18s were thrashed in Australia and some commentators here said let them be kids. No. Winning is everything. Results, not excuses. \u2013 Craig W<\/p>\n
\u2018Out-thought and out-coached’<\/p>\n
I see this as a very average All Blacks side; how many would make a world XV? We are being out-thought and out-coached. We seem to have an inability to take the high ball at times during the game.<\/p>\n
When England had the ball, our backline was all over the place. They were not set up in a straight defensive line but with some 5m forward gaps. Our assistant coaches at the moment I would not put in charge of a Super Rugby side. From the 25th minute, we were out-scored 33 points to seven. \u2013 Stephen L<\/p>\n
\u2018Why wasn\u2019t Maro Itoje yellow carded?\u2019<\/p>\n
Not convinced by the decision with Codie Taylor\u2019s yellow card. But why wasn\u2019t Maro Itoje yellow carded for the same offence near the end of the game?<\/p>\n
Aren\u2019t there better referees who should have been in charge of this important game?<\/p>\n
Where are the very good Welsh, Irish and South African referees of the past?<\/p>\n
Have not been overly impressed by the Georgian, Italian and French referees this year. \u2013 Paul F<\/p>\n
\u2018Ref bashing\u2019<\/p>\n
Stop with the traditional NZ ref bashing when we lose.<\/p>\n
He had a good game.<\/p>\n
The TMO was a bit over the top, but ultimately he was correct.<\/p>\n
Taylor has apologised for the yellow card<\/a>. \u2013 Peter W<\/p>\n \u2018Least of our problems\u2019<\/p>\n Mate, the ref was the least of our problems. \u2013 Andrew L<\/p>\n \u2018No longer ruthless\u2019<\/p>\n There is something way off here. The refs have nothing to do with it.<\/p>\n It\u2019s as if they\u2019re being told how to play versus clinically playing what they see and on instinct which is a different pursuit.<\/p>\n They are no longer ruthless. \u2013 Andrew S<\/p>\n \u2018We really did miss a trick\u2019<\/p>\n Robertson is clearly out of his depth.<\/p>\n What I find funny is we send other top coaches offshore to gain international experience. Obviously they are coaching lower level teams and will not win much. Our best example of this was Steve Hansen coaching Wales. He learned how to coach at that level. Then he came home and was our best coach. Graham Henry, too.<\/p>\n Joe Schmidt built Ireland into a pretty good team.<\/p>\n Jamie Joseph did okay in Japan.<\/p>\n And we can see Tony Brown in the Boks set up.<\/p>\n We really did miss a trick. \u2013 Peter W<\/p>\n \u2018Way past their best\u2019<\/p>\n Another capitulation by the All Blacks. Excellent rugby in 10-minute bursts, then 20-minutes of disorganised chaos.<\/p>\n Has anything improved over the past two years? Really?<\/p>\n Some of the younger players look great prospects. Fabian Holland has been the player of the season<\/a>.<\/p>\n But several of our senior stars look either worn out or way past their best.<\/p>\n Our midfield selections. The constant changing.<\/p>\n Assistant coaches departing.<\/p>\n Something is not right. \u2013 Alfred T<\/p>\n \u2018Weakest All Blacks team for decades\u2019<\/p>\n The days when we would go to Twickenham and show the Poms how to play rugby are behind us, and who knows for how long.<\/p>\n This is the weakest All Blacks team for decades. If you were picking a world XV now, only Ardie Savea and Will Jordan could be considered, and then probably not picked.<\/p>\n The law of averages is catching up with us. It\u2019s the relative size of your rugby-playing population that ultimately determines success. Ours has been shrinking, and others growing. \u2013 Terry C<\/p>\n \u2018The world on his shoulders\u2019<\/p>\n Scott Barrett looks like a man with the worries of the world on his shoulders. That is not just impacting his captaincy but it is impacting on his playing. Shift the captaincy from him and allow him to work purely on his game. \u2013 Storm R <\/p>\n \u2018Out of ideas\u2019<\/p>\n Robertson looks and sounds like he\u2019s out of ideas.<\/p>\n The big question to me is what are the root causes of this pattern of getting whipped by other top sides? Is it primarily that we no longer have the quality of players coming through, is it simply the hard reality that internationally most of the top sides are all capable of beating each other on a particular day, or is it that the overall quality of our coaching team is severely lacking?