The All Blacks' issues are neither tactics nor selection, it's a whole lot worse

Funny how I never saw this article till now. Yes Bluesfan, I stated this before about PPP non-selection. It’s a mindset that even the loss to France will not wake the coaches up to. There is a lot of talent in NZ all over the place but selection has become very narrow in region and skill set.

Thoughful and largely 100pc on point Not sure it’s arrogance necessarily but I do agree with your point Same stuff for 3 years now - run the non Tier 1 teams off their feet and Pat ourselves on the back that all is well - larger physical well coached Tier 1 teams win the contact especially the breakdown while we continue to try to play at pace. Execpet now we do t have the ball as much .. the opposition D is better .. we get rattled . Bad decisions etc .. then we say “learnings” and “work ons” .. but it’s been three years.. can someone highlight the “progress”? - to be a little fair, this team isn’t a patch on the 2015 era, I struggle to think of one current player or current version of the same player who would crack that team… the cattle’s not the same BUT - what tactical evolution have the AB demonstrated in last 3 years - where is the understanding that not all opposition require the same approach - why do we keep playing players out of position … why? .. is Ardie and 8 ? No .. Akira is but we play him at 6, which he isn’t… Ardie is a 7.. not a 6 and not an 8…is Rieko a centre ? No … - do we know who our best players in each position are? If so why do we keep rotating players in and out of position - centres props wings back row props .. it’s a joke .. under pressure there is no cohesion .. I wonder why lol … - why the bad decision making under pressure ? That was never a hallmark but now is - where’s next gen? 4 years ago I wrote up a team of under 23 who would give most rugby nations a run for their money. I would struggle to do that now. In glad to the first team is struggling - the signs have been their too long. We are playing Kodak rugby. We know what happened to them. We are being out innovated .. that’s never acceptable - fozzie - nice guy. Bad coach. Worse selector. No plan no innovation and sadly it feels like the teams not playing for him ..Has to go. - plum tree - promised to harden up the forwards. They look like hard marshmallows. Has to go Enuff Thanks for reading my rant

Should of held onto laumape for the mid field .Had the gain line break good distribution and solid defense

It’s Otaki and yes, I was disappointed with his positioning during that test too, and therefore participation in the loose role. I have seen him play tight at the blues and play well. All I can think of is that the coaches are still playing that 80% defensive screen waiting for the counter attack??? Make the tackles and what for a mistake, like they did in all games since losing to England at the World Cup. The Highlanders were successful at this tactic to but their main strength was that they dominated the tackle and breakdown, still while leaving backs in the cover role and wide ranging loose forward runners. Plumtree and fossie need to recognise that and make them play accordingly, not these tackle and fall with the player but really drive into them making the tackle offensive, this will draw the loosies back into the physical stuff, and Akira

Agree with most of that Except if you think Mohunga is better than Barrett you are high on the most powerful hallucinogens available Barrett is world class - Mohunga is a Super Rugby player at best - he cant run a game, control a game or impose any structure - and when the forwards are beaten he is absolute rubbish - hes nothing more than a flat track bully One silly mistake isnt enough to cancel Barrett - only a deluded fool would think so The issues lie with the forward pack Savea isnt a test No. 8 Blackadder isnt a test No. 6 And if Moody thinks the forward performance against Ireland wasnt poor - well then - theres your issue - they havent the respect or the introspection required - perhaps Moody should be sent back to the Crusaders where he can pretend hes world class - his attitude stinks Reiko isnt a Centre at any level of the game ALB is a No. 13 and a No. 13 only Sevu Reece folds under any sort of pressure - hes not up to Test level Havilli is another flat track bully Retallick is unfortunately past it Leadership is non existent And Foster is a loser coach whos never won a thing - why hes appointed ahead of coaches who have a consistent record of success is beyond me We will be lucky to make it out of the group in 2023 with the level of incompetence in NZR at the moment The rot starts at the top - and NZR having been rotting at the top even since the appointment of Robinson - who has managed to offend every friend and traditional partner of ours since he got the job

Delusional comment Okati. Akira went completely missing versus the Boks. No great surprise either, he's a flat-track bully. Loves the ball on a silver platter in open space but can't stand the heat of the furnace room.

