Blair calls All Blacks attack a 'mixed bag' ahead of Springboks Test series

All Blacks attack coach Mike Blair has described New Zealand’s attacking play as a “mixed bag” despite the team winning all six matches under head coach Dave Rennie in 2026, with the first Test against South Africa now less than a week away.

Speaking to media in Pretoria after the All Blacks’ 50-point victory over the Bulls, Blair acknowledged the positive signs while pointing to lapses in execution that he believes will need to be corrected before the Springboks series begins.

“We’re obviously pleased to get the win and pleased to score 50 points. I think it was filled with lots of good moments,” Blair said. “We probably lacked the consistency across the 80 minutes, but we’re pleased to get the win.”

Blair, who joined Rennie’s coaching staff at the start of the 2026 international season alongside Neil Barnes, Tana Umaga, and Jason Ryan, pointed to offloading accuracy as a key area of focus. He noted that the team completed 18 from 20 offload attempts against the Bulls — a strong return — but felt that decision-making in the build-up occasionally let opponents off the hook.

“A lot of it’s around sighting the target. So making sure that we see that pass before we give it. I thought a couple of times we tried to force it so it becomes a decision as well,” he said. “These are things that we’re doing week in, week out. Just got to keep on top of them.”

With the tour intensity set to increase sharply against the world champion Springboks, Blair was candid about the reduced margin for error his side will face.

“We’re aware that against South Africa we’re gonna get less opportunities. So when we do get them, we’ve got to be right on with our skill set and our decision-making,” he said.

Despite the self-criticism, Blair struck a measured note on the team’s overall trajectory, citing limited training time between the Stormers and Bulls fixtures as context for the occasional sloppiness.

“I think we’re building. It’s difficult sometimes to get cohesion with the group… there’s been some excellent stuff there as well,” he added.