Can All Blacks coach Scott Robertson fix problems ahead of Springboks test?
Monday, 25 August 2025
ANALYSIS: The last thing the demoralised All Blacks wanted when they returned to New Zealand from Argentina was to be lumbered with excess emotional baggage.
No such luck.
The All Blacks' 29-23 defeat to the Pumas in Buenos Aires on Sunday morning (NZT) should have everyone on edge, and after what unfolded at Estadio Velez Sarsfield, it's impossible not to feel jittery about what's next on the Rugby Championship menu.
There will be no soft landing for the All Blacks.
The world champion Springboks are coming. They scent blood.
The All Blacks performance in Buenos Aires was like watching a thriller movie that ended on a lame note. Having sat on the edge of their seats as the All Blacks kept running down blind alleys, the team's supporters anxiously looked at the clock and told themselves their team would eventually find an escape route before the final curtain dropped.
The Pumas, it turned out, were following another script.
Instead of lifting their standards from the previous weekend, when they produced a scratchy win in Cordoba, the All Blacks hit the button with the downward arrow and landed in the basement.
The All Blacks lacked agility, discipline, cohesion and passion. There could be no complaints. Not when they had Will Jordan, Tupou Vaa'i and Sevu Reece yellow carded and were starved of possession for such long periods.
Now for the really bad news.
The Springboks, having reversed their fortunes against the Wallabies in Cape Town after the defeat in Johannesburg a week earlier, are beating their collective chests as they search for a fresh skeleton to throw on the bonfire.
It's no secret Erasmus has been waiting a long time to give the All Blacks a taste of green and gold medicine at a sold-out Eden Park.
It would have been one of the first things Erasmus wrote on his list of KPIs for 2025.
The Springboks have not won at Eden Park since 1937.
The All Blacks' most recent defeat at the venue was against France in 1994, and they have been unbeaten in their last 50 tests at Eden Park.
The remarkable record will be under serious threat on September 6.
The Springboks, not having played at Eden Park since 2013, have won their last four tests against the All Blacks in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Paris and London. The All Blacks' most recent win against them was at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland in July 2023.
The All Blacks have two weeks to assemble a strategy that will knock the Springboks off their tracks at Eden Park.
Robertson, like Erasmus, would have targeted this fixture at the start of the year.
Big is beautiful when it comes to picking All Blacks forwards; the decision to switch Tupou Vaa'i from lock to blindside flanker is testament to that.
No 8 Simon Parker, also a large specimen, couldn't be faulted for effort in his test debut in Buenos Aires but struggled to make a significant impact, and Wallace Sititi is likely to start in that position in Auckland.
Being unable to call upon lock Patrick Tuipulotu, who suffered a facial fracture in Cordoba and required surgery in New Zealand, for the re-match was a significant blow and won't be available to play the Springboks.
The All Blacks' underperforming backline is cause for major concern. So, too, is the inability to get parity when contesting high balls.
One of Robertson's first tasks upon his arrival back in New Zealand will be to ascertain whether Cam Roigard will be fit, the latter having withdrawn from the trip to Argentina because of injury.
Starting No 9 Cortez Ratima appeared to be in significant pain when forced to leave the field in Buenos Aires with a chest problem, and was replaced by Finlay Christie who proved to be one of the best performers in a beaten team.
Noah Hotham, one of three halfbacks in the original squad for the Rugby Championship, is still recovering from ankle surgery.
If Christie starts against the Springboks, the uncapped Kyle Preston, who was in the Argentina tour party as an injury replacement, will likely be the deputy.
Robertson also has to choose between giving Billy Proctor another chance at centre, or asking Anton Lienert-Brown (expected to be fit after a concussion in Cordoba) or Rieko Ioane to wear the No 13 jersey.
Ioane, having been pushed to the left wing this year, has been unable to make a significant impact on the edges.
The same could be said for Proctor at No 13. Change may be needed.
Fielding the midfield combination of Jordie Barrett and Ioane would represent a significant U-turn from Robertson but it would enable the All Blacks to counter the experienced Springboks duo of Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel.
If Erasmus was to take a full page advert to promote his game plans in New Zealand, it may not cause many eyeballs to leap out on springs.
The Springboks, especially if it rains, will rely on heavy machinery up front, accurate high balls and a taste for territory to become the first team in 31 years to beat the All Blacks at Eden Park.
As for the All Blacks, it's difficult to know what's coming. They have a fortnight to figure that out.