Razor catching strays from All Blacks legends
The All Blacks’ collapse against England at Twickenham has not only ended their hopes of a Grand Slam but also ignited fierce criticism from former greats, placing head coach Scott Robertson firmly in the line of fire.
The All Blacks were in hot pursuit of a flawless European tour following wins over Ireland and Scotland.
They defeated Ireland 26-13 in Chicago, while it took Damian McKenzie’s try-scoring heroics off the bench to help them seal a 25-17 win over Scotland.
However, their hopes of a grand slam were banished after the side suffered a 19-33 defeat to England at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
Scott Robertson’s men raced to an encouraging 12-0 lead, but the All Blacks were overrun by a resurgent English side whose second-half dominance shredded New Zealand’s structure and composure.
The result has intensified pressure on Robertson, with the likes of John Kirwan and Justin Marshall very vocal about the team and the head coach’s shortcomings.
“At the moment, we’re just not good enough and if you don’t admit that to yourself first, one of the things I’ve always been taught as an All Black is that the first person you need to look at is yourself in the mirror,” Kirwan said on the Rivals podcast.
“Sometimes these are turning points – something has to change. What is it? I don’t know. There needs to be some soul-searching within the team, within the coaching staff.
“They need to look in the mirror, probably starting with Razor, and we need to get back on the horse and make sure we finish the tour well.
“But over the break, there needs to be some reviews about why we are inconsistent.
“That’s the concern – the inconsistency in our performance over this year is probably not acceptable.”
Bench impact under fire
One of the major concerns raised in the aftermath was the lack of impact from New Zealand’s bench.
McKenzie delivered off the bench, but the rest of the reserves failed to shift the momentum – a point that left Marshall particularly frustrated.
The former All Black scrumhalf questioned Robertson’s continued preference for the traditional 5-3 bench split, suggesting it is hindering the team strategically.
The Springboks have won back-to-back World Cup triumphs courtesy of their forward-loaded bench, employing the 6-2 or 7-1 split to overcome opponents. England and France have since embraced similar models.
“Why do we not want to be innovative and go 6–2 or 7–1?” Marshall said on The Good, the Bad and the Rugby podcast.
“England injected five into the game in one fell swoop… the game dynamic changed.
“They got real energy out of that, whereas we still put them on in dribs and drabs.
“We can emulate that, but we don’t want to. We want to carry that extra back reserve, and I don’t understand why.”
Sources: Rivalz Podcast & The Good, the Bad and the Rugby Podcast
