All Blacks team: Five takeaways as Scott Robertson aims to ‘finally release the shackles’
All Blacks coach Scott Robertson and inset of centre Billy Proctor.
Following the announcement of the All Blacks side to face Argentina in the Rugby Championship, here are our five takeaways from Scott Robertson’s selections.
The top line
New Zealand’s head coach has made minimal changes to his side for the next match in the Rugby Championship, but he has used the opportunity to hand out another debut and give some much-needed game time to a couple of injury returnees.
Wallace Sititi and Tamaiti Williams are back in the team, but they will have to bide their time after being named on the bench. Instead, it is rookie Simon Parker who will line up at number eight, while Ethan de Groot continues at loosehead prop.
Elsewhere, there are few surprises in the XV as the backline remains unchanged with Will Jordan, Sevu Reece and Rieko Ioane combining in the back three. Jordie Barrett and Billy Proctor are at centre with Cortez Ratima and Beauden Barrett once again the key decision-makers.
Up front, Ardie Savea shifts to openside flanker to accommodate Parker with Tupou Vaa’i remaining at six. Finally, the front five is unchanged as Robertson opts for consistency with the set-piece – lineout, maul and scrum – working so well in the Rugby Championship opener.
Bench roles for key returning duo
Robertson will be delighted to see Sititi and Williams back after their injury issues in 2025. They obviously add tremendous quality but also increase the number of options the head coach has at his disposal. Ollie Norris has enjoyed a fine start to his Test career, but he will hardly strike fear into the Springboks front-row; but the Crusaders prop just might.
In his first year as a Test player, Williams was part of a side that reached the World Cup final, coming on in the showpiece event to negate the power of the Springboks scrum and give the 14-man All Blacks a chance of victory. He has only developed since then and, with De Groot improving after an underwhelming 2024, New Zealand now have a fantastic loosehead duo.
As for Sititi, it has been a frustrating year all-round having seen his surgery delayed by two months, thus eating into his Super Rugby Pacific season, before the back-rower sustained another issue ahead of the France series. Now back and match fit, we can’t wait to see the 2024 breakthrough player ripping it up on the field.
A seventh – and the best? – debutant in 2025
Brodie McAlister, Norris, Fabian Holland, Du’Plessis Kirifi, Timoci Tavatavanawai and Christian Lio-Willie have all made their Test bows so far this year, and they will be joined on that list by Parker.
The big find has no doubt been Holland, who has looked right at home at international level and has established himself in the second-row, but we would not be surprised if Parker makes a similar impression this weekend.
For starters, the 25-year-old is a huge and athletic unit whose genetics no doubt caught the immediate attention of Robertson. Had it not been for injury, he would have featured in the French series, but the back-row gets his opportunity now and has all the tools to make an immediate impression. He could well be the future of the number six shirt for the All Blacks.
With the Springboks in mind
Robertson could have easily selected a few more rookies to the 23, with Leroy Carter and Kyle Preston particularly pushing for spots, but ultimately only Parker got his chance as the head coach opted for continuity ahead of their massive double header against the Springboks.
They put their incredible Eden Park record on the line against the back-to-back world champions on September 6 and even the selection of Parker could well be with an eye on that clash. He is certainly not a favourite to start in two weeks’ time with Sititi returning from injury, but the 25-year-old covers both blindside and number eight, and would be the ideal bench option for those South African encounters.
It is a selection that raises eyebrows but one which makes complete sense as Robertson looks to find the power and height to combat the Boks’ strengths.
Elsewhere, they are unchanged and that rather points to what Robertson is trying to build ahead of facing Rassie Erasmus’ men. There is still plenty to work on but the fundamentals are looking strong and that is an excellent place to be in as they get ready for the most anticipated game of the year next month.
Backline worries
We briefly mentioned about New Zealand’s ‘work-ons’ and it very much centres around their struggles behind the scrum, which feels quite frankly a bizarre thing to write. However, it is not a new thing under Robertson, who is perhaps a more conservative coach than his three previous predecessors, Graham Henry, Steve Hansen and Ian Foster.
While Foster was too focused on playing the ‘All Blacks way’, remaining stubborn despite seeing the game move on from that all-singing, all-dancing approach, his successor has perhaps been slightly too forward-orientated.
An incredibly smart modern-day coach, the Crusaders legend quite rightly places an importance on the fundamentals of set-piece and kick-chase, but so far they have failed to marry that to their talented backline.
The balance is not quite there, though, and too many players are simply not performing well enough, with doubts around Proctor and Ioane, as well as potentially the other wing Reece, despite his two-try showing last weekend.
There were so many errors when trying to move the ball wide last weekend and it put them under unnecessary pressure. Robertson has talked about playing with pace, tempo and ambition this year, but that has yet to truly materialise. This is another test of his philosophy and whether they can finally release the shackles and put together a more fluid display.
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