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Razor report card: Have the All Blacks earned a pass mark for 2024?
Stephen Foote • November 19th, 2024 11:43 am
With just one Test remaining in the All Blacks' 2024 schedule, report cards across the nation are being drawn ready to grade the team's achievements in their maiden year under head coach Scott Robertson.
Assuming the All Blacks are able to get past the lowly Italians in Turin this weekend - which seems close to a certainty given the Azzuri's recent record and the fact they've never beaten New Zealand - they'll finish 2024 with an overall record of 10 wins and four defeats.
Rewinding to the start of their campaign, the New Zealanders began with a pair of hard fought wins over England, before cruising past the Fijians in San Diego.
The home defeat to the Pumas to begin the Rugby Championship had alarm bells ringing loudly, and while they responded with a resounding win in their rematch the next weekend, the pair of losses in South Africa put the Razor regime under duress.
But once the All Blacks from returned Africa, they looked assured in securing the Bledisloe Cup - despite some late wobbles in the first Test in Sydney - beating Japan en route to Europe, where they retained their clean sheet against the English, then recorded arguably their finest win of their campaign against Ireland in Dublin.
While their brutally close defeat to the French last weekend saw them drop to four losses, all of those results - the debacle against the Argentinians aside - were fought to the wire, including two epic contests against the world champion Springboks.
All in all, taking into consideration the nature of their losses, it was enough to earn a clear-cut pass mark from former All Blacks halfback Ant Strachan.
Sport Nation has landed | Scotty and Izzy
"With all due respect to the Italians next week, if the All Blacks get past that one, that's 10 out of 14. It's certainly beyond the pass mark," Strachan told Sport Nation's Scotty & Izzy.
"If everyone in New Zealand was bluntly honest with themselves about this northern tour, where we thought this All Blacks team might get to in terms of wins and losses, I'd say they're probably ahead on the ledger."
Strachan admits he was one such observer whose expectations were tempered for their annual year-end sojourn north but has been encouraged by the team's efforts in Europe and their overall progress under Robertson.
"I'll be blunt, I didn't think they'd get through this northern tour with potentially three out of the four victories," Strachan added.
"I think maybe two would be a pass mark. So, it's three - and it could have been four - I think they're heading in the right direction."
The tour finale against the Italians should be an ideal opportunity for the All Blacks to further build their depth in the early stages of the World Cup cycle and address a couple of the weaker areas of the squad's make-up, Strachan says.
"There's some spots within this group - probably bigger locks, midfield - that we need to still look at.
"But I think for the most part, they've got a good group and there's also an All Blacks XV that's tracking well.
"There's some depth there for you and I think they believe in what Razor and his coaching team are trying to achieve. We are tracking nicely."
