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All Blacks take big step forward but Ian Foster notes major challenge ahead

Aaron Smith, Ian Foster and Scott McLeod. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

The 26-point margin at Eden Park on Saturday night may not have been the All Blacks‘ biggest win of the season, but it was perhaps the most complete performance from a side that’s endured their fair share of criticism throughout their campaign to date.

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After a string of up-and-down performances that saw them enter Saturday’s match with a loss-heavy home record for 2022, their five-try effort in Auckland will give the side plenty of confidence ahead of their trip north at the end of next month, which will see them take on Japan, Scotland, Wales and England in quick succession.

All four of those games are very winnable for the All Blacks – especially if they’re able to channel the same energy and aggression that got them over the line against their trans-Tasman rivals this weekend.

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“I’m just delighted with the performance,” Foster said after the 40-14 victory, which will likely secure the team the Rugby Championship for 2022. “I thought [it was a] great way to finish the Championship for us.

“We were really up for a big one here at Eden Park, last game, and I think there were still areas for improvement but I just loved the attitude and the strength. The set-piece went really well but overall the commitment to play the way we wanted to play was there and it was against a very physical Australian team.

“We had a little bit to overcome in that first 20 minutes so really proud of the effort and it’s given ourselves a chance anyway for the Championship.”

It was the Wallabies who were down to 14 men in the opening quarter and had to repeatedly defend their line against a dominant All Blacks scrum, but they somehow survived without conceding points.

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The All Blacks weren’t disheartened, however, and mixed up their play well, integrating hard-running forwards and fleet-footed backs into their attacking skirmishes, with Will Jordan eventually skipping outside of Jordan Petaia and touching down for the home side’s first try of the evening.

From there, the points started to consistently flow, and the Wallabies never really got close to wrestling control of the match, with repeated launches on the NZ goal line being well repelled. In fact, it wasn’t until 59 minutes into the game that the visitors were able to grab their first points.

“Probably the first 50, 60-odd minutes [was most pleasing],” said All Blacks captain Sam Whitelock. “Keeping them scoreless was massive, gave us massive confidence.

“There were some big shots put in there but at the same time, we didn’t get out of the tackle area quick enough and that put us under some pressure but the guys defending hard on our line, the desire was there, the effort was there, so that’s always the first thing you look at and the boys really showed what it means to play at home for our last Test match here in New Zealand for this year.”

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Having dropped matches to Ireland, South Africa and Argentina earlier in the season, the Wallabies are the first team to take on NZ and not taste victory in 2022. Still, last week’s win in Melbourne wasn’t exactly a comprehensive result, with the All Blacks ceding a couple of significant margins to almost lose the match at the death. While Foster said it was pleasing to improve in each Rugby Championship rematch this year, that’s not an opportunity that will present itself much moving forward and the All Blacks will need to step up their game in the many one-off fixtures they have coming up between now and the end of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.

“You’re trying to learn, aren’t you?” he said. “You’re trying to learn before the first game too but the fact is that we’ve come through this championship and shown some growth in that aspect.

“It’s a loseable game when you play Australia at the moment because we saw last week how good and dangerous they can be and I think we saw spells of that again today. We had to be on our game and we had to improve and I thought we highlighted some areas that we felt we had some edges last week and I think we were a lot more ruthless how we exploited those this week.”

The All Blacks will next take the field against Japan on October 29, with a number of wider squad members expected to get a run in Tokyo.

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2 Comments
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ColinK 772 days ago

A lot of credit goes to Jason Ryan and so it should. I also see a big improvement in the shape of our attack, the patterns Joe Schmidt is adding are also a major improvement. Great to see the ABs play with the structure they need. England will be a big challenge for them.

D
Drew 773 days ago

The Boks are so boring. Just maul, maul maul. Oh wait that was the All Blacks

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RedWarrior 12 minutes ago
Three-way race to be number one in World Rugby men's rankings

IF SA and NZ win then its 1,2,3 SA/NZ/IRL Otherwise as you were. This is largely irrelevant beyond bragging rights.