History always repeats. This new era reminds me of the ABs from the late 90s and early 2000s, even all the way up to 2010. An overly indulgent and somewhat arrogant obsession with running rugby at all costs. World leaders in rugby fluff, dazzle and flash. Forget that the aim of the game is to beat your opponent. I can still remember (with a sinking heart), Ali Williams proudly proclaiming the AB mantra of running bedazzlement (expressing yourself) immediately before the 2007 World Cup. I knew then that we were screwed. The scary thing is that it took us over a decade (in 2010) before we finally cottoned onto the fact that you need a solid platform to play rugby from first and foremost. At least in the past we had coaches who had proven themselves competent at the lower tier, now will have Foster, a head coaching failure at every level. Especially when you consider we had a plethora of highly successful Super and International coaches to pick from, but no we got ladled with Hansen's crony and 8-year Super failure. The incompetence at NZ Rugby headquarters is hard to bear.

I'm taking a glass half full stance. Unlike the loss in 2018 I enjoyed last weekend's match, despite the result. Farrell has clearly taken his side to somewhere Schmidt couldn't or wouldn't. Even two years out Ireland has every right to be optomistic about France 2023 even though they'll be quietly questioning if they can win it without Sexton or with him at 38. The NH reached its nadir in 2015 RWC with no semifinalists and they've all raised the bar significantly since - and so they should. For NZ it'll be damage control in Paris and a whole new focus on the three match series in July 2022, that I'm picking 2-1 to the Irish eight months out.

Depressing to acknowledge an AB team with so many apparent emerging issues still had no problems whacking the WBs out of the park. :unhappy:

plus the AB's were almost guaranteed to score 5 min either side of half time & in the 85th minute. If other teams can now stop that - makes a big difference

Cane needs to see if he can borrow Richies "cloak of invisibility"))

do the AB's change their match day 23 depending on the opposition or do they stick with the same 23 week in week out. Playing the Bok's on hard grounds in SAf requires a different playing squad than playing Eng / Ireland in the wet & mud of the UK etc.

Yep, Lowe, Aki and Gibson Park are all doing well in Irish rugby however, it should be noted that none have really established themselves as nailed on starters yet. Lowe is only getting back in the squad after being dropped for weak defense. Stockdale, Earls, Larmour, Zebo and Robert Baloucoune are all very strong options any of whom may still be ahead of Lowe. Aki is almost always behind Henshaw and Gibson Park is battling it out with Murray, McGrath and Casey for the starting place.

