All Blacks 2026
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@No-Quarter said in All Blacks 2026:
Comparisons to previous AB sides is interesting, but also a bit of a pointless way to critique the current coaches as it's pretty subjective what the worst AB side of all time would be.
What I do know is that it's pretty clear NZ rugby still has stacks of talent, but the ABs are playing well below the sum of their parts due to poor selection and a gameplan not suited to test footy. Two years in it's obvious that this coaching group is well out of their depth going up against much more experienced international coaches, and instead of trying to change things up, they had no answers so kept trying to do the same thing over and over and over again. That makes them bloody frustrating to support, to say the least.
It's going to be really interesting to see what NZR do after the review, as it's obvious we need someone with a lot more experience in the group, but there are no obvious candidates willing to work with Razor.
I agree. But I think the issue is that not that coaches aren’t willing to work with Razor, it’s that the standard of coaches in general within NZ is atrocious. Razor rang rings around them for years in super rugby and it’s no surprise that if he’s not up to it, the rest won’t be. None of the alternatives are viable options and I don’t necessarily blame Robertson (with all his faults) not trusting or wanting to work with coaches he consistently out coached at Super Rugby.
What is and was needed is strong overseas experience in the assistant coaching set up, with guys both Robertson and the team respect.
What is the most puzzling is that none of the tactics or game plans that have looked good have been persisted with for 80mins or for multiple games. The backline looked incredibly slick in the first few tests, particularly in the 22 with the out the back plays. Yet it was completely abandoned for the rest of the season. The forwards have demonstrated that they can play in tight and make serious metres yet they shelve it when it’s needed most. Both the infield leadership and coaching during the games is terrible and needs to be dealt with
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@jimmyb said in All Blacks 2026:
But I think the issue is that not that coaches aren’t willing to work with Razor, it’s that the standard of coaches in general within NZ is atrocious. Razor rang rings around them for years in super rugby and it’s no surprise that if he’s not up to it, the rest won’t be
While I agree in part with you on the standard of coaches in NZ (a lot seems to be down to lack of development & retention planning by NZR), not sure I agree with you that coaches outside of NZ don't have the goods.
If, as you say, Robertson doesn't trust or want to work with people like Joe Schmidt, Joseph, Cotter or Gilbert Enoka as he doesn't think they're good or trustworthy enough, it really doesn't speak well of Robertson's rugby nous or ability to lead.. Not sure I agree with you on that, but it's an interesting view.
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@jimmyb said in All Blacks 2026:
. Razor rang rings around them for years in super rugby and it’s no surprise that if he’s not up to it, the rest won’t be.Yeah well not according to Crusaders CEO who reckons a lot most it was down to the young talent unearthed by Aaron Webb.
But, as Crusaders chief executive Colin Mansbridge said: “Everyone goes ‘Razor, Razor, Razor’, maybe there should be more ‘Webby, Webby, Webby’.” -
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@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2026:
Yeah well not according to Crusaders CEO who reckons a lot most it was down to the young talent unearthed by Aaron Webb.
But, as Crusaders chief executive Colin Mansbridge said: “Everyone goes ‘Razor, Razor, Razor’, maybe there should be more ‘Webby, Webby, Webby’.”There's no "should" in rugby, young man.
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@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2026:
Yeah well not according to Crusaders CEO who reckons a lot most it was down to the young talent unearthed by Aaron Webb.
But, as Crusaders chief executive Colin Mansbridge said: “Everyone goes ‘Razor, Razor, Razor’, maybe there should be more ‘Webby, Webby, Webby’.”There's no "should" in rugby, young man.
Touche' mate.
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@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2026:
There's no "should" in rugby, young man.
Touche' mate.
You're a good sport, sir.
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@mohikamo said in All Blacks 2026:
Not sure exactly what you asked AI, but I was around for all of these teams.
1967-70
All of these teams were good. Supremely confident we would win every game..
Some saffas consider the 1970 AB team as better than the 1974 BI Lions team that beat them 4 zip.
I was confident we could beat SA in SA for the first time. A total contrast to how I feel 26.
