The former All Black Sonny Bill Williams did not mince his words in his criticism of the New Zealand coach Scott Robertson. After back-to-back defeats to the Springboks in the 2024 Rugby Championship, Williams has pointed the finger at several aspects of team management.
A poorly mastered 23-player game
Williams did not mince words regarding Robertson’s use of substitutes:
“The Springboks are leading the way because they understand it’s a 23-man game. I don’t think we’re there yet,” he told Stan Sport.
He then hammered the point home: “It’s a criticism of the coaches, we haven’t yet adopted the mentality of playing with 23 players.”
Glaring tactical errors
The former center highlighted questionable tactical choices, particularly concerning the playing time of certain players:
“When was the last time we saw a Boks prop leave the field or still be on the field in the 72nd minute?”
Williams has particularly targeted the management of Tyrel Lomax on the Cape Town game: “You put that pressure on a player at that level in South Africa, 70 minutes into the game, you know that mistake was more of a coaching mistake than his.”
A lack of rotation pointed out
The two-time world champion also criticised the lack of rotation between the two tests against South Africa:
“South Africa, in that first Test, played unbelievably. Some of those players who were arguably the best on the field didn’t play the following week. There’s total confidence there in the whole squad.”
A negative impact on replacements
Williams expressed concern about the effect of this management on the morale of the substitutes:
“If I’m a number 16 to 23 at the moment in the All Blacks and on the bench for seven minutes, I’m sitting there thinking, ‘How am I a member of the team or do the coaches have confidence in me?’”
A crumbling aura
The former international made a blunt assessment of the current state of the All Blacks: “If you call a spade a spade, New Zealand are no longer the team they used to be in terms of aura.”
Williams expressed concern over the four-game losing streak against the Springboks, a first in the professional era, but was keen to highlight some positives, saying the All Blacks had “resisted well” in their two recent defeats in South Africa.
A debate that is gaining momentum
Sonny Bill Williams’ comments are part of a wider debate about the future of New Zealand rugby. Other iconic figures such as Jeff Wilson have also called on Robertson to make radical changes ahead of the next Bledisloe Cup match.
As pressure mounts on the All Blacks coaching staff, it remains to be seen whether these criticisms will be heard and adjustments made in the coming weeks.
I grew up in a family where rugby was a constant presence. I was on the edge of the field when Castres beat Pau and joined the elite, I was in the Stade Pierre Antoine facing Gary Whetton when he did his Haka to celebrate Castres’ first Brennus and I have always been surrounded by the legends of this sport. Now, it is with XV Ovalie that I intend to extend the adventure.
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