Highlander, Thanks for writing this. I watched the replay knowing the result and struggled to believe what I saw. Where to start? Agree with the comments about the forwards, the edge and handling is not there. The AB’s pack of McCaw years is now wearing green. Hats off to the Irish. AB handling timing is all off and some look lost, unsure what to do. Something is not right I think its starts with the coaches and on the training track. The number of time players outrun support, not expecting passes, all are hesitating and just look unsure. My university Tutor said, the last think you want to do in an exam is think. Similarly the AB’s usually “just know” what to do, the product of sharp focused training, incisive thinking. Where is the next Professor Wayne Smith? His ability to clearly communicate, make things simple, that were executed at high speed under great pressure. What has happened the last few years? Foster and the Coaches don’t seem to realise the AB’s never get an easy game, theirs is deservedly prized scalp, see SA recently here in Aus. V Wallabies, then the ambush. Come the big games the ABs just have not looked switched on and are not learning for the next game. Einstein principle same things over and over expecting different result. This Foster team is starting to look like Laurie Mains & Taine Randall era, nice guys, all the platitudes for the press, supporters and whilst they no doubt hurt with each loss, just couldn’t do anything about it. The lineout on the weekend resembled poor Anton Oliver crumbling under the pressure. They are all good players, something is not right above the shoulders. Separately when you are being battered by 100+ kg and Plan A is not working Plan B, C or D come out, that’s not happening. Under Richie there was awareness in the Team if things weren’t working, they would try something. Yes, it took some bad losses and tough lessons to learn. Last 10 minutes against the French “we are not kicking the ball away” whilst the coach’s instructions were the opposite. Foster is being out thought, we used to have a fearsome bench, now they come off the pine and nothing changes. Talent hasn’t changed … AB’s coaching Team have failed to realise the TMO is being used as second referee in the NH. They are looking for reasons to award penalties against whomever. It always looks worse in slow motion. Should Whitlock have insisted that Sexton after being accidentally hit be required to leave for a HIA? He’s been hit in the head and its serious enough that a player is sent off, get checked end of. It might be the way to restore the balance as well as protecting a players brain for their future. AB discipline has deteriorated the last few years. Hansen talked about better discipline, and it is still an issue. Technique, training, no internal consequences if an AB is ill disciplined, not sure which but the game has changed, and we cannot play games with 14 men. The gaps have closed, the world has caught up / on Saturday it passed them by. Foster and Hansen seriously dented the AB mana in Chicago and the world has noticed they have no counter to the rush up defense and three years later, we still do not. Barrett grubber kick fails more often than it succeeds in the test cauldron, and the general kicking has become lollipop like not the weapon it was, did they even try for a 50:20? TJP was struggling yet played the whole game …. Saw nothing in the snippets of the coaches box, they were all leaning forward watching each play as it unfolded, no apparent chess like planning a few moments ahead. Stick to the game plan? Mike Tyson noted everyone has a plan until they are hit in the head … With the challenges of the last couple of years I looked at the 12-week run as a great opportunity similar to the old grand tours, a good chance to build the new team, spirt and start the run into the next RWC. Yes, today’s world is very different with quarantine bubbles and it’s a different time, but the way they have played / looked sounded over the last couple of weeks, there seems to be a real lack of unity, belief understanding. They are finishing worse than they started! The managers have failed. I was pleased Whitelock looked cranky and frustrated, glad someone is because Foster sure isn’t. Foster looks like he’s spent more time at the buffet and working on his retirement package than having a clear view that the team has bought into. He was not successful at the Chiefs and the pattern has continued. What has happened to the Brains Trust, we now reward mediocrity? Yes its back to the old days, harder to get dropped than into the team. Its time for someone in charge to make the big call that sometimes a second in charge does not make it in the big chair. Wayne Smith was the smartest person to realise this, what a gutsy call. Let’s hope someone in power at the NZRFU is awake and alert, but I doubt it. Confirming Foster before the end of the year which is not what I understand they said they would do and is yet another black mark, alongside missing out on Dave Rennie, no games against England and generally blundering through the last four years. Unfortunately it will need a train wreck, Coroner’s inquest and Royal Commission before something changes, which won’t be until after another failed RWC campaign.. Are they too, caught inside the box and just cannot see it?

Too right, I would rather a team of people all doing their part, than a team of 'stars'. As for midfield, that's been a bigger or smaller issue since Messrs Nonu and Smith retired. We just haven't really figured out how to replace, replicate, or re-invent those positions yet. My pick would QT and ALB, and then just bloody stick to it. At least then they can strengthen the combo in SR like Ma'a and Conrad.

"Blackadder may not be the most talented player in the world , but he is never going to go missing" Like father like son. Toddy was never going to be World Player of the Year, but always reliable and a great leader on the field. Not such a great coach I think, but the man can't be perfect.

That was a good break down and critique by Ant. Nothing Kirwan says should be taken too seriously, and Mils... can be on or off, but is obviously there as a 'moderate' voice, as a counterpoint to JK.