It wasn’t all that long ago when people were describing the current crop of All Blacks as one of the worst in recent memory.
The catalyst of this description came thanks to New Zealand’s performances in the most recent edition of the Rugby Championship and their loss across a Test series with Andy Farrell’s Ireland.
Losing games to South Africa and Argentina in the six game campaign, at times the world’s most famous side drew a lot of criticism for uncharacteristic performances, their head coach Ian Foster the man to in the firing line.
One man to have been casting his eye over the team is their former fly-half, Andrew Mehrtens. Now 49, the ex-Crusaders and Harlequins will be offering his views on the game to Amazon Prime Video during the end-of-year Tests.
Already the All Blacks have started their final run of fixtures in 2022, surviving a Brodie Retallick red card against Japan to eventually finish up as 38-31 winners over Jamie Joseph’s side in Tokyo.
Upon reaching Europe, Foster’s team will be up against it. Playing Wales this weekend, Scotland a week later and then finishing up against England, it will be an extremely testing period for all of those that line up in a black jersey.
What can definitely be said is that never before has an All Blacks side been so universally looked down upon this far out from a Rugby World Cup. Despite being three-time winners of the competition, it is instead France, South Africa and Ireland that are deemed as firmer favourites, many laying the blame at the feet of the man at the top.
“These days, the head coach is more a manager role, where you are just trying to drive the environment for players to get better by themselves with specialised coaches,” Mehrtens said. “It is probably more about the coaching team than about the head coach, maybe.
“Not that I’m criticising them, but part of it obviously is the players maybe aren’t head and shoulders above the rest like we had a lot of them in the past.
“But we’ve also got some pretty bloody good players. Rieko Ioane in full flight is amazing. They haven’t really seemed all that cohesive and I’m not sure whether that’s their skills training that has tapered off, because they have made a lot of mistakes this year.
“Maybe it’s just that teams are really getting up in their face a lot more and they haven’t worked that out yet. Which, if that is the case, would surprise me a little bit.
“Some of that is combinations, and while we have built really good depth in New Zealand where we have got two or three players competing for every position and it means that when you lose a key player you are not losing too much with the next guy coming in.
“At the same time, it means you build a strong squad, a squad of 45 players, naturally your 23 guys who you would put in a World Cup final tomorrow don’t get as much opportunity to play together, I guess.
“It is all very well trying to recreate that pressure in training, but without having the intensity of the actual matches together, maybe we are just missing a little bit of communication or the timing and cohesion of the understanding of one another.
“At the same time, when they have played well this year, they have played really well.”
Exactly what the future has in store for the All Blacks, and Foster, is uncertain. With the suggestion of the All Blacks winning a Rugby World Cup seemingly just a fanciful notion, Foster’s successor quickly becomes the topic of conversation.
One of the reasons for which is simple, with Mehrtens’ former Canterbury, Crusaders and New Zealand teammate Scott ‘Razor’ Robertson one of the men touted to be taking a top job after the conclusion of the impeding World Cup.
Since taking charge of the Crusaders in 2017, Robertson has experienced immense success. His team have won five Super Rugby titles and Robertson has quickly developed a reputation as the next ‘big thing’ in rugby union coaching.
“He has heard me say this before, so he won’t take offence to this; he would, of all the guys I have played with, be the least likely guy I would have thought would coach,” Mehrtens said. “Full-stop. Let alone be a successful one.
“That shows us how the game, and coaching, has evolved from that kind of key person prescriptive model of the coach, captain and maybe your 10 who calls the shots.
“That was the old model, but now the coach is all around encouraging and fostering that environment where players can enjoy themselves, be motivated to get better individually, be motivated to get better as a group, help one another and use all the resources.
?? SQUAD UPDATES | Unfortunately Sam Cane & Dane Coles will be returning to New Zealand after picking up injuries in last nights match. Sam - fractured cheekbone, Dane - calf.
Patrick Tuipulotu, Damian McKenzie, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck & Braydon Ennor will join the Allblacks XV. pic.twitter.com/DQhci7y0ng
“A lot gets done around the decision making process of stuff, and you have got a wide group of abilities, not just physically but mentally in a group.
“That’s what I see from the little bits I have seen inside the Crusaders camp with Razor, where he absolutely excels. He empowers the group without losing his own authority. He encourages players to find their own solutions and work through it.”
In the summer, Roberston even confirmed that he met with England head coach Eddie Jones in Sydney. By doing so, the 47-year-old confirmed his intention to move into the Test match arena in the coming years, Mehrtens believes that Robertson could be the answer for the All Blacks, while also being aware of the other options available to the union.
“I’d love to think the All Blacks,” he said. “I think Foster will finish up after the World Cup regardless. I’d love to think the All Blacks because I am a convert. I loved playing with the bloke, especially for the fact that anyone running near me, he would tackle. I wasn’t going to.
“He did me huge favours for years, but like I say, from not thinking he would be the sort of personality that would go well in coaching, he has been unbelievable. I am a big fan.
“At the same time, at that stage they might have Dave Rennie available, they might have Warren Gatland available, they may have guys like Vern Cotter. We have got some really good coaches out there, so it is certainly not a lay down for Razor to get that role.”
Andrew Mehrtens will feature on Autumn Nations Series matches exclusive on Prime Video.
