Ex-Springboks boss: All Blacks ‘always bragged’ about world dominance but now they’re ‘in a rut’

Former Springboks head coach Jake White believes that the All Blacks find themselves in “uncharted territory” after their record defeat in Wellington.

New Zealand are in the midst of an inquest ahead of their Bledisloe Cup clash against the Wallabies next weekend following their 43-10 loss to South Africa – their biggest-ever in history.

The frustration for the Kiwis was that it was not a one-off with that result coming just two games after they succumbed to Los Pumas in Argentina.

They also suffered four reversals in Scott Robertson’s first year in charge, including three in the first four Rugby Championship encounters in 2024.

‘Not the All Blacks way’

“Mark my words, it’s a unique situation they now find themselves in. They are in uncharted territory. They don’t have a ‘how-to guide’ on how to navigate this sort of loss because it’s never happened before,” White wrote in his RugbyPass column.

“I honestly can’t remember an All Blacks side being so dominated and humbled. For them to be so disorganised and shambolic isn’t the All Blacks’ way, so I was unsurprised when I heard John Kirwan said he felt like vomiting as their resistance ebbed away.”

The All Blacks, like they did last year, can still turn it around with consecutive victories over their trans-Tasman rivals, the Wallabies.

They can also win the Rugby Championship with all four teams on two wins and as many defeats, but the pressure is on for Robertson and his side.

White gave some advice to the New Zealand hierarchy, pointing to the Springboks’ poor run of form during his time in charge before they claimed the 2007 Rugby World Cup title.

“The All Blacks management now have to spin a mini-crisis to their advantage. It reminds me of 2006, when I had lost five in a row and was flown home to a barrage of criticism,” he wrote.

“Behind closed doors, I used our poor run of form to rally the squad. I told them, ‘No side has ever come back from the lows we’ve endured after the highs of winning the Tri-Nations in 2004.’

“I said we’d seen the bottom of the trough and felt real pain, so we could deal with the pressure, and history tells us that less than 18 months later, we lifted that Webb Ellis Cup in Paris.”

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The All Blacks ‘slide’

The All Blacks have traditionally been the dominant force between World Cups but that has not happened since the 2019 global tournament.

Prior to reaching the summit earlier this year, they had not been at the top of the World Rugby rankings for four years.

“They have to get it right because the modern-day All Blacks brand is about leadership, culture, values and ultimately success wearing that black jersey,” White added.

“I’m not joking when I say they’ve always bragged about their dominance during (editor’s note: between) World Cups. They perhaps inferred that lifting the Webb Ellis Cup wasn’t the be-all and end-all.

“For them it was about being consistently the No.1 ranked team in the world, but the statistics tell you they’ve been on the slide for some time. Twelve years on from James Kerr’s excellent legacy, they’re in a rut.

“They are under pressure again to be seen as standard bearers in the world game.”

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