<\/p>\n I suspect it may be a bit of all these factors. \u2013 Wayne K<\/p>\n \u2018A 62% win record\u2019<\/p>\n Interesting to see the current England coach has a 62% win record \u2013 perhaps English fans have more rugby nous and don\u2019t panic? \u2013 Brian H<\/p>\n \u2018England looked like a class above\u2019<\/p>\n Time\u2019s up for Beauden Barrett; he\u2019s had enough chances \u2013 his last game in the All Blacks jersey will be next week. George Ford completely outclassed him<\/a>.<\/p>\n Comprehensive beating across the park. England looked like a class above.<\/p>\n Should\u2019ve taken easy three points when they handed it to us.<\/p>\n We are not good enough \u2013 lucky we also don\u2019t have to play France A team at home.<\/p>\n Razor needs help, our assistant coaches aren\u2019t good enough.<\/p>\n Need better players, coaches and also upper management. \u2013 Laurence D<\/p>\n \u2018The cool glass of cumupance\u2019<\/p>\n Possibly Beauden Barrett\u2019s last test, unfortunately. He\u2019s been there since 2014 so probably time to blood Josh Jacomb. We missed Caleb Clarke and Tupou Vai\u2019i. Both a physical presence.<\/p>\n I\u2019m no Fozzy (Ian Foster) fan<\/a>, but surely he must be smugly sitting back sipping the cool glass of comeuppance. \u2013 JS W<\/p>\n \u2018Pain of the loss\u2019<\/p>\n Fozzy won\u2019t be doing that. He\u2019ll be feeling the pain of the loss. \u2013 Paul F<\/p>\n \u2018Typical of this generation\u2019<\/p>\n The truth is obvious here. What teams need is a coach. They don\u2019t need one of the boys as coach. This is why this team is useless and don\u2019t care. When they came off the field, they weren\u2019t that bothered they had lost.<\/p>\n The team has the concentration span of an ant. They\u2019re typical of this generation unable to concentrate on to the next thing. Like talking about Wales and how good we were in moments today. It\u2019s a crying shame what Robertson has done to the All Blacks. \u2013 Richard G<\/p>\n ‘Test rugby is about control’<\/p>\n It\u2019s is time for a change in leadership. This is what is missing.<\/p>\n Scott Robertson is not an international coach. Clearly there is something wrong in the coaching team that is reflected in the playing team. Just look at the energy of the All Blacks XV with Jamie Joseph<\/a> at the helm. I think this is not missed by NZ Rugby.<\/p>\n Test rugby is about control and building pressure. This is something that seems to be lost within this All Black group. A change in leadership to be made. Bring on Jamie Joseph<\/a>. \u2013 Court S<\/p>\n \u2018The sun is shining\u2019<\/p>\n Guess what: we lost a game of footy and we will lose again. It\u2019s okay, the sun is shining \u2013 well, it is where I live. I\u2019ve spent my whole life analysing test matches: what went wrong, who the coach is, so-and-so should be playing, what\u2019s-his-name should be dropped \u2013 and it all makes no difference.<\/p>\n Now I just watch the games and if we win that\u2019s great and if we lose that\u2019s disappointing, but at the end of the day it\u2019s just a game of footy. \u2013 Ray V<\/p>\n \u2019Anti-Auckland bias’<\/p>\n First up is the hubris of calling this a \u201cGrand Slam tour\u201d<\/a> \u2013 it was a Four Nations tour. Talk about counting your chickens.<\/p>\n Second, the All Blacks\u2019 frailty. That\u2019s leadership. Scott Barrett is not up to the job. He doesn\u2019t even earn his place.<\/p>\n Third, where are the standards? Why was Leroy Carter selected after a foot trip?<\/p>\n Finally, the anti-Auckland bias. Rieko Ioane is the ABs\u2019 top try scorer and only 28. Inexplicable he wasn\u2019t selected. And won\u2019t we look stupid when Hoskins Sotutu<\/a> is England No 8 when they win in 2027? \u2013 Charles J<\/p>\n \u2018What the hell is said at halftime?’<\/p>\n The first 20 minutes post-halftime are our worst stats wise<\/a> \u2013 what the hell is said at halftime then? How do they transform from then to now in such a horrible manner?