All Blacks great left ‘concerned’ about players who should be ‘firing by now’ under Scott Robertson
All Blacks during France series in July 2025 and head coach Scott Robertson.
All Blacks great Justin Marshall insists that Scott Robertson has yet to nail down his best team and that too many positions remain open.
New Zealand prepared for the upcoming Rugby Championship with a 3-0 series victory over France, but the 51-year-old felt that too many players did not put their hands up.
Although there were some positives, such as Tupou Vaa’i’s efforts at blindside flanker and the displays of rookie lock Fabian Holland, they struggled for fluency behind the scrum.
The return of Wallace Sititi
Robertson should be helped by the return from injury of back-rower Wallace Sititi, who had a transformative effect on the All Blacks last year, but he has not played a lot of rugby in 2025.
“The concerning thing is there are not a lot of answers in certain jerseys. They’ll get [Peter] Lakai and Sititi coming back into that loose forward mix, and I know they’re very keen on Lakai, so that will be interesting,” Marshall said on the GBRANZ podcast.
“To see Sititi fit again, a true out-and-out number eight, will be interesting; whether he can get back out there and see what a loose forward trio looks with those two guys being put into it.”
The biggest worry for Marshall is behind the scrum with the backs not truly firing in any of the matches against France.
While they hammered Les Bleus in the second Test in Wellington, the hard work was very much done by the forwards, who dominated the visitors physically.
As a result, they have not found any answers to their backline conundrum despite trialling a few different players and combinations.
All Blacks wing problem
“Nobody’s really grabbed the wings spots by the scruff of the neck, apart from Will Jordan but we can put that guy anywhere at the moment,” the former All Blacks scrum-half said.
“Sevu Reece was industrious, Caleb Clarke hasn’t had a go because he’s had an injury and will be out for a while by the sound of it.
“They tried [Emoni] Narawa, [Rieko] Ioane got injured and is he a winger or are they going to get him back at centre? Is [Billy] Proctor the guy at centre?”
By the end of the series, Marshall felt like the All Blacks should have been up to speed, but he reckons they go into the Rugby Championship with several doubts about the team.
“There are still a lot of questions out there and not a lot of answers have come out of this series against a depowered French team, and that’s a little worrying,” he added.
“We should have got a lot of answers and be firing by now, going to Argentina looking s*** hot and knowing who is in the jersey, but I don’t feel that we’re there yet.”
