{"id":566824,"date":"2026-08-12T15:22:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T15:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/566824\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T15:22:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T15:22:15","slug":"all-blacks-latest-victory-a-blunt-reminder-amid-more-new-zealand-media-criticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/566824\/","title":{"rendered":"All Blacks’ latest victory a ‘blunt reminder’ amid more New Zealand media criticism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Planet Rugby takes a look at how the New Zealand<\/a> media reacted to the All Blacks\u2019 54-0 victory over the Sharks in their second Rugby\u2019s Greatest Rivalry tour match.<\/p>\n

After struggling in their opener against the Stormers, Dave Rennie\u2019s men produced a much more convincing display by hammering the Durban outfit on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Rennie<\/a> picked a side which will much more closely resemble the 23 that will take to the field for the first Test against the Springboks<\/a> and it showed.<\/p>\n

While they were once again slow to start, taking a 14-0 advantage into the break, the All Blacks<\/a> managed to pull away after the interval, scoring at a point a minute.<\/p>\n

However, New Zealand writers are not quite convinced that the tourists have truly hit their stride just yet despite an improvement in the recent win.<\/p>\n

All Blacks require \u2018plenty of polish\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile coach Rennie has a reputation for being methodical and not daunted by difficult tasks, he\u2019s also pragmatic, and after watching his All Blacks struggle to control the soapy ball and not give away penalties in the first 40 minutes, he may have peered into the murky night sky and wondered if his boys were slow learners,\u201d Stuff\u2019s Richard Knowler wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a blunt reminder that this squad remains a project that still requires plenty of polish.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, the All Blacks exploded into action in the second stanza \u2013 wing Fehi Fineanganofo grabbed two tries, and Ruben Love was excellent off the tee by kicking seven of his eight conversions, but the tourists took a long time to light the fuse and it\u2019s unlikely they made Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus and his squad shiver with fear ahead of the four-test series.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving loaded this team with men likely to play in the first test against the Springboks in Johannesburg on August 23, Rennie had every right to expect it to be more accurate and clinical than the second-string side that battled to put away the tenacious Stormers in Cape Town last Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe it was the drenched arena, or the multitude of empty seats that made the game seem like it was an afterthought on the itinerary of the \u2018Greatest Rivalry\u2019 tour, but the All Blacks took an eternity to impose themselves on a Sharks team that had been stripped of its Springboks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sharks v All Blacks: Winners and losers as centre sets the \u2018gold standard\u2019 while Ma\u2019a Nonu shows \u2018tremendous\u2019 aggression<\/a><\/p>\n

New Zealand Herald\u2019s Gregor Paul, who was scathing of the All Blacks following their Stormers performance, was more positive this time around.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn what were unseasonably cold and wet conditions, the All Blacks sploshed and splashed their way to a victory that ticked just about every box,\u201d Paul wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t look properly in command and bully-boy dominant until the final 20 minutes, but there was enough accuracy, intensity and energy about their performance across the 80 minutes to feel they are ready for what lies ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t drop a marker down warning the Springboks they are ready and roaring, but they certainly played with enough poise and panache to suggest they are tracking upwards from their previous outing in the first game of the tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy the end, they were flowing nicely \u2013 the pass and catch was sharp in what were horrendous conditions, the attacking structure held its shape and there was a confidence and certainty about the movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was by no means vintage All Blacks, but there was a swagger about the team in the way they so effortlessly passed before and out of contact and found ways to keep the ball alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jordie Barrett brilliance<\/p>\n

Paul also namechecked Jordie Barrett\u2019s display with the centre one of the All Blacks\u2019 best in their triumph over the Sharks.<\/p>\n

\u201cJordie Barrett deserves a mention, too, for the way he took control as a second \u2013 and sometimes primary \u2013 playmaker,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis contribution was mature, using his boot well to turn the Sharks and he\u2019s grown into the best second five-eighths the All Blacks have had since Ma\u2019a Nonu was in his pomp 15 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alex Powell, also writing in the Herald, was similarly impressed by Barrett, who is set to go head-to-head with Springboks powerhouse Damian de Allende in a mouth-watering match-up.<\/p>\n

\u201cBarrett\u2019s match-up against Damian de Allende when the tests begin is going to be something special,\u201d Powell wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe All Blacks midfielders fired a warning shot Rassie Erasmus\u2019 way.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Sharks v All Blacks: Five takeaways as Jordie Barrett masters the conditions in waterlogged win that will \u2018bear no resemblance\u2019 to Springboks challenge<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Planet Rugby takes a look at how the New Zealand media reacted to the All Blacks\u2019 54-0 victory…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":566825,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1463,111,43,139,69,6327],"class_list":["post-566824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-home-page","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-rugby"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566824","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=566824"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566824\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/566825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=566824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=566824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=566824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}