All Blacks 2026
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Pat Lam actually touched on a lot of what’s being debated in this thread — not just results, but the system underneath the All Blacks. He was pretty blunt about NZ not being the benchmark anymore and said that’s actually an advantage if NZ Rugby is honest about it and makes the right decisions around development, Super Rugby, and funding.
What I found interesting is that he wasn’t having a go at Razor or the players at all — more the structures, the crowds dropping, and whether NPC/Super Rugby are still doing the job they used to.
I wrote up a piece pulling together his main points if anyone’s interested:
https://wetalkrugby.com/pat-lam-on-the-all-blacks/ -
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2026:
@chchfanatic (wherever he is now) can confirm for us that they hated Akira. He was at a bbq with them and Akira's name got bought up and they all laughed at him circa 2018.
Laughed at Akira, circa 2018? Professional coaches did that?
According to him, yes.
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@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2026:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2026:
@chchfanatic (wherever he is now) can confirm for us that they hated Akira. He was at a bbq with them and Akira's name got bought up and they all laughed at him circa 2018.
Laughed at Akira, circa 2018? Professional coaches did that?
According to him, yes.
I'm a little bit shocked!
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Welcome aboard.
It was interesting interview, and he brought up many interesting points, including that he hardly knew Robbie Deans when he was asked to coach with him on the AB ticket. His story on that really showed how stupid it has been to make coaches find a team - often independent from others - of what the whole team would look like. He's right that they should hire the head coach, who then gets to help select the right and best assistants.
On many other points, I think he makes good points - falling interest from the public etc, but his solution (a Giteau rule to free up more money) was rightly questioned by Devlin - taking more stars out of the NZ game isn't going to get punters to the games.
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@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2026:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2026:
@chchfanatic (wherever he is now) can confirm for us that they hated Akira. He was at a bbq with them and Akira's name got bought up and they all laughed at him circa 2018.
Laughed at Akira, circa 2018? Professional coaches did that?
According to him, yes.
Him being chchfanatic or Akira?
The Cantab mafia have been a bit quiet lately. I really enjoyed ChCh sauce as he clearly knows much and was happy to share. It would be fascinating to hear what is being said there at the moment. -
@gt12 said in All Blacks 2026:
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2026:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2026:
@chchfanatic (wherever he is now) can confirm for us that they hated Akira. He was at a bbq with them and Akira's name got bought up and they all laughed at him circa 2018.
Laughed at Akira, circa 2018? Professional coaches did that?
According to him, yes.
Him being chchfanatic or Akira?
The Cantab mafia have been a bit quiet lately. I really enjoyed ChCh sauce as he clearly knows much and was happy to share. It would be fascinating to hear what is being said there at the moment.Him being chchfanatic.
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@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
Professional coaches did that?
Clearly not professional. Pity NZR are only just finding out, eh?
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@giorgi1997 said in All Blacks 2026:
and whether NPC/Super Rugby are still doing the job they used to.
Well. Lam pretty much lining up with my thoughts, and this thread really.
It's kinda starting to become obvious to all the astute.As for NPC and SR, i've pretty much written them off as top level competitions.
I still like them, but they are not top class, and probably never will be going forward.
They are just for AB talent spotting now.
The preparation for Test rugby can not be done in those comps.
Instead of sending veteran ABs overseas on sabbatical/loan deals; maybe they should be sending the development players.The NZ rugby public are a little bit aware.
They realise that the star players are not playing in the NPC.
Taking the star players out of any sporting comp, is going to fuck it real quick.
NZR dont hesitate to take star players out of SR as well.And it's not just the star players either.
A while ago I counted about 500 NZ origin players; in pro leagues around the world.
Add to that nearly 200 NZ born players in the NRL.
In the past (amateurs) all those players were in NZ, pressing for places in provincial teams.
So you can see why you'd get crowds of tens of thousands at big inter-provincial games.
The GP can be stupid, but they can recognise an inferior product sometimes. -
@mohikamo said in All Blacks 2026:
I dont think being an international HC is an important requirement for being the AB HC.
But when the next AB HC is appointed; having experience with an overseas coaching system, should be an essential part of the resume.But surely there is a bit of a change in focus for international vs club?
Club you get the guys for a full, uninterrupted season. Can train them exactly how you want, get them in camps early and build the team environment. Club pathways have fed you players familiar with the club style, you might pick up a signing or two but overall your tools are in front of you and you do the best with what you have. Your opponents are a fairly known quantity too so you can plan accordinglyWhereas international, you are not only identifying talent, you are basically starting with a blank canvas (obviously with some incumbents). You have them for a shorter time, guys might be in form (or not), you are trying to research other international teams that dont play week in week out. Build new relationships and timetables with these guys, drop vets and start rookies. Seems like a lot more to think about than a club side.
At least being familiar with this dynamic as a player or coach is surely a pretty valuable item on a resume
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@DurryMexted That's the thing. There are people saying 'international experience is crucial'. But do they mean:
Coaching an overseas club, or a national team? Does that team have to be successful?
