New Zealand rugby's weakness under the high ball is a fatal flaw that could cost the All Blacks a grand slam

Tuesday, 11 November 2025

All Blacks fullback Will Jordan knocks the ball on under pressure from Scotland's Darcy Graham at Murrayfield.

ANALYSIS: Given the current trends in test rugby it is ironic that one of the All Blacks most famous tries in recent memory started with a midfield bomb.

Julian Savea’s iconic score against France in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinal in 2015 - the one where he sent three defenders flying - began with Ben Smith chasing a Dan Carter up-and-under and dominating the aerial contest with French No 8 Louis Picamoles to regain possession.

Fast forward 10 years and it was another weekend of watching New Zealand’s top players flailing under the high ball - both at the All Blacks and the All Blacks XV level.

All Blacks winger Caleb Clarke is regarded is regarded as the best high-ball exponent in the country but he dropped two against Scotland and still has a lot of work to do before he is as accomplished as his international peers.

In Bath, All Blacks XV fullback Chay Fihaki had a nightmare under the high ball against England A.

What used to be a strength in New Zealand rugby has turned into a recurring flaw and it appears the entire high-performance system has been caught short in developing a skillset that is essential at test level.

In fact, the All Blacks even started their test season against France by picking two of their weakest wingers under the high ball: Sevu Reece and Rieko Ioane.

It was a bad misread of what’s important in test rugby and does make you wonder how seriously high-ball expertise has been taken.

Five months on, the All Blacks don’t seem to be in a better position and with Clarke ruled out of the test against England this weekend they look decidedly vulnerable in the air.

Almost by stealth, New Zealand rugby has accepted the premise that outside backs can be poor under the high ball but all will be forgiven if they can beat a defender or exhibit some X-factor.

But it should never be an either/or scenario - Smith was one of the most evasive runners going around and still excellent under the high kicks.

All over the world we see wingers who can do both - beat players and win aerial contests - but New Zealand rugby has yet to catch up.

There’s no real excuse for it. It’s a learned skill and the sight of Italy winger Monty Ioane winning the high ball contest against the Wallabies at the weekend showed that wingers who start out as explosive, ball-running, fast-twitch muscle athletes can be trained to win the air.

What also makes the current malaise confusing is that Will Jordan was excellent in the air in Super Rugby, rarely dropping the ball in some games.

Perhaps it’s just a case of the contest being more intense in test rugby, but Jordan has failed to kick on for the All Blacks and if any of the country’s outside backs make high-ball expertise their rugby superpower they will be well on the way to locking down an All Blacks berth.

England are going to bombard the All Blacks’ backfield at Twickenham. Halfback Alex Mitchell is highly accurate with his box kicks and likely fullback Freddie Steward and winger Tom Roebuck have built their games around their ability in the air.

If the All Blacks improve this part of the game they have the players to cut teams to shreds on the counter, but at the moment the high ball is a low-risk, high-return way for opponents to put them under pressure.