All Blacks remain wary of Wellington woes ahead of second test against France
Wednesday, 9 July 2025
ANALYSIS: It’s clear the Wellington woes still occupy All Blacks’ minds this week.
A dead-rubber win over the Wallabies last year does not mask the recent struggles the men in black have endured in the capital.
And, so, in a week where a fizzed-up France will already be buoyed by what their understrength lineup produced in a first-up 31-27 loss in Dunedin, All Blacks coach Scott Robertson, in his newly-structured-for-2025 Monday media appearance, wasted no time in trying to set the attitude for his team early in the week.
“Firstly, good to be in Wellington, in the capital, with all the seasons here, it’s great,” were his very first words, to an opening question about what he was hoping to achieve in the next few days, ahead of Saturday night’s second test of the series.
It felt a not-so-subtle way of trying to ensure his players adopt that same psychological state, for a fixture with all sorts of importance and intrigue, in a city where the once-mighty men in black have been all sorts of vulnerable.
Indeed, one win from their past six tests at Sky Stadium, or two from their past eight, sure makes for grim reading.
Here’s a reminder of that rough ride:
2024: Beat Australia 33-13
A drought-breaking result last September, but against a wounded Wallabies side who arrived with neither the Bledisloe Cup nor Rugby Championship to play for.
2024: Lost to Argentina 38-30
The stunning upset in the opening round of the Rugby Championship was Robertson’s first defeat as All Blacks coach, as the Pumas scored their most points ever in New Zealand.
2022: Lost to Ireland 32-22
The history-maker for the Irish, who secured a maiden series victory on these shores, and ensured Ian Foster was walking a tightrope after the All Blacks’ first home series loss since 1994.
2020: Drew with Australia 16-16
The first test of Foster’s tenure, and the first following Covid-19 lockdown, with Dave Rennie’s first match in charge of the Wallabies almost a win but for the width of a goalpost.
2019: Drew with South Africa 16-16
An underwhelming Rugby Championship contest ended in a stalemate after Cheslin Kolbe’s final-minute chip-and-chase had Herschel Jantjies dive over and Handre Pollard convert.
2018: Lost to South Africa 36-34
A season after their 57-0 humiliation at Albany, the Springboks turned the tables in a massive way, as Beauden Barrett missed some sitters off the tee and Damian McKenzie knocked on cold at the end close to the line.
2018: Beat France 26-13
A victory… but hardly one to write home about, after the All Blacks, who had put 50 on Les Bleus in the season-opener the week prior, were hardly able to capitalise on a 12th minute red card to France fullback Benjamin Fall for taking out Barrett in the air.
2017: Lost to British and Irish Lions 24-21
A red card was on the other side of the equation, thanks to Sonny Bill Williams’ shoulder charge, as the All Blacks were unable to score a try, and had their world-record 47-match home-test winning run snapped.
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It’s a recent run which flies in the face of what had been a 16-test winning streak at the Cake Tin prior to that.
That came after the All Blacks had been toppled in two of their first five outings at the yellow-seated venue, including the very first in 2000 when John Eales kicked that dramatic late penalty that kept the Bledisloe in the Wallabies’ clutches.
All up, it’s 21 victories for the All Blacks from 29 starts at the stadium (two draws, six losses) for a 72.41% win rate.
It’s not like the pre-stadium days were that much better, either, with the men in black having also had their troubles at Athletic Park, winning 29 from 42 at just 69.05%.
That makes for a total record in Wellington of 50 wins from 71 tests at 70.42%.
That is well down on the All Blacks’ overall test win rate in New Zealand of 82.72%, and even lower than their all-time test record, home or away, of 76.69%, in a Kiwi capital which may as well be called London (72.73%) or Cape Town (66.66%).
Cue the team being on guard this week.
“We haven’t addressed it, but we understand, and are aware of it, that’s for sure,” Robertson said of the Wellington ‘hoodoo’.
“We’ll definitely cover it during the week… it’s important we acknowledge it and respect it and [work out] how we can be better.”
While noting they had to “expect everything here” in regards to conditions, for a team Robertson wants to play high-tempo and “still have the same mindset around backing ourselves” following their unimpressive outing under the roof, Wellington’s notoriously challenging weather can hardly even be pinpointed as a factor amidst the All Blacks’ recent struggles. Five of those last eight fixtures were staged in clear conditions, the ever-present swirling wind factor notwithstanding.
Asked if it was merely “just one of those things”, or if he had any idea as to the reason behind the All Blacks’ difficulties at the Cake Tin, Robertson, who incidentally was on the winning side in both tests he played there, paused for five seconds, hardly happy to just brush it off as random.
“It’s obviously around performance, and that’s what we can focus on, we’ve got to perform better.”