What the New Zealand media is saying about the All Blacks

A second-placed finish in The Rugby Championship means they’re not the pre-eminent Southern Hemisphere side arriving in Europe this Autumn – that honour has been South Africa’s for a few years now – but the All Blacks brand is still what it was: one of the most recognisable and feted in sport.

The All Blacks face a tough schedule, including matches against England, Ireland, and France (with a match against Japan prior to travelling to Europe). What has their country’s media been saying about their team’s chances going into this new Autumn Nations Series?

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New Zealand media are cautiously optimistic about the All Blacks' upcoming campaign under head coach Scott Robertson. A clean sweep of their five tests in Japan and Europe would be ideal, boosting the team's win ratio to 78% for the year. Despite losses to South Africa and Argentina, a successful tour could improve the public's perception of Robertson's tenure, is their thinking.

“The rugby public can forgive an unexpected loss or two if it’s an obvious by-product of reimagining the way the All Blacks play,” says Gregor Paul in the NZ Herald, “but alas, that’s another account in which whatever credit had been built, was spent when Robertson turned back the clock in the second Bledisloe to play Beauden Barrett at No 10.”

Paul describes Robertson’s squad selection as “massively low risk”, going on to say that “it’s going to be a tough marketing job for New Zealand Rugby to sell their vision of Robertson as the great innovator when he’s gone back to picking a 33-year-old playmaker, and retaining [Sam] Cane and [TJ] Perenara.”

In contrast, over in The Press, Marc Hinton calls retaining Barrett at fly-half “a no-brainer”. Barrett appeared to be the frontrunner after wearing the ten jersey in the latter stage of The Rugby Championship. In Hinton’s words: “Robertson spent eight tests giving a hot-’n’-cold Damian McKenzie every shot at owning the position, but needed just one – Wellington – to be reminded that Barrett is his best option.”

Does Robertson's squad selection actually reflect a desire for stability, then, retaining experienced players like Cane and Perenara to navigate some challenging fixtures (despite the duo soon to be ineligible for the All Blacks)?

Some members of the media have raised New Zealand’s inability to score a point in the final 20 minutes of three matches this year as a concern. That may not sound much, but for a traditionally points-scoring juggernaut like the All Blacks, it’s left Robertson with plenty to think about.

While the head coach perhaps lacks the victories needed to justify significant squad experimentation, the New Zealand rugby fraternity is eager to see if he can lead the team to triumph in this crucial campaign, knowing the importance of restoring faith in the All Blacks after a challenging year. A strong tour is essential for both the team's morale and the coach's credibility.

The general consensus is that 21-year-old back row Peter Lakai is the next big thing in All Blacks rugby. A late call-up to the squad, fans in Europe may now get to see the Hurricanes man in action. “You can tell he’s got everything required to be an All Black,” says Robertson himself.

Hinton and his colleague, Paul Cully, in discussing New Zealand’s Autumn Nations Series campaign, believe it is Ireland or France who are likely to inflict defeat on the All Blacks, while Cully says the absence of England scrum-half Alex Mitchell (“who caused the All Blacks all sorts of trouble in July”) hurts any prospects of a Red Rose win.

Meanwhile, Hamish Bidwell over at RugbyPass struck something of a downbeat note when he wrote an article titled ‘Injuries, not innovation, are driving change in Scott Robertson’s All Blacks’:

This team needs to be regenerated but, on the evidence of the first few months, it appears as if only injury will provide the impetus for change. With [Ethan] Blackadder, Luke Jacobson and Dalton Papali’i not fit enough to be considered for selection against Japan next week, Robertson has been obliged to think outside the box. Sure, he’s still carrying Sam Cane and TJ Perenara around for reasons that make no sense, but at least Lakai is getting some kind of look in.

In a broader sense, that’s what I want to see from this end-of-year tour. I want to see guys who haven’t been regulars in the matchday 23 actually start important tests and for us all to see if there are other options the selectors could explore.

The outcome of their first match of the Autumn Nations Series, against England at Allianz Stadium, could determine the success or failure of the All Blacks’ 2024.