All Blacks great a ‘broken record’ as New Zealand ‘not improving’ under Scott Robertson
All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson and former back-rower Murray Mexted.
Murray Mexted feels like a “broken record” over the All Blacks’ current issues as he reckons that they are still not being rectified by the coaching team.
New Zealand go into the final round of the Rugby Championship with a chance of winning the title, but it has once again been a frustrating tournament for Scott Robertson’s side.
They have won three matches against Argentina, South Africa and Australia, but that has been interspersed by a couple of defeats.
Those losses were also historic as they went down to Los Pumas for the first time in South America and suffered a record reversal at the hands of the Springboks.
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Pressure has therefore increased on Robertson, and Mexted was asked by Martin Devlin on DSPN following the All Blacks’ victory over the Wallabies: “After that result at Eden Park, in your mind, this team under coach Scott Robertson, are we improving?”
Mexted responded: “Not visually at the moment,” before revealing that he was “surprised” by the number of Tests the head coach has already had since taking the job after the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
The 72-year-old duly suggests that if there has been development, it has not been evident on the field.
“I’ve been sitting there patiently waiting because I’ve got a great deal of time for him, I think he’s a good man and he’s got the ability to bring a group together and perform,” he said.
“Performance at the very highest level is the biggest challenge anyone can have and it’s not easy. At the moment, I don’t think we’ve got it quite right.
“It’s not what we’re doing, it’s what we’re not doing that I think is the problem.”
Mexted has been a critic of some of Robertson’s selections with the back five of the scrum a bone of contention for the ex-number eight.
‘We’re not getting any better’
“The All Blacks have always had the ability to win ball and hold onto that ball until you outflank the opposition and score tries,” he said.
“To win the ball off first phase is really vital and you’ve got to be able to control it until you can manufacture or create or score a try. I think there’s a little bit of a breakdown there at the moment, so that’s the bit that worries me.
“I feel like a broken record here but we’re not getting any better at winning ball. If you look at the reality, if we get half the possession in the game, we’re lucky.”
Ultimately, Mexted does not believe that they have big enough locks or back-rowers to be effective aerially against the very best.
“We all know that the Springboks have some huge players that are able to win the ball in the air, they’re physically big people,” he said.
“The Australians, not so much, but at the moment, they are significantly taller than the All Blacks side. [Will] Skelton is 6ft 8in, but he’s not the biggest – there’s a guy called Nick Frost who’s 6ft 9in.
“Those are big boys and when you look at their loose forwards, [Rob] Valetini is 6ft 4in and this guy Tom Hooper is 6ft 6in.
“You just have to look at the reality and say: ‘Are we big enough?’ And the answer is, we’re not big enough.”
Restart Tupou Vaa’i experiment
Robertson has experimented by putting Tupou Vaa’i at blindside flanker, something Mexted suggested well before the first Test of the year against France, but he has started the last three games at lock.
The All Blacks great wants him back on the side of the scrum and also thinks that the head coach should drop Wallace Sititi.
“Vaa’i, who I think is one of the better players in the All Blacks forward pack and has grown consistently, they moved him to blindside flanker at one stage, which was a good idea,” he added.
“He might be good but he’s a long way short in terms of size and length of arms, and length of body, and stuff like that. I don’t think we’re picking guys that are big enough, so we need to make a big change there.
“If he is available, I would definitely play him at number six and I would give [Simon] Parker a go at number eight.”