Something that has happened recently is the All Blacks slipping up early in the Rugby Championship, usually against Los Pumas. This has happened once again in the 2025 edition of the Rugby Championship with their disappointing showing that resulted in a 29-23 loss, with some calling it one of the worst All Blacks performances they have seen. Now, I’m not quite in that boat, but I certainly have a few questions that will need to be answered by the coaching staff and players as their biggest rivals show up on New Zealand soil in 10 days’ time. We’re going to take a look at those questions now, and then explore some potential answers that could be made in response to them.

What is the plan with halfback injuries?

The All Blacks are dealing with an injury crisis in a specialist position for the first time since the 2011 World Cup, where we all remember they pulled Stephen Donald off a white-baiting trip to kick goals in the final.

Now, the circumstances aren’t quite that dire. It’s not a World Cup, and every other professional halfback in New Zealand is still playing rugby, with the NPC in action. However, with injuries to the best in the world, Cam Roigard, and his two deputies, Noah Hotham and now Cortez Ratima, it’s still up in the air whether any of them will be fit in time for the Springboks in two weeks.

The All Blacks are now left with a man they exiled last year, Finlay Christie, seemingly at the top of the depth chart, and second-year professional Kyle Preston, who has one season at Super Rugby level, mainly as a backup to Noah Hotham. So those are the two immediate names, but how could they potentially answer the question if all three of their top choices remain out to begin South Africa’s two-match series in New Zealand?

Potential Answer:

Now, I’m a big fan when it comes to sport and selections of not living in your fears. For the All Blacks, that has always been their reluctancy to give inexperienced players a crack in key games. In doing so I believe they missed a trick by not giving Kyle Preston minutes off the bench during the Argentina tests, because his skill set is tailor made for the modern-day international halfback.

He clears the ball from the ruck as fast as anyone in the country and has the most dynamic kicking game due to the absence of a weak foot. That means he always has a favorable angle when it comes to using the box kick as a clearance option.

So for me, he is the name who should wear the number 9 jersey if the others stay out, and Christie can be the experience off the bench.

To tie up this section, we need to choose a name who could come in as injury cover if the other three remain out. To me, it is the perfect time to swing for the fences and bring in Under-20s and Otago halfback Dylan Pledger. He looks like he may have the full skill set of a modern-day halfback and could gain a lot of experience from joining the camp as the third-string option over the next few weeks.

Should Vai’i be on the blindside or shifted into the locks?

Now, Vai’i has received plenty of praise since making the shift to the blindside, which I think was a genuine effort to beef up the pack from a size standpoint. This initiative has brought some positives, like improved lineout mauls and better lineout efficiency. However, there have also been issues with his impact around the park in open play.

By no means do the questions about him as a number 6 reflect on him as a rugby player, because he is a lock first. But a major example of why he might not be suited to the blindside from an explosive standpoint came during Pablo Matera’s barnstorming run off the back of the scrum. He ended up one-on-one with Damian McKenzie because Vai’i took too long to get off the scrum and get first contact.

So now, heading into this two-match series at home against the Springboks, who have the most powerful forward pack in the world, the question becomes: should the All Blacks keep Vai’i on the flank?

Potential Answer:

Obviously, the first answer is to keep the locks and loose forwards essentially as they are, with Barrett and Holland in the locks, then Vai’i, Savea, and Sititi as the loose forward trio. That setup is all well and good from a power standpoint, which we will definitely need to match the physicality. However, South African loosies still tend to be dynamic athletes for the position, and when it comes to Vai’i as a 6, he may lack that high-end athleticism required for the blindside.

So in my mind, there are two potential options that could shake up the dynamism while still keeping size in the pack. Step one would be to move Vai’i into the locks, which would likely mean Holland moves to the bench. Personally, though, I think Holland and Vai’i are New Zealand’s best locks.

This then opens two doors. One would be running with Sititi, Savea, and then either Simon Parker or Peter Lakai in the starting loose forward trio. That could be with one of them at blindside or even at the back of the scrum, because both offer that kind of versatility. While this could cause some issues at lineout time, having those two who are great athletes and still big bodies could be a real option if the team wants to play a bit faster and be more athletic defensively.

Either way, I can understand the rationale behind both selections because each comes with its own pros and cons. I’m not personally stuck on either option for this one, but it should be an area of real contention for the coaches heading into the Eden Park test.

How to fix the back three and their aerial woes?

Outside of discipline, the most horrific part of the All Blacks’ performance on Sunday morning was their work in the air. That applied both on attack and in trying to defuse the Pumas’ bombs.

From a kicking standpoint, New Zealand’s open play accuracy was fairly lacklustre. That applied to both box kicking and the bombs from Beauden Barrett, which were generally too long for any chasers to actually compete for.

Then on the other end, I personally have never seen such an abysmal showing from an All Blacks outfit when it came to defusing opposition bombs and box kicks. The wingers, Reece and Ioane, were nowhere to be seen when it came to claiming those, and Will Jordan, for all the great things he does, was all over the place under the high ball. He was constantly getting outworked. The Pumas were generally coming down with the ball the majority of the time, allowing them to flip the field essentially at will.

Now, I know there is so much more to being good under the high ball than just having the back three win the duel. Getting bodies around the area to fall on the second contact is just as important. But there has to be an effort to fix these issues, especially with a South African side who kick for touch, win their lineout, and then bombard a back three with box kicks and an elite chase from their outsides.

It will be the ultimate test, and if the All Blacks want any chance to win a test against the Springboks, they need parity when it comes to the battle in the skies.

Potential Answer:

Once again, you can make changes, but generally speaking, in no world will the All Blacks move Jordan out of the 15 jersey. So the first step is improved accuracy from him when it comes to contesting high balls, even if that just means batting it backwards like the Argentines were able to do on multiple occasions. That also means the wingers need to make sure they are in the correct area to collect any scraps that come out of the aerial duels.

When it comes to personnel changes, I think they could look to prioritise more work rate in the back three. The one name that sticks out to me is Emoni Narawa, who, in most of his opportunities in the black jersey, has done all his core roles well. That includes being solid under the high ball. Having a duo of wingers like Reece and Narawa, who both look to get involved as much as possible off their wings, could give them the best chance at taking a step forward in aerial defence.

All in all, it just comes down to want and execution. When it comes to the contest in the air, we are going to be able to tell how badly the All Blacks want these potential wins against the team that has had their number for most of the time since the last World Cup final.