The All Blacks’ devastating loss to the Springboks by one point in the men’s Rugby World Cup final marks a pivotal point for the game in New Zealand and internationally.
The final whistle drew a close to the careers of many stalwart players, and also marked the end of the tenure of current All Blacks coach Ian Foster.
“Aaron Smith, Brodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock, Dane Coles are all retiring,” Newstalk ZB sports director Clay Wilson tells The Front Page podcast.
“Nepo Laulala, Richie Mo’unga, Shannon Frizzell and Leicester Fainga’anuku are just some of the names of people who are not going to be around. The latter three are going overseas and may come back, but we don’t know. It’s going to be a new-look team.”
That team will come under the guidance of incoming coach Scott Robertson, who comes into the job under circumstances few would have anticipated a year ago.
After a string of poor results last year, fans around the country were calling for Foster to make way for Robertson to lead the team. Having led the team to within a point of lifting the Rugby World Cup trophy, a different kind of pressure will now be placed on Robertson.
Whereas he was previously seen as something of a saviour, he now inherits a team that has been successful against all odds.
“This is a very interesting dynamic,” says Wilson.
“Scott Robertson is someone who had immense public support to take over this job, and not a lot of people were expecting the All Blacks to reach the heights that they have at this World Cup. But now, Scott Robertson takes over a team that came very close to winning the World Cup title.”
Robertson will also walk into a dressing room incredibly loyal to Foster despite the long-running calls for his head.
With so many players departing, Robertson must look at building a new team from the ground up. The raw materials are there, with some exciting young prospects coming through, but it won’t be easy to turn this into a winning machine from day one.
“No All Blacks fan is going to wish Scott Robertson ill. They’ll hope he’s successful in that role, but if it doesn’t quite pan out, how much rope does the public give Scott Robertson?” Wilson says.
“Ian Foster didn’t get a lot, right? It will be interesting to see how that plays out and what Scott Robertson can do now that this team has made it all the way to a World Cup final.”
More broadly, international rugby is also in for significant changes in the shape of a new international competition that will see the top 12 sides from the Northern and Southern Hemispheres competing against each other.
So, what impact will this have on the game? And what will it take to break the supremacy of the Springboks and the All Blacks when it comes to the Rugby World Cup?
Listen to the full episode of The Front Page podcast for a full rundown of what comes next for international rugby.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. It is presented by Damien Venuto, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in business reporting who joined the Herald in 2017.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
The former England winger opened up about his struggles post retirement.