Two-time Rugby World Cup winner Sonny Bill Williams has kept it honest when sharing a blunt take on where the All Blacks are currently at. The All Blacks were beaten in two Tests over South Africa and have lost three of their four Rugby Championship matches so far.
New Zealand’s current ranking as the third side on the four-team Rugby Championship ladder doesn’t reflect how close both Tests were over in the Republic. The visitors should’ve won the first match in Johannesburg and had every chance of taking out the second Test as well.
The All Blacks led 27-17 with just over 10 minutes to play at Emirates Airline Park before the Springboks famed ‘Bomb Squad’ helped the hosts pull off an incredible comeback win. One week later in Cape Town, the bench was once again the difference in a 18-12 triumph.
In four Tests under coach Scott Robertson this year, the All Blacks have failed to score in the last 20 minutes of a match. To put that into context, they’ve only played seven matches in total. It’s clear that something isn’t quite working, and Williams has had his say.
As the hype and anticipation for this weekend’s Bledisloe Cup Test at Sydney’s Accor Stadium continues to build, the dual international has explained how the All Blacks’ approach to their team selection has become an issue.
“Shaky to say the least. Shaky to say the least if we’re being honest,” Williams said on Stan Sports’ Between Two Posts.
“I tweeted during the week or after the South African game, the Springboks are leading the way because they’ve worked out that it’s a 23-man game and I just don’t think we are there yet.
“That’s not me having a dig at the players – I still think we have some of the best, if not the best, players in the world. I just don’t think from a coaching perspective we’ve nailed down the 23-man game mindset yet.
“That’s where I’m at.
“But I still think there’s been some great signs and I still think we will win this weekend and win well but that’s my honest thoughts on where we’re at.”
Following the narrow loss in Johannesburg, the All Blacks made a handful of their changes to their starting side ahead of the second Test at DHL Stadium. As part of these decisions, Test veterans TJ Perenara and Beauden Barrett dropped back to the bench.
The reaction from fans on social media was largely quite positive, but it didn’t ended up working on the night in Cape Town. Perenara and Barrett failed to fire, and replacement lock Sam Darry wasn’t subbed on at all.
As Williams discussed, one clear issue was the approach to the front row. Tyrel Lomax was still on the field after 72 minutes of play, and that fatigue appeared to take its toll with the tighthead prop being shown a yellow card for an off-the-ball hit on Boks winger Cheslin Kolbe.
“This is me keeping it really, really simple, the game’s won through where? Through the middle,” Williams explained.
“When was the last time we saw a prop from the Boks come off the field or still be on the field in the 72nd minute?
“The greatest team that I’ve been involved with, 2015… it was a full 23-man squad game.
“(Lomax) played really, really well, he’s at the top of his game right now but you put that pressure on a player playing at that level in South Africa, 70 minutes into the game, him making that mistake I think that was just a coaching error more than himself.
“South Africa, the first Test, they played amazing. Some of those players were arguably the best on the field but didn’t play the next week,” he added.
“Whatever it is over there, it’s a total belief in the full squad. (But) if I’m 16 to 23 right now in the All Blacks sitting on the bench, and I’m being used for seven minutes, I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Man am I part of this squad or am I a part of this team?’’
