The All Blacks lost their edge years ago

Northern hemisphere rugby has been investing in the professional game to a much higher level in recent years, it was an economic imperative for them to do so after the AB's high energy set piece running game started to dominate international test rugby, the northern hemisphere's changeless professional game needed to become more adaptable and more controlled, so it was always a matter of time before the tide would turn for the All Blacks, but the public expectation of a fast high scoring game whenever the AB's ran onto the field would continue as European and South African journeyman rugby tactics developed, along with future defensive solutions which were always there if you watched League.
In recent times the AB's have become locked into trying to put on a performance, winning ugly is not on their CV, especially for the younger hyped players who like their fame and possible fortune as try scoring machines, changing tactics to suit the opposition especially versus tough nut teams like the Bok's does seem to have become extraordinarily difficult, the strategic versatility is not as it should be for modern test match rugby, if you know a team is going to blockade you in your 22 then you slow the game right down and play for penalties and kick for territory to wind the clock down, if you're the fitter defensive team there's a good chance you'll start to frustrate the opposition and get a Yellow card or two if you get the refs attention.
It is what it is, if the opposition is playing the better game plan then you match it or try to do that plan better, whether its potentially boring rugby or not, the Bok's have learnt that, what it may mean for the careers of some promising young athletes only time will tell, but one thing is for sure, the current All Blacks coaching staff, or their successors do not have a couple of years left to decide what they want to do before the coming RWC.

The Springboks were at the place where the AB's are now pre-2018 (maybe just 7 to 8 times worse off). Die hard Springboks fans would never forget the absolute humiliation of a 57 - 0 defeat under Allister Coetzee's coaching (including losses to Italy and Pumas). I am not sure its the best thing to drop a coach 1 year out of the World Cup - its a massive risk. What I will say is that so many of the current Springbok players were part of that same player group that were absolutely humiliated in 2016 and 2017. It is not past this AB team to rise up and be great again (even though I am a Springbok fan and would not enjoy it LOL). Hard times are the best teacher especially for young and developing players.

Much of the commentary on the All-Blacks’ disarray suggests that it is a train wreck that has been careening down the track for years and that the people whose job it is to spot that kind of thing and nip it in the bud were inept. The main scapegoat has been the AB head coach, Ian Foster. This ‘theory’ implies that the All-Blacks’ demise is largely of their own making.

A competing or (for some) complementary theory is that the North has closed the gap on the South. There is simply not as much distance between the top sides as there had been, say, even five years ago. Coaching and playing standards have risen in the North arguably because there has been a greater exchange of players and coaches between the hemispheres. Playing styles have also become more standardized. The once seemingly indomitable and infallible (in the South) have become fallible. More than any other, the Irish team epitomizes the transformation that has taken place.

But the most plausible explanation is surely that it is a bit of both, though mainly the latter. The northern hemisphere sides are simply a lot better than they used to be. And, in some cases, like the Irish, a lot, lot better. For this observer, there was clearly some underestimation of this by the All Blacks (coaches and players). The rude awakening at the hands of the Irish demonstrated this but it also exposed several structural weaknesses in the team that have been confirmed by the defeat last week to the Springboks. The front row, the backrow and the centre combination are clearly problematic, but not beyond immediate repair. De Groot must start. Cane must go. And the back line must allow the combinations established so well by the Blues in Super Rugby to have a go.

With those changes, which would yield more and better ball in the right parts of the field and the ability to make the best use of it, I would expect the All-Blacks to get back to their winning ways. Particularly now that the players must surely understand that gone are the days when all they had to do was turn up, do the Haka, and the rest would take care of itself.

It's amazing how everyone is sticking the boot into the ABs. They haven't been to able for years because the ABs have ruled the world of rugby for the past century, so now when they're down, everyone's putting the boot in. Remember, the ABs were THE team to beat, the bench mark for all other teams. Yes there's been a decline in the past 12 months but to be completely writing them off, crock of shit. The ABs will bounce back, that's what great team do. Under the right coaching staff, the ABs will once again kick ass!!!!

Kiwis don't like adopting other countries methods, and think playing their way just needs to be harder, faster, more accurate. My take is that the current 15 if coached and playing in Europe would be winners in no time. Unfortunately the mindset won't change.