Following the conclusion of the 2024 Rugby Championship, we update you on the state of the participating nations. Next up, it’s Scott Robertson’s All Blacks.
After a promising mid-year series, which saw New Zealand claim a 2-0 series win over England and thrash Fiji, expectation was high heading into the southern hemisphere tournament.
Robertson had emerged triumphant despite overseeing a rebuild and handing seven players their debut in July, so they appeared to be building nicely heading into the Rugby Championship. However, it proved to be a rocky couple of months.
Rugby Championship summary
After a solid July and two games against Los Pumas first-up in the competition, Robertson could not have really asked for a better start to life in the All Blacks hot seat. After getting through the England challenge, facing the South Americans ahead of their trip to South Africa should have been ideal preparation, but that did not prove to be the case.
They started in Wellington, a place where New Zealand surprisingly hadn’t won since 2018, and that curse struck again as Los Pumas claimed a shock 38-30 triumph for just their third-ever success over the three-time world champions. They actually held a 20-8 lead at one stage and were 30-28 going into the final 20 minutes, but the visitors dominated the latter stages and earned an eight-point win.
Those final quarter woes would haunt them for the entire Rugby Championship, even in the next game when the All Blacks responded to the previous loss and thrashed Felipe Contepomi’s men 42-10 at Eden Park. Robertson’s men were going at a point a minute just after the break, but they could not maintain those standards and it was a theme that would continue – and cost them – during the tournament.
Against South Africa, the All Blacks were competitive throughout and realistically should have won at least one match, but their late-game issues were pounced upon by the hosts. In Johannesburg, they were very impressive at times, but the Springboks managed to overturn a 27-17 deficit to snatch a 31-27 win.
A week later, it was a similar tale as New Zealand went into the interval 9-3 ahead only to see their advantage whittled away, with tries from Siya Kolisi and Malcolm Marx securing the win for the home team.
Those defeats to the Boks took them out of title contention, but there was still plenty at stake as they attempted to retain the Bledisloe Cup. It is a title they had held for 22 years and, against a struggling Wallabies outfit, they extended their run by at least another 12 months with a 31-28 success in Sydney.
It was not entirely convincing and once again raised questions about their second-half problems, something they sought to rectify in Wellington a week later. And finally, Robertson’s men did just that as they hammered their trans-Tasman rivals 33-13 to finish the tournament on a high.
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Standout players
Strangely for an All Blacks, there weren’t too many individuals that consistently impressed, but Ardie Savea maintained his high standards through the Rugby Championship. The number eight might not have quite been as spectacular as usual but the 2023 World Rugby Player of the Year was still very impressive.
Savea was probably New Zealand’s best performer throughout, but Will Jordan, Codie Taylor and Tyrel Lomax were not too far behind. Jordan did not have the greatest day in Cape Town but he was otherwise excellent and built on his remarkable try-scoring record, which currently stands at 35 in 37 Tests.
Jordan’s Crusaders team-mate, Taylor, was also in fine form. After a difficult series against England, the hooker rolled back the years in the southern hemisphere tournament and particularly stood up when it counted against their biggest rivals South Africa. It was hugely impressive from the mobile front-rower, who belied his advancing years to deliver some superb individual efforts.
He was strong in the loose but was also much more effective in the set-piece, which helped his compatriot, tighthead Lomax, to star. While not as celebrated as the others, the 28-year-old has become one of the best scrummaging props in the world and rarely took a backward step over the past couple of months.
A word too for the likes of Wallace Sititi, Tupou Vaa’i andCaleb Clarke, who grew into their roles as the tournament went on, which leads onto…
Success story
Whenever the All Blacks don’t win the Rugby Championship, it has to be considered a failure. This was the first time since 2019 that they have not lifted the trophy but, in truth, the Springboks were the clear favourites, given that they had their key matches at home, and the results – apart from the Argentina abomination – were acceptable.
For Robertson, the competition was therefore partly about continuing his rebuild and finding a 23 and style of play that could be successful looking towards the 2027 Rugby World Cup. The new head coach generally did that, especially up front with the performances of the spectacularly good Sititi. The flanker may only be 21 but he is very much here to stay.
Just in front of the back-rower was Vaa’i. The 24-year-old has taken a while to settle in at Test level but his displays in the Rugby Championship suggest that he can become Scott Barrett’s long-term partner at lock as they seek to find a successor to the legendary Brodie Retallick-Sam Whitelock combination.
As a result, there was a settled look to the pack by the end of the tournament and, although there are question marks about a couple of positions, such as openside, Robertson appears to be getting some consistency up front.
The same could not be said of the backline, but that doesn’t mean to say there weren’t successes. Clarke has had his doubters, but he now looks like a top Test player and joins Sititi and Vaa’i in being individuals who could potentially shape the Robertson era.
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Main regret
Needless to say, the Argentina defeat was extremely poor and was ultimately a big factor in the All Blacks not being in title contention, but their biggest disappointment probably came out in South Africa. Although they took a big step forward in performance, Robertson’s side will be frustrated with how they let both Tests slip from their grasp.
New Zealand could have won both games in the Republic but to not come away with at least one will be a big source of regret. It would have been a significant result for this All Blacks outfit and put a positive spin on what was an underwhelming campaign.
Results
New Zealand v Argentina (Argentina won 38-30)
New Zealand v Argentina (New Zealand won 42-10)
New Zealand v South Africa (South Africa won 31-27)
New Zealand v South Africa (South Africa won 18-12)
New Zealand v Australia (New Zealand won 31-28)
New Zealand v Australia (New Zealand won 33-13)
READ MORE: Tana Umaga pinpoints key reason for All Blacks’ indifferent form in 2024
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