Ben Lam quits union for rugby league with immediate effect

Robertston wouldn't be 'trying to lose' if he started younger players: Papalii for Cane, Ratima for Perenara, Love for B Barrett. He would be developing players. So far, his team has: barely beaten England twice, smashed Fiji, lost/then smashed the Pumas, and lost to the Springboks twice. It's not like he's won seven from seven. He's already got a losing record. He may as well find out if his up-and-coming players have what it takes.

McKenzie had great potential at the face of it. Fantastic athlete and tough as nails for a little guy. But lacks the top two inches for test 10. The main issue with McKenzie is that be operates on instinct. When his preset plan does not work and he can't cut them up e.g. broken play he tends to: kick poorly, run sideways, or throw a bad pass.

We won't know if Love will reach his potential until someone chucks him in the deep end and see's if he swims. An away game in South Africa would've been perfect. While Love is also a great athlete, he appears to be less instinctive that McKenzie. That might make all the difference, time will tell.

7 Cane (when he retires Peter Lakai can take over)

6 Ethan Blackadder

8 Wallace Sititi

THE PACK HAS ZERO GRUNT, apart from Adie Savea.

After 2 or 3 rucks on the weekend they played a ball out the back to Dmac & the pass went wide where the Boks were waiting.

I said this couple of months ago. There are too many avg players in the squad.

The loose forwards are the real issue. Papali'i hasn't attained his level of form since his appendicitis (in 2022); he's still good, but should be seeing Cane off easy. A Savea is in a lull of form, not bad but he is unlikely to be in contention for the World player of the year (or even the All Blacks player of the year). Finau hasn't fired since the Super Rugby semifinal. Blackadder is a 6.5, rather than a true 6, and is still struggling with injury (ideally: 6, 7, 8 reserve - all hard work for the last 20-30 minutes). Sititi could be good, but is more of an 8 than a 6 or a 7. They badly need Frizell to add some balance to the trio.

The difference is that last week we had a playmaker 15 whereas this week we had a traditional fullback. To combat modern defence pretty much every team has someone like Willie le Roux, Willemse, Ramos, Furbank, Kinghorn etc. If not BB then give Love a chance to develop.

Although it must surely be obvious to anyone that the forwards bench is the main problem.

Clarke did well for his two, one of those exploited a player out of position (but still a mint set piece try). The other was a really good piece of broken field running. With very good work done by Lomax and McKenzie.

Of the other two, one was an intercept, the other was due to the - slightly illegal - positioning of Lomax in the maul (all good if you get away with it).

The real issue is that the All Blacks' attack wasn't threatening enough, often enough. They didn't break the Springbok defense up enough for the All Blacks's offloading game to shine. McKenzie and Barrett aren't bad players, but they've probably reached their potential or started to go backwards; maybe McKenzie has more improvements to make at 10, but B Barrett's best playing days are probably behind him, same with Perenara. When the: nine, 10, and 15 aren't on top of their games it's a bit of a stretch to expect champagne rugby.

Apart from changing the rules to get Mo'unga back. They need to develop new players at: nine, 10, and 15. They're got nothing in the cupboard at 10 this year (maybe Plumber - but he's a tradesman, completely untested at test level, and not young). The only other spot is 15.

Agree, I'd like to see Love given a shot at 15. Keep B Barrett on the bench. Jordan at 14. McKenzie at 10 and cover at 9. Start Ratima. Find someone else to lead the haka.

Who would've thought the All Blacks would be short of good loose forwards and wings at the same time?

I would like DMac as a 9 option but he hasn’t played there?

Yep article to follow on the 'hour specials'. NZ would be top of the table is the ref called a time after an hour's play!