<\/p>\n I thought there were some outstanding moments in the first half, but when you have Anton Lienert-Brown on your bench as an impact player \u2026 well that\u2019s not a great selection. It fell apart when Cam Roigard left the room: Beauden Barrett missing touch twice, Codie Taylor thinking he\u2019s back in club rugby with two cynical childlike yellow cards in two tests. \u2013 Matthew N<\/p>\n \u2018I must need therapy\u2019<\/p>\n All Blacks no longer win the big games that matter. I must need therapy as I agreed with Stephen Jones\u2019 comments on the game<\/a>.<\/p>\n A loss in the UK carries a much greater impact than an All Blacks home win. The UK public don\u2019t know when their teams are in New Zealand and don\u2019t care. But in the UK, it is there for everyone to see.<\/p>\n They have recently seen All Blacks lose to Boks twice, England, Ireland and France. I won\u2019t go on. This is what diminishes the All Blacks aura. And after-match comments from the All Blacks<\/a> give no confidence problems can be addressed. \u2013 Stephen D<\/p>\n \u2018Dominate the rucks’<\/p>\n The English pack looked dominant in the loose in the second half, whereas our pack has never looked convincingly determined and full of steel all year. If you don\u2019t dominate the rucks, you are well on the way to losing the game. \u2013 Simon A<\/p>\n \u2018Complacency and arrogance’<\/p>\n Perhaps our complacency and arrogance needs some attention as well \u2013 the expectations of the ABs by New Zealanders are ridiculous. \u2013 Geoffrey S<\/p>\n No, it\u2019s not. Its what had made them the world\u2019s most successful professional sports team. If the country didn\u2019t have those expectations the team would not have been as successful as they have been. \u2013 Adrian J <\/p>\n ‘Need South Africa back in Super Rugby’<\/p>\n Pretty sad seeing our once great All Blacks team only having moments of individual brilliance. Definitely need South Africa back in Super Rugby, it\u2019s hampering Southern Hemisphere rugby as a whole. \u2013 Andrew O<\/p>\n \u2018A head scratcher\u2019<\/p>\n Ruben Love\u2019s selection is a head scratcher. Why have him in the squad all year and yet he gets a run in a foreign position (wing)?<\/p>\n He was better off in the B side, but Robertson wanted him for a training aid. The fact that he was talked up during the French tour for his progress at training, etc. But he gets 10 minutes at the end of the Springboks smashing? Don\u2019t know, but I sure do feel for the young fella. \u2013 Renato D<\/p>\n \u2018A head coach needs to be ruthless\u2019<\/p>\n Couldn\u2019t agree more that the All Blacks is not the place to develop players, but that equally applies to coaches. You have an entire coaching team with nothing except Super Rugby experience (except Jason Ryan). The structure of the coaching has Scott Hansen being the head coach and Razor bringing the messaging and \u2018vibe\u2019.<\/p>\n NZ Rugby cannot worry about Razor\u2019s demands and his want to do things his way. They need to make some decisive and immediate decisions. The same way they forced Fozzy to change his coaching team. \u2013 Adrian J<\/p>\n A head coach needs to be ruthless, too. The model of our last two coaches in selecting a playing captain through to the next World Cup and building a team around that player is an outdated concept, particularly given those two players were not the best option in their respective positions. \u2013 Kelvin P<\/p>\n \u2018Skilful and smart’<\/p>\n Good on the Poms, they play a better structured game than we do and love the drop kicks \u2013 skilful and smart! The worst part of losing to them is listening to the post-game interview. \u2013 Geoffrey K<\/p>\n \u2018They haven\u2019t been nurtured\u2019<\/p>\n We have the players if they are selected.<\/p>\n Biggest problem is our 10 \u2013 Beauden Barrett needs to go. He hasn\u2019t been great for the past three or four years \u2013 good, but not great.<\/p>\n Razor\u2019s main failure is his fixation with getting Richie Mo\u2019unga back and not developing our future 10. We have the players: Josh Jacomb, Ruben Love and Rivez Reihana are our future, but they haven\u2019t been nurtured and given game time. Ruben Love would have been twice as good as Beauden on Sunday, if given a chance.