\u201cThat\u2019s why I like McKenzie, but he\u2019s probably struggling to drive a game at the moment. But who knows what condition Richie\u2019s going to be in after coming back from Japan after a couple of seasons and a couple of years away from test match rugby.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blues legend Carlos Spencer is backing Richie Mo’unga to retake the All Blacks’ 10 jersey. Photo \/ Blues Rugby<\/p>\n
Mo\u2019unga\u2019s return comes with the national side in a state of flux after the shock departure of coach Scott Robertson<\/a>, who oversaw an unconvincing couple of years.<\/p>\n Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph and former Wallabies gaffer Dave Rennie<\/a> are understood to be the two frontrunners to replace Robertson.<\/p>\n The All Blacks have a huge year before them, with a tour of South Africa and four tests against the Springboks taking place across August and September.<\/p>\n Given Mo\u2019unga will only be back in July<\/a>, it is unlikely he will be picked for the tour, but he is likely to return for the Bledisloe Cup in October after getting some NPC rugby for Canterbury under his belt.<\/p>\n The All Blacks\u2019 attack has been a major talking point since their disappointing 2025. New Zealand have been inaccurate, lacking direction and creativity.<\/p>\n Spencer said the side had been struggling with the ball in-hand in the past two seasons.<\/p>\n \u201cIt just didn\u2019t really look like they had any structure around their attack. But a lot of that is the ability to come up with solutions in the moment, which they\u2019re probably not doing at the moment.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s around probably that general structure and their DNA. Sometimes they don\u2019t actually know what they\u2019re doing either, so that was probably the disappointing thing.\u201d<\/p>\n The past few years have involved many international teams opting for gameplans based on kick-chase. While the likes of South Africa have used it to great effect, New Zealand have not been able to match their accuracy with the boot or under the high ball.<\/p>\n \u201cI think they\u2019re kicking the ball far too much. But once again, you\u2019ve got to adapt to what stock you\u2019ve got,\u201d Spencer said. \u201cA good thing about South Africa is they\u2019ve adapted to what stock they\u2019ve got now. They\u2019re a team that used to rely purely on being physical. Now, I think they\u2019ve just brought a little bit of that attacking ambition and that flair to it.\u201d<\/p>\n The upcoming tour of South Africa will be a marker for where the All Blacks are at with their new coaching group, a year out from the Rugby World Cup in Australia.<\/p>\n However, Spencer is playing down the importance of performance against the Springboks this year as an indicator of World Cup potential.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think it has any relevance to what\u2019s going to come World Cup. I just think the tour in general is going to be great for New Zealand. I think it\u2019ll give an indication of where they are and where they sit, especially going in with a new coaching group or definitely a new head coach.<\/p>\n \u201cThe All Blacks just need a bit of confidence. They need confidence in their coaching group and their head coach. I think if they can have a good tour, they\u2019ll get that out of South Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n Spencer is currently coaching Terenure RFC in Ireland and is an assistant coach for the Blues women<\/a>, having helped take them to the Super Rugby Aupiki title last year.<\/p>\n The Blues men\u2019s great has acquired coaching experience across the world, having coached with the Lions, Sharks and Kings in South Africa and spent two years in Japan with the Munakata Sanix Blues.<\/p>\n Spencer denies having any big ambitions with coaching, saying he is simply enjoying the ride.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m happy moving around, but I\u2019ve really enjoyed the women\u2019s space over the last few years, and that\u2019s why I\u2019m keen to get back involved with them this year. I\u2019ve just enjoyed that space and just being around the girls and the energy that they\u2019ve brought.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, it\u2019s been really energising being in that space. I find it just so much more relaxing and just able to express yourself more in that environment.\u201d<\/p>\n Spencer remains an ambassador for the Auckland-based Blues, whom he represented 99 times, winning three Super Rugby titles and scoring 620 points.<\/p>\n This season marks 30 years since the inception of the original professional Super 12 competition, and Spencer said while the game is very similar, the athletes have transformed.<\/p>\n \u201cThere might be little tweaks around shapes and stuff like that, but the game hasn\u2019t really changed from what we were doing 30 years ago. There\u2019s a little bit more structure in the game now. But in terms of difference, players are built differently. They\u2019re a lot stronger and more physical these days. They\u2019re probably better athletes than they were 30 years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe there\u2019s a little bit more kicking these days. But just in terms of the style of the game, it\u2019s a lot more physical and demanding on the players.\u201d<\/p>\n To mark 30 years of the Blues, sponsor nib New Zealand has conducted new research to reveal what kind of legacy Kiwis hope to leave behind for young people.<\/p>\n The survey found 61% of Kiwis say the most important lesson to pass on to young people is how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. This was followed by achieving a good education (58%), giving back to the community (44%), and carrying on family traditions (30%).<\/p>\n Nathan Limm<\/a> has been a journalist with Newstalk ZB and the NZ Herald since 2020. He covered the Netball World Cup in Cape Town in 2023, hosts The Big League Podcast<\/a> and commentates rugby and netball for Gold Sport.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThat\u2019s why I like McKenzie, but he\u2019s probably struggling to drive a game at the moment. But who…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311471,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[5263,95,89,7022,8136,12230,1320,4101,44014,1888,23841,2740,106,111,139,69,90,10057,21038,213,5273,72809],"class_list":["post-311470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-all","tag-and","tag-attack","tag-black","tag-blacks","tag-carlos","tag-coach","tag-debate","tag-drags","tag-first","tag-fiveeighths","tag-former","tag-head","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-on","tag-problems","tag-spencer","tag-sports","tag-wait","tag-weighed"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Richie Mo’unga (right) last played for the All Blacks at the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Photo \/ Photosport.<\/p>\n
Spencer helped lead the Blues to the Super Rugby Aupiki title last year. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n