All-Black's finished one of the worst seasons with a 15-point defeat to France last month. New Zealand Boss has called the results of the previous two games, which included the loss to Ireland, “disappointing”.
Fans of the team are ready to agree but shifting those feelings to the whole season. Although AB's were the favourite at almost all the games on Funbet (review available here: https://bookmaker-ratings.com/review/funbet-bookmaker-review/), odds won't change the quality of the game.
Disappointment number one: the lack of tournament competition in the Championship
This year's All Blacks schedule is a complete letdown. The branching of the calendar into two-match contests ultimately deprived the tournament of any sense of continuity. It looked like the national teams had some warm-up matches, coincidentally combined into some competition. And then, amid fatigue, the Springboks engaged their main squad in the games against the Wallabies, for which the Aussies punished them. Those games were tight already, but it would have been much more interesting if the trophy had been decided.
Disappointment number two: the selection of All Blacks opponents
Because of the Lions' tour and France's busy schedule in the summer, the AB's only warmed up by beating the island teams, and they didn't forget to add the USA and Italy to the calendar in the autumn to have someone to fan their game on. It's hard to call beating those teams a spectacle. Although, without such exhibition matches by the end of the year, the pretty tired team would already be in trouble. Besides, the money would probably help them get better too. But, from a sporting point of view, those tests produce almost nothing.
And yet Ian Foster got a coveted contract extension just for defeating debutants Tonga, Fiji and the dismantled Wallabies. His team are unrivalled in that regard, which is the third disappointment, albeit one to be expected.
Disappointment number three: Ian Foster contract extension
When Scott Robertson signed a new deal with NZRU, he was also well aware that he wouldn't get anything before 2023, or maybe even after. Mr Jones has repeatedly said that the French have lived too long in self-delusion after the 2015 World Cup final, but perhaps NZ was just as much a hostage to that success. Apart from the two championship trophies, Graham Henry's legacy was an unbeaten coaching nomenclature that occupied the top positions in the national team by right of succession rather than merit. Except that there have been no new coaching ideas and no sustainable playing model since the change of generations in 2016. How easily the New Zealanders seemed to survive the end of the careers of several outstanding players, replacing them with young and talented boys, how little the team has grown since then.
Positives
Still, there are some positives to be noted from the debuts and the gradual growth of individual players. For example, one of the protagonists of the season as a whole has been Ethan Blackadder. He has grown into a top flanker in the Crusaders (one would like to believe that this is not just for one season). There are some new names in the ranks of the locks: Tupou Vaa'i, Josh Lord, could be the new generation of second-liners, although for now, they have to sit behind the backs of the real top-stars.
Will Jordan has been overly pampered (as Prime's Damian McKenzie was once overextended), although he's more dangerous than the entire backline combined. Unexpectedly, hooker Taukei'aho has risen in the ranks, in some ways overtaking peer Asafo Aumua. Capable centre Quinn Tupea shone brightly in some matches. And, separately, suitable for George Bower, who has come out of the shadows at an advanced age. Again, Ian Foster has plenty to choose from, and before the World Cup, the new guys could also take a shot.
If you rate the team performance, it's worth noting the progress compared to last year, but the low average level of most opponents does blur the overall picture. Against the Springboks, the Blacks looked pale and recently lost to Ireland, so a convincing defeat to France was an expected and logical end to the season.