If a national team, does it have to be tier 1? If a club team, which comps count?
Does it have to be as a head coach, or is being an assistant in those environments enough?
What about playing in those environments, does that count? -
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@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
@DurryMexted That's the thing. There are people saying 'international experience is crucial'. But do they mean:
Coaching an overseas club, or a national team? Does that team have to be successful?
If a national team, does it have to be tier 1? If a club team, which comps count?
Does it have to be as a head coach, or is being an assistant in those environments enough?
What about playing in those environments, does that count?Yeah i see what you mean. Be interesting to know how these coaches themselves actually upskill themselves. No doubt theres endless research into high performance coaching and environments.
Thinking of it from that perspective, you would probably look at places like the french clubs as having the most resource and advanced systems. You wouldnt be looking at say the fijian coaching crew and think, these guys are clued up in the modern coaching practices, despite recent success. Point taken
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@DurryMexted I mean if you put the 'business' spin on it, this guys been running your provincial arm for many years, making good profits, do you make him go work for a competitor overseas to gain further experience before being considered for the top job?
I dont think it is essential, and his CV at the time meant he demanded serious consideration but based on what we have heard since, what did he sell NZR on his vision, 1st year, 2nd and 4 year plan (last one included winning the RWC one assumes)
Where a real world model vs the NZR model part ways, is he gets to bring a team with him, in the business world, these other roles would in most cases be filled already.
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@Tim said in All Blacks 2026:
If nothing else, the optics of having an outgoing chief executive who is a former Crusaders teammate of Robertson’s, an interim chief executive, Steve Lancaster, who is also a former Crusaders teammate and who was best man at the All Blacks coach’s wedding and Anthony as head of high-performance, don’t look great.
They are not helped by the fact that the three remaining national assistants – Scott Hansen, Jason Ryan and Tamati Ellison are all also ex-Crusaders.That's not optics, that's a takeover.
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@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2026:
@DurryMexted I mean if you put the 'business' spin on it, this guys been running your provincial arm for many years, making good profits, do you make him go work for a competitor overseas to gain further experience before being considered for the top job?
I dont think it is essential, and his CV at the time meant he demanded serious consideration but based on what we have heard since, what did he sell NZR on his vision, 1st year, 2nd and 4 year plan (last one included winning the RWC one assumes)
Where a real world model vs the NZR model part ways, is he gets to bring a team with him, in the business world, these other roles would in most cases be filled already.
IT's more about demonstrating success in various environments. Show that it's his magic that makes a difference, not the frameworks around him. Canterbury and then the Crusaders is a well established structure with clear culture. Does success transfer? Show it! Penney won the comp after a bad year; how much was him and how much was the framework?
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@gt12 said in All Blacks 2026:
On many other points, I think he makes good points - falling interest from the public etc, but his solution (a Giteau rule to free up more money) was rightly questioned by Devlin - taking more stars out of the NZ game isn't going to get punters to the games.
This does my head in. The amount of people who want a Giteau rule while at the same time bemoaning crowd numbers and somehow expecting that we can have both a Giteau rule and increase crowd numbers.
Also, is there really falling interest from the public? Viewership has been increasing in the last couple of years, we had bumper test viewership and the highest Super final viewership in over a decade this year. To keep up their doom and gloom scenario the stupid media had to write articles pretending there wasn't less games in Super this year so they could highlight a slight drop in total viewership.
We just don't, as a nation, seem to want to go to live matches anymore. I wonder if that is just price point? The Warriors reinvigorated themselves with cheap tickets, maybe rugby needs to bite the bullet and do the same?
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Agreed, I reckon a Giteau rule is the start of the end of NZ's domestic game being anything more than a development league for other comps. It's worth noting that would help Lam btw, but also his rationale was on this aspect was faulty all the way through, so I'd recommend listening to the interview in full.
Edit:
On live games, I'm not going given how much it costs - no only in terms of money, but also the 1 hour drive there and back again, plus traffic, and the shitty food, and shitty beer. I'm surprised people actually go.
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@Nepia There are several factors stopping people going as frequently as they used to. The price, as you say - and not just the tickets. Better quality streaming and TVs. A bit of over-saturation of rugby. More competition from other entertainment. Lower-quality competitions, with no All Blacks in the NPC, etc.
This one might just be me, but Super Rugby seems to have lost its appeal a bit with all the changes to teams and competition structure, South African teams leaving, Australian teams underperforming.
I also think atmosphere decline feeds on itself. Smaller crowds create a vicious cycle: empty seats reduce atmosphere, poor atmosphere discourages new or casual fans and once a ground feels quiet, people assume it’s not worth going.
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@gt12 said in All Blacks 2026:
Agreed, I reckon a Giteau rule is the start of the end of NZ's domestic game being anything more than a development league for other comps. It's worth noting that would help Lam btw, but also his rationale was on this aspect was faulty all the way through, so I'd recommend listening to the interview in full.
We'd become the equivalent of Brazillian football. Up and coming stars leaving early, with NPC level players becoming super rugby regulars mixed with washed up former ABs who can't get a decent contract overseas.
