What ‘worries’ Sean Fitzpatrick ahead of a ‘defining year’ for All Blacks and the Greatest Rivalry series
Ex-New Zealand skipper Sean Fitzpatrick (inset) and All Blacks centre Quinn Tupaea celebrates after scoring a try against the Springboks.
Sean Fitzpatrick is full of positivity about the All Blacks’ chances ahead of their upcoming tour to South Africa, but feels they have to improve their physicality to win their Greatest Rivalry series against the Springboks.
New Zealand will travel to South Africa later this year with the All Blacks facing all four of the United Rugby Championship sides before three Tests against the Springboks in Johannesburg and Cape Town, with Baltimore hosting the fourth and final Test.
The men in black are in a transitional phase at the moment after New Zealand Rugby parted ways with All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson last month and are yet to fill that vacancy with Jamie Joseph and Dave Rennie the favourites to replace him.
They face a daunting task against the Springboks, who are the back-to-back world champions and firmly entrenched as the number one-ranked side in World Rugby’s official rankings list.
Ex-All Blacks hooker Fitzpatrick, who played in 92 Tests for his country and captained them in 51 of those, said he was impressed with the overall performances of New Zealand’s players during last weekend’s opening round of Super Rugby Pacific.
He highlighted the importance of the All Blacks’ 2026 Test campaign, in the build-up to the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, and in terms of facing the Springboks in their backyard.
‘I’m confident that we’ve got the players to do it’
“The players need to know where they’re going,” Fitzpatrick told the DSPN podcast with Martin Devlin. “And I’m confident that we’ve got the players to do it.
“We’ve got the set-up to win the World Cup. But this year is going to be quite a defining year in terms of our confidence going forward.
“Because, you know, to go to South Africa and play four Test matches against South Africa, the world champions, three in South Africa. They are very, very good at the moment.
“And they’ve set the standard. I think we’ve got away from that must-win-every-game scenario, which I like that. I like us going in with an attitude of we’re preparing for the World Cup, but we’re not using our games going into the World Cup as trial matches for certain players.”
Fitzpatrick highlighted the importance of the All Blacks’ senior players in their revival and compared their current situation to the time after they were knocked out of the 1991 Rugby World Cup in England in the semi-finals and he was elevated to the captaincy the following year.
“I think we need a core of players that play every game,” added the 62-year-old. “I think the leadership is really important in terms of the older players knowing what’s needed.
“And I remember back to ’92 when I became captain, it was a really tough time because I didn’t really want to be captain.
“We had a lot of new young players around that were scared of the All Black jersey, that fear of failure. But we developed a real core of leaders that just made decisions. And that’s what we need (currently).
“We need decision makers. It’s not just the captain that makes decisions right through the team. And ultimately, by the time we get to ’27, we need 15 guys on the field that are quite comfortable making decisions.”
Although he is optimistic about the All Blacks’ fortunes in 2026 and believes they have the players to do well at Test level, Fitzpatrick identified one key aspect of their game which needs improvement.
‘The physicality sort of worries me a bit’
“I think there’s enough talent around New Zealand. The physicality sort of worries me a bit in terms of the forwards,” he said.
“That’s what was pleasing about Friday and Saturday night (in Super Rugby Pacific). A couple of young names in terms of ball carriers are so crucial, just to pressure that advantage line all the time.
“The physicality at the breakdown. And we’ve got some very good front-rowers. Losing Fabian Holland (to injury) is a major issue this year for us.
“When you look at the core, the (Brodie) Retallicks, the (Sam) Whitelocks, those sort of second-row players who are good decision makers also. We need to make sure we have those people.
“And we can control the narrative in terms of the set-piece, that we don’t get dominated at set-piece.
“And if you think of the games we lost last year it’s when we got dominated in that collision area and more so at the break, at the scrum time.”
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