All Blacks scrum coach Ryan admits hard self-reflection after 3-1 Springboks series defeat

All Blacks assistant coach Jason Ryan has admitted he “looked pretty hard at himself” after New Zealand’s 3-1 series defeat to the Springboks, identifying defensive scrum penalties as a critical weakness to fix before the Bledisloe Cup opener against the Wallabies in Auckland.

Ryan spoke to media on Monday following a squad review held in Auckland on Sunday evening, the first time the group had come together since completing the four-Test Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series. The All Blacks had taken a promising 1-0 lead after winning the opening Test at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, only to lose the next three matches against the back-to-back World Champions.

“Yeah, look, I looked pretty hard on myself. You know, probably learnt more in seven weeks than I have in a number of years, to be honest,” Ryan said. “Playing the Springboks, best in the world at what they do. Four tests in a row, so unique. But it’s put us in a good place.”

On the scrum specifically, Ryan offered a measured but candid assessment. “I think we’re number three in the world for top quality ball on our ball, but the opposition ball, that’s what we’ve got to tidy up, and I think it was seven penalties in total, which were big momentum shifts at crucial times.”

The 51-year-old pointed to the return of lock Scott Barrett as a factor that should bolster the set-piece, alongside broader experience in the pack. “We’ll get a few more boys dialled in, and having Scooter back in the pack and a little bit more experience, it all helps. So we’ve been really honest about that, and we know where we’ve got to head.”

Ryan described Sunday’s review session as uncomfortable but necessary. “The tour sucked a lot of juice out of everyone, and it was good to come in last on Sunday night, and we reviewed that as a group; leaders drove that exceptionally well, as well as the coaches in each area. And there’s a little bit of discomfort in the room, as there should be when you’re reviewing something like that.”

He added that the squad was determined to move forward with clarity rather than dwell on the defeats. “We make sure we went through areas of our game with real genuine substance and clarity around what we need to move forward, pretty quickly on. So it was good to put that to bed, and then we move on as we look into the Bledisloe Cup this week.”

Dave Rennie’s side now face a Wallabies team that is unbeaten under new head coach Les Kiss, before travelling to Sydney for the second Bledisloe Cup Test.