The All Blacks are showing “more fragility than in the last 100 years”

Former Ireland winger Shane Horgan has given a sobering assessment of the current All Blacks, while a former Wales international claims they are “making a lot of mistakes” under new coach Scott Robertson.

The All Blacks are unbeaten in two closely contested tests against England to start Robertson’s reign, and should record their third win against Fiji on Saturday (AEST).

Under Ian Foster, the All Blacks reached the World Cup final, losing by one point despite the sending off of Sam Cane, but they seem to be failing to convince the northern hemisphere of their worth.

New Zealand’s Sam Cane walks past the Webb Ellis Cup after the Rugby World Cup final between New Zealand and South Africa. (Photo by David Ramos – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)

“Something strange has happened with New Zealand in recent years. That absolute feeling of invincibility doesn’t exist in the same way it used to, it just doesn’t exist anymore,” Horgan said on The Good, The Bad and The Rugby podcast this week.

“They can recover with a new generation of players, but it’s not now. We’re going to keep them at bay as long as we can.”

“That’s not to say they’re not a great team – they knocked Ireland out of the World Cup, of course – but there’s a feeling that there’s a bit more fragility than there has been in the last 100 years.”

Horgan said Robertson would need to change his style for the team to become dominant again.

“I’m interested to see how they innovate, and I think they will innovate during this period,” Horgan said.

“I felt that that All Blacks jersey protected them from pressure in many ways. It was a powerful cloak that they wore that meant that on the one hand they intimidated the opposition, but it also actually elevated their performance.

“What we are seeing in recent times is almost a pressure that comes with the All Blacks jersey, which means they are inhibited in the way they play; in the same way we have seen other teams become intimidated by pressure.

“Part of this restructuring with Razor will be to try to reestablish that as a comfort blanket rather than it being a problem for them.”

All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson. (Photograph by Joe Allison – RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, former Wales centre Jonathan Davies told the podcast he could not see a defined style in the All Blacks.

“They obviously have a lot of talent, but they seem to make a lot of mistakes. They feel the pressure. Razor will have a bit of time now, before this Rugby Championship, to really analyse what they have seen and try to improve,” Davies said.

“They can get more out of Jordie Barrett, we didn’t see much of him in the first two tests. I think Rieko Ioane is one of the best players in the team, but these lads need to get some touches on the ball.

“They have a platform with a great scrum, we have seen that, but let’s really try to test the teams, that’s what New Zealand has always done.

“They’ve tested you, they’ve increased the speed of the game, they’ve really tried to put you under pressure by taking you out of your comfort zone.

“Will we see them return to that team that seemed really safe? I don’t know, but they still have the talent, that’s obvious, but what’s at stake is whether or not they can decide what they want to be.”