Scott Barrett warns All Blacks they must push harder after 3-1 Springboks series defeat

Scott Barrett has broken his silence on the All Blacks’ 3-1 series defeat to the Springboks, admitting that watching New Zealand’s set-piece crumble from a rehabilitation couch made it easy to shout instructions — but far harder to appreciate the reality of facing South Africa’s front row.

The 89-Test lock missed the entire Super Rugby Pacific campaign with the Crusaders after suffering a bulged disc at the start of the 2026 season, and was only able to return to the field on Sunday for Taranaki against Hawke’s Bay. Speaking to Millsy & Guy on Sport Nation, Barrett was candid about the gap between armchair criticism and the physical demands of scrummaging against the world champions.

“Oh yeah, it’s really easy when you’re sitting on the couch at home, and you’re a fan. You can say, yeah, push harder, boys. But I think it’s not until you’re in that cauldron and up against the Springboks and Ox Nche and Wilco Louw, who are like walking tanks,” Barrett said. “Honestly, it’s a serious front row, and it’s a big part of their game. It sort of feeds their psyche and their DNA.”

Barrett acknowledged the damage done by the scrum penalties that gifted South Africa easy territory throughout the series, but pointed to the fourth Test as a sign of progress. “That last test was pleasing that they actually held their own in the scrum, and the game was actually a little bit more competitive,” he said. “But when you’re giving away a penalty almost every time they put the ball, it’s pretty hard to stay competitive.”

The former All Blacks captain also revealed that assistant coach Neil Barnes was far from satisfied with the pack’s set-piece performance. “I bumped into Neil Barnes in and around New Plymouth and the Taranaki Bulls, and he certainly wasn’t a happy camper with the way that the sort of pack was going in terms of the set piece at times.”

Despite the series loss — which included three Tests played away in South Africa — Barrett urged perspective, arguing the tour had genuine value in building squad depth. “That series was pretty brutal and intense: four Test matches against Africa, three away, like they’re a pretty sharp team, and tested us in areas that we need to get better in,” he said. “I think equally, there were a lot of positives that All Blacks took away from the tour with blooding new players in and probably growing in depth. I think that was something that the coaching group would have been pretty happy with, despite going down.”

Barrett added that the All Blacks would be targeting the Bledisloe Cup as the next opportunity to respond.