The All Blacks’ collapse in Wellington on Saturday night has many fans searching for a solution to New Zealand Rugby’s dire situation.
Ireland once again got off to a quick start at Sky Stadium, scoring from a rolling maul in the fourth minute of play and went on to lead 22-3 at half-time.
Ian Foster’s side never managed to recover, falling 32-22 to the Irish and losing a series at home for the first time since 1994.
There have been calls for a new voice to be inserted into the camp to instil some fight into the team from the outset.
Former Ireland fullback Rob Kearney thinks the All Blacks may already have that person around them to provide some much-needed direction early on in the contest.
Speaking on SENZ Breakfast, Kearney highlighted the starter plays and lateral movement as key issues for coaches to look at.
He believes his former coach Joe Schmidt could provide some assistance in those areas.
“He’ll highlight the real key players in your backline and he’ll orchestrate some really creative power plays ... at a particular time in a game,” Kearney said.
Kearney went on to express how he feels Schmidt would be great for the All Blacks’ all-round skillsets which is where he thinks they have lowered their standards in recent times.
“He’ll ram home the basics really, really hard and that’s probably the area that you boys have just slipped up somewhat,” Kearney acknowledged.
The Irish great’s comments come at a point in time where Foster’s win percentage hits a historic low for an All Blacks coach at 66.7%.
“I think everyone appreciates in the world that once the All Blacks get those basic things right, they are very difficult to beat,” warned Kearney.
Kiwis will be hoping New Zealand Rugby will be able to knuckle down in the coming weeks and find the solutions they’ve promised ahead of back-to-back games in South Africa.
Whether it’s still Foster, the Irish’s beloved Joe Schmidt or even Scott Robertson who takes the lead, there’s no illusions how big of a job it is ahead.