As I have pointed out elsewhere the practical use of the Rankings is to determine the seedings bands for the RWC draw. The draw takes place early 2026 and hopefully the rankings will be taken from then.


Important to be in the top 6, the top 12. (and likely the top 4).

This is because there are now 6 groups in the RWC 2027.

If you are in top 6 you are in Seeding Band 1. That means none of the other top 6 will be in your group.

Seeding Band 2 are teams from 7-12, who will have a top 6 team but no other 7-12 team.

After England's defeat by NZ there is clear water between NZ in 3rd, France in 4th and England in 5th. England are desperate for top4, ill come back and explain why later.

Lets look at Seeding Band 1 and 6th place. If you make 6th, no top 6 team is in your group, you are top dog. If you win your group, you won't be facing a top 6 team in your 1/8th final, you will be facing a weaker team. If you fail to make 6th place you WILL have a top 6 team in your group and if you don't win your group you WILL (probably) meet a top 6 in the 1/8 final. That's massive.


Its Argentina holding 6th now. Assuming England hold 5th, then its a 4 horse race for 6th. Argentina, Scotland, Italy and ...Australia. (ranked 6,7,8,9)

Australia play the Lions in NH summer 2025 they are running out of time to get up to 6th for their own RWC. They MUST make a move now. They must beat Wales and they really must beat Scotland to gain points and take points off them. Could they surprise England or Ireland? England may be the better bet but Schmidt knows Ireland so well having masterminded their downfall in France.

Another one to watch is Italy V Argentina. Italy are ambitious and they will want to start pushing the likes of Argentina. If they win this they are still in the hunt. Well worth a watch either way.


Top4: I think the top 6 will be seeded, all the way through from the draw. If thats the case then the top 4 will be seeded to avoid each other until the semi. Good for more certainty around ticket sales etc. That's a possible reason why England want in there. You're not in there you are hitting a top 4 team in a QF. That's an extra 50:50 match you can do without and avoid by being top 4.


Lets look at what Seeding bands might look like with todays rankings:


Seeding Band 1

IRE/SA/NZ/FRA/ENG/ARG

Seeding Band 2

SCO/ITA/AUS/FIJ/WAL/GEO


Sample Aussie strongest pool opponent and 1/8th final opponent if in top 6

Strongest pool opponent: FIJI

1/8 final opponent GEORGIA

Prognosis: advance to 1/4 and potentially beyond


Sample Aussie strongest pool opponent and 1/8th final opponent if NOT in top 6

Strongest pool opponent: SOUTH AFRICA

1/8 final opponent NEW ZEALAND

Prognosis: You know the prognosis


I am pretty sure this is not lost on Joe Schmidt?


Keep in mind when enjoying the matches.

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G
GS 1 hour ago
Are the All Blacks doomed to a 70% flatline?

The key is realising this AB side is not what they are now but what they will be in 2025/26.


You can already see a Power bench forming, and I would highlight that people watch the AB XV game vs Munster and watch Fabian Holland - he, in the next 24 months, will be WC and bring some huge physicality to the team.


Then, aligned with Peter Lakai, probably at 7, another WC talent, the AB pack by 2026 will probably both be starting and on the bench - be rated as No 1 or 2 packs in the world.


Then, there is the usual WC talent around the backline, and the missing link is Mo'unga. Unlike in last year's WC, the coming forward pack for the ABs, is similar to the Bok pack, It will be packed full of power, and the key to this is a realitively young pack.


So I think we will lose to Ireland and France in the coming weeks, but watch out as this pack builds into - I mean, look at the tight five and loose forwards that are coming for the ABs - De Groot, Lomax, Williams, Tosi, Taylor, Ofa T, Samson T, Aumua, Patrick T, Barrett, Vai, Fabian H, Setiti, Lakai, Savea, Frizzell (understand they are attempting to get him and Mo'unga back), Blackadder, Papalii and bar Barrett, Savea, Patrick T, Taylor - pretty young in international terms.


Huge front row starting and on bench, Power locks and usual class in loose forwards - only missing ingredient is a WC 10 and with Mo'unga back probably in 2026, these ABs are trending in a very healthy direction.

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