Source: Radio New Zealand
Analysis – It’s hard to know which team this morning’s test in Cardiff said more about. The 52-26 result saw Wales rightfully given plaudits, despite it only being a penalty goal away from their highest score ever conceded in the fixture. Meanwhile, the All Blacks scored seven tries and put the game away long before full-time, but left a lot of the same questions hanging that have followed them all season.
For Wales to still be in the game at halftime was probably about the best result they could’ve hoped for, plus they can boast four excellent tries in front of a typically raucous home crowd. Three of them went to wing Tom Rogers, who joins Greg Cornelsen (4), Ray Mordt and Marius Joubert an extremely select club of test players who have scored hat-tricks against the All Blacks.
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The All Blacks were clinical at times, frustrating in others. Their discipline was almost perfect, but they allowed Wales into their 22 almost as many times as they visited the other end. The bench once again added a lot, but the standout performer was Sevu Reece – a player that had dropped out of the squad entirely only two weeks ago and almost surely wasn’t part of any long-term strategy.
Scott Robertson. www.photosport.nz
In the old days, this would’ve been an ‘oh well, let’s enjoy the summer’ kind of performance, but that’s not going to happen. If anything, the test itself felt like a curtain-raiser for the upcoming end of season review, something Scott Robertson is acutely aware of.
He was candid in his feelings post-match, saying “human spirit’s an amazing thing” when asked about the Welsh performance.
“The guys that got an opportunity stood up….it was a hell of a year, wasn’t it? An interesting year,” said Robertson.
Tamaiti Williams scores against Wales. ©INPHO/Billy Stickland
Meanwhile, Scott Barrett didn’t exactly give a ringing endorsement for his own continuation as All Black captain, saying afterwards he’s “not going to look too far back or too far forward.”
Review time
Attention now turns to what the NZ Rugby board makes of the All Blacks’ 10-win, three-loss season. On the surface, that doesn’t seem that bad – until you remember that one was the first ever loss to the Pumas in Argentina, another was the heaviest defeat in team history and at home, and the most recent shot a Grand Slam bid to bits.
“I sit with the leaders and players (for the review). You look at key moments and fine margins…you play really good rugby but what are the fine margins that are critical moving forward,” said Robertson.
Ruben Love dives past Blair Murray to score against Wales. www.photosport.nz
Robertson has been open about his grand plan, which is to create a four-man depth chart for every position in his squad. One of the things that will be taken into consideration is how that’s going, and in his defence most of the players he’s debuted in the last two seasons have been success stories. World Rugby certainly thinks so, with Fabian Holland joining 2024 winner Wallace Sititi as their Breakthrough Player of the Year.
“We feel like we’ve slightly turned a corner, 45 with a lot of exposure this year. We feel like the four deep project is coming along well,” said Robertson.
However, the same can’t be said of the wider coaching group. Jason Holland’s departure marked another reshuffle and has created serious questions around the overall chemistry, whether job titles are being retrofitted rather than defined and what’s going to happen next.
“We wanted to get this season out of the way so Jason could leave on a really high note. Then we’ll look at the market, what we need and go through the review to find exactly what this team needs.”
It is times like these that All Blacks fans should realise just how good this team has historically been that we are having these conversations after a 10-win season. Also, what a massive draw they remain after well over a quarter of a million spectators yet again filled up every stadium on this tour.
But if the All Blacks are going to continue to draw on their legacy to motivate and market themselves, this is the sort of introspection it demands. Especially since next season looks like the hardest in a long, long time.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
