The All Blacks reclaimed the Dave Gallaher trophy with a series sweep against France.
Will Jordan’s four tries brought his total to 42, nearing the All Blacks’ record.
The team focused on improving finishing, with depth and fast play as key strategies.
Three wins, a series sweep, the Dave Gallaher trophy reclaimed and the full squad given game time. Tick, tick, tick, tick for the All Blacks? There were bright spots, sure, but Liam Napier digs a little deeper to analyse the July series against France as the Rugby Championshiplooms large for Scott Robertson’s All Blacks.
Player of the series
Cam Roigard, Ardie Savea and Patrick Tuipulotu have claims but Will Jordan is irrepressible.
Four more tries elevated his tally to 42 (from 44 tests) to edge ever closer to claiming the All Blacks’ record.
With 10 more tests this year, few would bet against Jordan reeling in Jeff Wilson (44 tries in 60 tests), Beauden Barrett (45 in 136), Julian Savea (46 in 54), Joe Rokocoko (46 in 68) and Christian Cullen (46 in 58), before setting his sights on Doug Howlett (49 in 62).
Biggest mover: Fabian Holland
Three successive 80-minute shifts is a huge effort for anyone, let alone a test rookie. Holland started on debut at his adopted Dunedin home to realise his dream of becoming the first Netherlands-born All Black. And with Scott Barrett ruled out of tests two and three against France, he retained starting status alongside Patrick Tuipulotu.
Some test rookies need time to find their feet, to grasp the increased pace and physicality. Holland, though, never looked overawed.
Comparisons to Brodie Retallick are premature – Holland has a long way to match Retallick’s physicality with ball in hand – but with 27 lineout wins, 44 of 46 tackles and 112 rucks hit across the three tests, there is no questioning his long-term value to the All Blacks.
Holland is 22 and only getting started. Injuries permitting, he could well forge into a test centurion. His towering presence offsets major depth concerns at lock too, with Naitoa Ah Kuoi and Sam Darry, the latter debuting last season before injury struck him down, waiting in the wings behind Scott Barrett, Tuipulotu and Tupou Vaa’i.
All Blacks lock Fabian Holland has impressed in three tests. Photo / SmartFrame
Bench balance and finishing
One clear directive from the All Blacks this year, after the four tests they lost in 2024 came after leading at halftime, was to improve their finishing.
Elements of this area have, indeed, improved. The scrum is one notable weapon, thanks to the depth of their front-row stocks.
In the first test in Dunedin and the third in Hamilton, the All Blacks’ replacement front row earned crucial, match-turning penalties. With what’s to come, such depth and confidence in this platform cannot be understated.
The balance of the All Blacks bench is not there yet, though. In the first and second tests, with their best side selected, they scored 10 points in the final quarter.
And while they finished strong in Hamilton, Jordie Barrett injected the most impact, with a try-saving tackle and the definitive line break for Brodie McAlister’s late strike. Barrett would usually be starting, though.
The tactic of selecting two loose forwards on the bench hasn’t paid off – and the lineout malfunctioned to lose three throws when the pressure ramped up in the third test.
When the likes of Tamaiti Williams, Wallace Sititi, Scott Barrett, Asafo Aumua and Caleb Clarke return from injury, the All Blacks bench will significantly strengthen, putting the squeeze on the starting side.
Sir Wayne Smith’s chaos theory, based on movement and keeping the ball alive with multiple attacking threats, appears to have influenced the stylistic shift.
To achieve that, the All Blacks must achieve lightning-quick ball. Their breakdown was compromised in the first and third tests to shine a light on their carry-and-clean urgency and technique. French No 8 Mickaël Guillard caused problems there and as the Pumas and Springboks loom, the All Blacks must address this area. Their penchant for conceding points from restarts and striking the right kick-pass balance will be other focal points.
They will, though, be pleased with the leadership and composure to overcome late disruption and fight through difficult situations to emerge on top. That wasn’t always the case last year.
After missing multiple opportunities to expose fringe talent last year, Robertson seized his first chance to rotate in the third test by making 10 starting changes.
While the raft of adjustments stunted the performance, the benefits of blooding prospects should show in time.
The drop-off from incumbents to the next tier is most telling at hooker and halfback. Aumua’s return from his hamstring issue will improve the hooking stocks but Codie Taylor is only truly appreciated in his absence.