<\/p>\n Scott Hansen and Tamati Ellison need to go. \u2013 Tim F<\/p>\n \u2018State of the nation\u2019<\/p>\n I think the state of rugby in New Zealand reflects the state of the nation across the board. We\u2019re no longer a great little country that punches beyond its weight. There are exceptional cases but rugby has fallen foul to the allure of ever-increasing wealth at the expense of a healthy home-based game just as the nation itself has buckled under the weight of poor management in pursuit of impossible dreams. \u2013 Bill H<\/p>\n \u2018About the level of Argentina’<\/p>\n Seems to be that the All Blacks cannot transition from the individualism of Super Rugby to the tight and well-drilled team necessary for international rugby. This defeat was reminiscent of the semifinal against England at the 2019 Rugby World Cup and ever since that match the All Blacks have had similar failures in composure, strategy and fundamental teamwork.<\/p>\n The All Blacks have now fallen to about the level of Argentina, and are showing little sign of improved cohesion and performance. \u2013 Jess E<\/p>\n \u2018Battling to beat Italy\u2019<\/p>\n I think we\u2019re getting left behind; we need to let our players play in the top European leagues and allow them to be selected by the All Blacks. Playing against the best players from around the world regularly is what will improve our talent pool.<\/p>\n Super Rugby is no longer the top league, especially since we booted the South Africans. If we keep on this road, we\u2019ll be battling to beat Italy in the next 10 years. \u2013 Bruno D<\/p>\n \u2018Bite the bullet\u2019<\/p>\n They\u2019re playing with fear and they completely lose their structure and confidence when they fall behind. I think we\u2019ll find over the coming weeks that there\u2019s trouble behind the scenes somewhere there.<\/p>\n It will be interesting to see what David Kirk<\/a> does. Yes, he\u2019s a rugby man but he\u2019s also a top-level executive and those guys know that if there\u2019s something broken you have to bite the bullet and get it fixed quickly. \u2013 Jaime T<\/p>\n \u2018Mental hardness is failing them\u2019<\/p>\n Lack of leadership from coaching to the players. Under this regime the All Blacks seem incapable of learning from their mistakes and developing as a team.<\/p>\n If this was a private business, changes would be coming thick and fast. I\u2019ve never seen an All Blacks team so bereft of ideas on attack and lacking the basic skills. However, there is a core of some very good players (possibly just not enough compared to our last World Cup win<\/a>) \u2013 but it seems that the mental hardness is failing them, especially in the second half. \u2013 Tania S<\/p>\n \u2018NZ is no longer rugby, racing and beer\u2019<\/p>\n We will have no domestic competition of any status at all if we go down that route and in 5-10 years we\u2019ll simply not have the playing depth or quality to compete.<\/p>\n We are also seeing the result of long term decline \u2013 NZ is no longer rugby, racing and beer. NZ excelled because the sport was the passion of the country. Today, it just isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n We also don\u2019t help ourselves with a coaching structure that pre-empts appointments two cycles out. \u2013 Gavin L<\/p>\n \u2018Winning the games that matter\u2019<\/p>\n The All Blacks have not been able to win the big games that matter for some time. I don\u2019t care about overall winning percentages, as this just camouflages huge problems in the team.<\/p>\n It is winning the games that matter that really shows how good the team is \u2013 not crude stats.<\/p>\nAll Blacks skipper Scott Barrett is dejected after the loss to England. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
Counties Manukau ace Hoskins Sotutu could qualify to play for England. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
All Blacks regroup after the defeat to England at Twickenham. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
Scott Robertson at Twickenham ahead of the All Blacks’ defeat to England. Photo \/ Brad Roberts<\/p>\n
Coach Scott Robertson is under pressure after defeat to England. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n