Overview
- The All Blacks lost the four-Test series to South Africa 3-1 after winning the opening Test, with South African scrum penalties, a penalty try and maul scores swinging momentum in three successive defeats.
- Citing Sunday night's squad review, scrum coach Jason Ryan said he has been self-critical, described the tour as draining and confirmed the team held an honest, leader-led examination of set-piece performance.
- Scott Barrett, who will return to the pack for the upcoming Bledisloe Cup, said the Springboks used scrum penalties and their maul to drive field position and expose New Zealand's defensive weaknesses.
- Coaches and players stressed repairs cannot be immediate and require repetitive, on-field work to change habits around defending opposition ball at the scrum and in mauls.
- Former coach Graham Henry and others pointed to reduced Super Rugby exposure to South African forwards as wider context for the problem and the Australia win in Perth has increased urgency around selection and set-piece work.