Andrew Mehrtens: Why All Blacks’ defeat to the Springboks was ‘encouraging’ after previous overreliance on individual brilliance
All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie and Wallace Sititi in action against the Springboks.
All Blacks great Andrew Mehrtens expects Dave Rennie’s side to continue to improve after seeing plenty of positive signs during their series defeat to the Springboks.
New Zealand went down 3-1 to the back-to-back world champions in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, despite winning the first Test in Johannesburg.
The Boks proved too strong in the last three, overcoming their arch-rivals in Cape Town, Soweto and Baltimore.
All four Tests were keenly contested, however, as the All Blacks generally managed to stick with Rassie Erasmus’ team when they threatened to pull away.
Scored more tries than the Boks
The tourists played some stunning rugby at times and actually beat their opponents in the try count – 17-14 – but the Springboks won the series thanks to their set-piece strength and high ball work.
“What was encouraging about the All Blacks was they looked more cohesive. Even though we saw dropped balls, they looked more cohesive trying to manipulate the defence as a unit, as a group as multiple players rather than getting it to one player and hoping they could do something amazing,” Mehrtens told the I Love Rugby podcast.
“We’ve been through periods in All Blacks history, and I was part of one of those periods, where I felt we didn’t really manipulate defences, we would just try and get it to one unbelievably talented player and hope they could do something marvellous, like a Christian Cullen.
“More recently, you would throw it to Wallace Sititi or throw it to Rieko Ioane and hope they produce something amazing.”
Rennie’s predecessor, Scott Robertson, was criticised for his conservative game plan, but the new head coach has gone completely the other way.
Many would say the All Blacks have gone back to their roots under the 62-year-old and Mehrtens believes that it has laid a platform for them to potentially go and challenge the Boks at the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
RGR tour will ‘serve us well’
“On this tour, I saw much more cohesion with the All Blacks and I think they will get better and better as they get more used to one another, get more used to that game, get more used to the communication requirements,” he said.
“I did see a lot of that throughout the series and the same with Baltimore, and I thought we stuck in the game. I thought we showed a lot of character and a lot of heart to stay in that when South Africa was widening the gap.
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“To keep playing our game and to have that confidence is going to serve us well over the next year into the World Cup in Australia and beyond.
“Just to keep backing ourselves to play that game, to keep working hard on the little details during the week, which are irreplaceable, and I thought our scrum held up a bit better.”