All Blacks legends grade Scott Robertson’s start in brutally honest verdict as calls made for ‘significant change’
All Blacks players in a huddle and head coach Scott Robertson.
Former All Blacks duo Jeff Wilson and Mils Muliaina have graded the start of Scott Robertson’s reign ahead of their huge northern hemisphere tour.
New Zealand have played nine games under the new head coach, winning six and losing three in what has been a mixed 2024 so far.
They suffered a shock home loss to Argentina before they went down twice to the Springboks in South Africa as their Rugby Championship title aspirations were ended.
There has been plenty of criticism for Robertson and the All Blacks but there have also been some positives. However, the games in October and November will ultimately determine how successful this year has been.
Current rating
At the moment, it makes for pretty grim reading for the 50-year-old with Wilson only giving them a C+ so far.
“We’ve got three big Test matches to go this year, plus Japan and Italy, and I want room to move. For every Test match that we win, we will go further up because we will get to an A- or B+ if we are undefeated for the rest of the year,” he said on The Breakdown.
“For me at the moment, we lost a Test match we didn’t expect to and we didn’t win a game against South Africa in South Africa. I think we’ve still got a lot of room to improve.”
All Blacks centurion Mils Muliaina was slighter kinder, marking them as a B- having seen some young players make their mark at Test level.
“Lots of things have come out. We needed to find some locks, we needed to find a half-back and we’ve found a loosie. Our loosies and our locks were the biggest concern, and I think we’ve found some of those answers,” Muliaina said.
“Now the coaching staff need to build on those guys that have come through.”
Wilson then responded and was rather scathing of certain elements of the All Blacks’ game in 2024, with the northern hemisphere tour particularly significant as they attempt to rectify those issues.
‘Concerning’
“I’m looking at the nature of the play as well. You’re talking about the inability to finish games, that wasn’t an issue we’ve had in the past. All of a sudden, that’s an issue we’ve had here,” he said.
“There’s been ill-discipline, inaccuracy, not getting the game plan right at the back end of games. For me, that’s concerning.
“There are certain things I need to see change significantly. The Australia game did not convince me once again. We did not come over the top of the Wallabies, but what we did do was stop them.
“Our defence stepped up and stopped them getting across the line, but it wasn’t like we imprinted ourselves or took control. With that result, if we take one more opportunity and we stop one of theirs, that’s a 14-point difference.
“I see potential, I see opportunity, we’re creating a lot of stuff, but I think we’ve got a long way to go before you start saying this is a potential A season or B+. We’ve got to improve.”
