There is a feeling that it is piece by piece All black people they are building the knowledge base, skill sets and players they will need to win the World Cup next year.
Watch the Nations Championship – Round 5 LIVE
Hemispheres collide in a new championship of nations. Stream live, replays and highlights for free on RugbyPass TV.
Everyone is focused on South Africa, which destroyed Italy with about 12 minutes to go in the first round of the Northern Nations Championship, they are rightly wondering if they are on an unstoppable mission to win a third consecutive World Cup.
The Boks have so much power, so much confidence and confidence in how they want to play, that it’s hard to see who could potentially beat them Australia next year.
The only team close to them in the rankings is New Zealand, who could not match the power or intensity of South Africa when they met in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series.
But since then it’s evident that the All Blacks are building familiarity with their core game and building additional weapons as evidenced by their win at Murrayfield.
The 43-21 victory ended up being a full regulation for a Scottish public who had seen endless similar games where their team was crushed by an All Blacks who had too many ways to get the job done.
But this wasn’t as much of a regulation win for the All Blacks as it seemed. The win had more significance as it showed that the All Blacks are not the same fragile and fractured side they were last year when they played at Murrayfield and are developing the art of changing their tactical approach as circumstances dictate.
The All Blacks were rocking at half-time, clearly confused by how easy it was Scotland were scoring from their driving kick and how often Finn Russell could delay his pass to play Huw Jones through the front line of defence.
There was also a question New Zealand resorting to openly cynical practices whenever their line was breached and they were forced to fight on the defensive.
Going into the break 24-21 down, the All Blacks looked vulnerable and beaten – panicked and unsure, and the crowd was in Edinburgh felt there was a chance to make history.
But the All Blacks of 2026 have learned new tricks. They are not the same dismembered team they were last year and, critically, they have learned the art of real-time recalibration.
We were much more clinical and dominated the territory a little better. Today we are not as clinical as we were, we just lost our form a couple of times and from turnover we had two or three great chances that we wasted.
While the 2025 All Blacks had one game plan and little or no ability to deviate from it or adapt it to the occasion, the 2026 All Blacks showed in Edinburgh that they have a Plan B.
They came out in the second half with a vastly revised tactical approach designed to minimize Scotland’s opportunities to play the way they wanted.
“We went to a contested kicking game to limit their time from a counter-attacking standpoint,” head coach Dave Rennie said.
“We were a lot more clinical and we dominated the territory a little bit better. Today we’re not as clinical as we were, we just lost our shape a few times and from the turnover we had two or three great chances that we wasted.”
Rennie, who has that constant scowl that the best All Blacks coaches do, may not have looked pleased with the performance, but that’s more because it’s his default way of looking like he’s never pleased.
He saw his team show the depth of character and maturity to turn things around at Murrayfield: to find a way to successfully implement a new game plan that not only curbed their natural desire to build endless mini-arms and then try to get beyond the Scottish defence, but one that had raw fighting power at its heart.
New Zealand went after the Scots at the set piece and easily and completely dismantled them to earn a series of penalties. It was classic, brutal rugby – the kind that wins a World Cup knockout and that’s what Rennie will be excited about despite his demeanor.
He wasn’t expansive or fluid, but he was effective and kept Scotland scoreless. It was also the first time this year that the All Blacks scrum was truly destructive and armed, and while the quality of Scotland’s set-pieces could legitimately be questioned, New Zealand’s power and technical expertise were evident.
It was strong evidence that they have a plan B if they need it, and that is perhaps more important than many people think.
The game against Scotland showed that the All Blacks are willing and able to rein in their ambition and desire and will not sacrifice themselves on the altar of high-tempo rugby.
After the All Blacks scored almost 100 points and 14 tries in back-to-back games against Australia, Rennie was asked if the high-tempo, ball-in-hand rugby that saw the ball in play for 59 minutes in the second Test could win the World Cup. “It doesn’t make sense to play like this and then go to the World Cup and try to play without risk,” he said.
“If you just want to do arm wrestling with a few big sides in the world, you know, it’s going to be a struggle.
“So we’re trying to improve our game, we’ve got a long way to go, but you know the brutality of carrying clean and chasing shots is a huge part of everybody’s game, I guess.
“We just want to be able to play at a pace that will test the other sides.”
The game against Scotland showed that the All Blacks are willing and able to rein in their ambition and desire and will not sacrifice themselves on the altar of high-tempo rugby.
I can compromise and modify – keep the offensive flavor but tone it down somewhat. The All Blacks still scored three well-worked tries in the second half, but they played less with the ball in their own territory and started their kicking moves closer to the Scottish line.
What Rennie will also be aware of is that the All Blacks were without Ardie Save, Luke Jacobson, Ruben Love and Caleb Clarke – four players who would have been in the starting line-up, as well as Tamaiti Williams and Shannon Frizell who would have been strong matchday 23 contenders for the critical Tests.
The All Blacks are also waiting for two wild card players – Richie Mo’ung and Leicester Fainga’anuku – add to the depth that is being built.
It’s a maddening feat for the All Blacks to have four No.10s in their midst – with Love, Mo’unga, Damian McKenzie and Beauden Barrett all expected to break into the World Cup.
They will be able to withstand even the most serious injuries, and this could be critical in the knockout rounds of the World Cup.
The All Blacks have already shown they can cope with the loss of their first-choice number 10 Love, and the way McKenzie has played in the last three Tests, he is likely to be the third-ranked top-five.
Fainga’anuku has already proven he can play on the wing and his challenge in the UK over the next few weeks is to show he can handle the demands of the flanker.
So playing probably won’t be an issue next year in Australia. And then there’s Fainga’anuku – a potential shape-shifter given his ability to do what Henry Pollock did and play either on the wing or on the wing.
Fainga’anuku has already proven he can play on the wing and his challenge in the UK over the next few weeks is to show he can handle the demands of the flanker.
“I think he’s a real hybrid,” assistant coach Jason Ryan said. “He’s got the ability to float between them both (wing and wing). He’s sat in forward meetings, screenings and screenings.”
“Obviously he’s played there (flanker) with the Crusaders. There’s not a lot of moving parts and he can cover the middle and the wing. It’s his first time in the environment, so he’s learning the language and understanding things.”
If he succeeds as a winger, it will open up prospects for the All Blacks using a 6-2 bench split and add another potential trick they can use at next year’s World Cup.
Right now, that would be a big call to bet against South Africa winning the third consecutive World Championship. But the All Blacks are quietly building the game plans, experience, confidence and personnel to be real contenders next year
