Scott Robertson has retained most of the team from Dunedin, seeking improvement rather than change.
The All Blacks’ errors were execution-based, not strategic, highlighting a need for better precision.
The focus this week is on improving the kick-chase game, especially in anticipation of wet conditions.
By picking what is mostly the same squad who played in Dunedin, All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson has sent a message that he’s not looking for different in Wellington, he’s looking for better.
The All Blacks opened their 2025 season with a performance that was low onprecision, with so much of their basic execution being delivered with a frustratingly high error count.
But what may have been lost in all the fretting about the loose carries, the lack of accuracy at the breakdown and the constant flapping in the air as chasers tried and failed to retrieve high kicks is that the All Blacks did at least pursue the right strategic approach.
All Blacks coach Scott Robertson has stuck with key selection picks from the first test. Photo / Photosport
The All Blacks’ failings in Dunedin fell into the camp of being execution mistakes rather than strategic misguidance and this is more significant than it may seem.
Last year, the All Blacks took an age to switch from Super Rugby Pacific to international mode and battled past England in their first two tests, playing with what felt like a high degree of naivety at times.
There was nothing naive about the way the All Blacks played in Dunedin, however. They didn’t look like they had picked the situation all wrong and had turned up to a gun fight carrying a knife – which was effectively the case 12 months ago.
The first outing of 2025 felt much more in tune with the vibe of test rugby, and while the All Blacks were poor at getting underneath their own contestable kicks, the fact they made as many as they did was recognition that they were on the right tactical path at least.
They scrummaged for penalties, which was another sign that they were mentally attuned to the different demands of test rugby and this is why Robertson and his fellow selectors have, injury-enforced changes aside, stuck heavily with last week’s line-up.
Changing too much now would have given the wrong impression of what the team got wrong, and it would have left them with more questions than answers about several players.
Billy Proctor had a mixed evening, but the game never flowed or enabled him to exert his influence in prolonged passages where his distribution, decision-making and soft skills could make a difference.
Nor was there enough evidence to pronounce judgment on Rieko Ioane’s return to the wing, because the All Blacks simply didn’t hold the ball for long enough to facilitate the full extent of their attack.
There were few, if any, real opportunities to see whether Ioane still has that innate ability to glide past defenders or run over the top of them, if presented with space.
Rieko Ioane had limited opportunities in Dunedin. Photo / Photosport
The selectors will want to see the error count markedly drop and from that base, determine whether Proctor is able to exert more influence, better facilitate the attack and shore up the defence.
They will be looking for Ioane to sharpen his timing to make more telling intrusions when he roams off his wing, and will expect him to make a better job of chasing kicks to at least be in the vicinity of the ball as it lands.
The other big selection the coaches wanted to make again was putting Tupou Vaa’i on the side of the scrum – primarily because if they are serious in this quest to make him a hybrid back-five forward, they have to commit to it.
Robertson got some indication about what Vaa’i can do in a moderately paced game under the roof in Dunedin, and now he’ll see what impact the Chiefs lock can make wearing No 6 in what may well be a wet and wild night in the capital.
And it’s the prospect of inclement weather that has made an improvement in the kick-chase game the All Blacks’ highest priority this week.
Their kicking accuracy wasn’t too bad in Dunedin, but they were poor at getting an ascribed catcher to challenge for the ball in the air, and they were equally slow to react when there were loose scraps of possession to snaffle.
Robertson said that a big part of the training week has been focused on defending kicks, launching starter plays from them and being more alert to the need to flood the landing zone with bodies to increase the likelihood of a successful retrieval from a tap-back, spilled catch or ricochet.
“The aerial game is critical,” he said. “There are a lot more kicks at training. Starter plays, if it’s scrums or if it’s lineouts, where are you going to receive the ball?
“From kick offs to the air battle – where do your starter plays come from? And a lot come from kicking, and you have to make sure you get your reps in and respect the quality of the kicking from the French. Train the way you are going to play.”