Cam Roigard is levels above his competition, too. No one in New Zealand compares to Roigard’s booming boot and sniping runs.
Roigard, having only played 12 tests, is in the infancy of his All Blacks career but he is already among the world’s elite halfbacks, such is his growing influence.
Elsewhere, selection questions remain at centre, where Billy Proctor needs further investment, at blindside flanker, with the All Blacks likely to persist with Vaa’i’s switch, despite Samipeni Finau’s impressive performance in Hamilton, and the up-for-grab wing spots.
First five-eighths depth evokes concern, but it is perhaps unfair to judge Damian McKenzie on one performance in a vastly reshaped team.
Damian McKenzie makes a break against France. Photo / Photosport
Biggest concern
Of all the positional question marks, wing is among the most contestable.
New Zealand has a long history of producing superb finishers but uncertainty prevails over who will emerge to demand starting status.
Two late reshuffles – Caleb Clarke’s injury in Wellington and Rieko Ioane’s withdrawal in Hamilton – didn’t help progress plans but after selecting two specialist wings in July, the All Blacks are arguably no closer to determining their best finishing options.
Clarke’s ankle injury that may sideline him for another five to six weeks was a notable setback as the second-test stage was set for him to recapture the form that locked down the No 11 jersey for the first time in his career last year.
Clarke could yet tick many boxes for the All Blacks. He’s a power wing, in the mould Robertson tends to favour, and the best edge option in the air – one area France exposed the All Blacks. But after a quiet season where he’s yet to score a try, Clarke needs game time to cement his claims.
Jordan, the All Blacks’ first-choice fullback, was their best winger against France. By some distance, too. He scored two tries in Dunedin after shifting to the edge in the first minute – and was then among the All Blacks’ most prominent figures two weeks later after a late promotion from the bench.
Sevu Reece wasn’t helped by his first-minute exit in Dunedin after a head knock but he has everything to prove at test level after an underwhelming All Blacks season last year where his pace and erratic tendencies sparked concern.
Reece is also 28 – the age when All Blacks wingers traditionally decline. By the 2027 World Cup, it’s difficult to envision him being the form finisher the All Blacks need.
The jury remains out on Rieko Ioane’s back-to-the-future switch from centre to the wing, too, which shouldn’t surprise given this test series was the first time in four years he started on the edge at any level.
There’s a strong argument the All Blacks missed a trick by not selecting form Chiefs wings Emoni Narawa and Leroy Carter in their July squad – and instead including six midfielders.
Narawa started the second test in Wellington – but only after Clarke’s late exit, to continue a lack of faith in his abilities at test level.
Other emerging options include Caleb Tangitau, a revelation for the Highlanders before injury prematurely ended his campaign, and Crusaders wing/fullback Chay Fihaki.
Leicester Fainga’anuku has returned from France to play for Tasman in the NPC and is a certainty to be called up for the All Blacks’ northern tour squad. Where Fainga’anuku features remains to be seen but he spent the bulk of his two years with Toulon at centre.
Context
Would the All Blacks have won this series against France’s first-choice team? There’s no definitive answer, but it does pose context to take stock of the vastly understrength opposition to start the year.
The All Blacks can only play who is in front of them. New Zealand Rugby had no say in the longstanding agreement between the French Top 14 clubs and Les Bleus that prevents the national team from selecting players involved in their domestic final for the July internationals, which duly undermines the elite arena.
The second-test blowout aside, where rookies were thrown to the wolves, France’s performances belied their second-string nature to speak to the Top 14’s depth of talent.
France cannot be accused of turning up merely for wines on Waiheke, picnics in Hamilton Gardens or soaking up Dunedin’s St Clair beach. Their defensive effort in the final week of their arduous season, when they made 292 tackles, 172 more than the All Blacks, underscores their tenacity and appetite for the fight.
Scott Robertson's men will faces tougher challenges against Argentina and South Africa. Photo / Photosport
Assessing the All Blacks against the backdrop of France leaving their best talent at home, though, is a somewhat fraught exercise.
In some ways, it’s the ideal start that allowed traditional rust to be shaken off and Robertson the selection freedom to use his full squad while banking wins.