Surprised we lost, but probably should not have been. The boks were good and they had a bit of extra assistance, of course.1971
We were definitely on the slide a bit this year.
The third test in particular was a bit of a new experience as a youngster.
That game reminds me a bit of some of the losses in 25. Was goin "what the fuck happened!" We had nuthin.1972
Was ok, all wins, but the wins were like wins in 25, none were emphatic.1973
This was a bad year. Not for just onfield stuff. SA were meant to tour, but the govt came over the top and canned it.
Then we lost to an England team in their pre-season! (I think this was a hastily arranged subsitute game.)
Just about the worst AB loss ever!
The ABs also had a bit of an internal tour, which was complete BS, and no one was really interested.1994
94 was actually more of a concern to me than 98. Really starting to have my doubts about Laurie Mains. A bit like my thoughts about Razor now. What happened in 95 was an unexpected turn around. And the turnaround seems to have been driven by the players (Laurie getting some player buy-in). Maybe something like that could happen this year.?1998
The opposition was good; but we were ok. Could have won all the games. Thought we could turn this around easily.
Not the feeling I had in 25.2025
In 25 I thought when we ran into a good team playing well, we had no chance. Probably never had that feeling with an AB team before.The main problem with the 1998 team was the lineout. Anton Oliver could not throw properly. He was fine in the loose but incredibly poor at throwing. There were a lot of bloody good players in that team.
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Unfortunately this article is behind a paywall, but it could be the reasoning Beaudy continues to have the stranglehold on the AB 10 jersey.
Can someone on here access it?
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@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2026:
@jimmyb said in All Blacks 2026:
. Razor rang rings around them for years in super rugby and it’s no surprise that if he’s not up to it, the rest won’t be.Yeah well not according to Crusaders CEO who reckons a lot most it was down to the young talent unearthed by Aaron Webb.
But, as Crusaders chief executive Colin Mansbridge said: “Everyone goes ‘Razor, Razor, Razor’, maybe there should be more ‘Webby, Webby, Webby’.”Yes, agreed. The crusaders operation ran rings around other organisations. Being better in virtually every aspect of an organisation against your rivals will see you dominate them.
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@DurryMexted If it is the case that BB is only there because of this relationship, I doubt this is what Razor decided, this would have come from the top of NZR telling him BB must play...
I would also doubt, the head of that corporate that invested millions would have any expectations on who the ABs should select week in week out, especially as it could potentially impact the eyeballs seeing his brand if the teams he is sponsoring continues to splutter.
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@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2026:
@DurryMexted If it is the case that BB is only there because of this relationship, I doubt this is what Razor decided, this would have come from the top of NZR telling him BB must play...
I would also doubt, the head of that corporate that invested millions would have any expectations on who the ABs should select week in week out, especially as it could potentially impact the eyeballs seeing his brand if the teams he is sponsoring continues to splutter.
They might not have expectations on should play, but it would be expected for the ABs to showcase a 'super star' at corporate gigs. It would then be strange if that 'super star' didn't actually play many games. Besides BB, and to a lesser extent Ardie, this AB team arguably doesn't yet have any other 'super stars'.
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@Crazy-Horse although anyone who knows rugby at these corporate gigs would also know these stars are fading, and wonder why Roigard and/or Holland arent there instead
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@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks 2026:
They might not have expectations on should play, but it would be expected for the ABs to showcase a 'super star' at corporate gigs. It would then be strange if that 'super star' didn't actually play many games. Besides BB, and to a lesser extent Ardie, this AB team arguably doesn't yet have any other 'super stars'.
The other players were ALB and QT. I think they just selected some players who could construct a coherent sentence. There’s not many options
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@Duluth said in All Blacks 2026:
@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks 2026:
They might not have expectations on should play, but it would be expected for the ABs to showcase a 'super star' at corporate gigs. It would then be strange if that 'super star' didn't actually play many games. Besides BB, and to a lesser extent Ardie, this AB team arguably doesn't yet have any other 'super stars'.
The other players were ALB and QT. I think they just selected some players who could construct a coherent sentence. There’s not many options
Good point. I forgot about them.
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