Darry flags All Blacks defence after conceding 32 points against France

Sam Darry has called out the All Blacks’ defensive performance after they conceded 32 points in a two-point win over France at One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch, warning that the standard is not good enough ahead of Saturday’s Test against Italy in Wellington.

The 25-year-old lock, who captained the Blues for the first time in Super Rugby Pacific this year and was appearing in just his ninth Test, was one of New Zealand’s standout performers against France — making 11 carries and 17 tackles — yet he was unsparing in his post-match assessment.

“Conceding 32 points in a test match isn’t acceptable for us, so there’s a few things we looked at around that,” Darry said in Auckland as the squad began preparations for Italy. “How we can slow opposition ball down to allow us time to set, and then just winning collisions — sounds very simple, but often defence comes down to that.”

Darry called the lineout for the full 80 minutes for the first time in an All Blacks jersey, having previously taken on the role from the bench during the 2025 end-of-year tour under former head coach Scott Robertson. Now working under Dave Rennie, Darry said the transition in coaching philosophy has been straightforward for the players to absorb.

“The coaches have brought an awesome energy to the group,” he said. “They’ve been very clear about the way we want to play, which has made it easy for us players. They haven’t overloaded us with too much and allowed us to still have our freedom to play what’s in front of us, whilst giving us structures around that.”

Darry added that Rennie’s emphasis on work rate has aligned well with his own strengths as a tight forward. “I like to think that work rate is one of my strengths, so I’ve really enjoyed the challenge that Rennie and the coaches have set for us,” he said.

With a body of work now on tape from the France Test, Darry said the squad has a clear reference point to drive individual and collective improvement before the Italy fixture.