AB regression since 2015

The 2015 AB team

1. Joe Moody

2. Dane Coles

3. Owen Franks

4. Brodie Retallick

5. Sam Whitelock

6. Jerome Kaino

7. Richie McCaw (C)

8. Kieran Read

9. Aaron Smith 

10. Dan Carter

11. Julian Savea

12. Ma'a Nonu

13. Conrad Smith

14. Nehe Milner-Skudder

15. Ben Smith

16. Keven Mealamu

17. Ben Franks

18. Charlie Faumuina

19. Victor Vito

20. Sam Cane

21. Tawera Kerr-Barlow

22. Beauden Barrett

23. Sonny Bill-Williams

    
    

    Where is the 2024 team better?  Certainly not the bench. Among the starters maybe Jordan is better than Milner-Skudder. That’s it.

    
    

    Among the forwards maybe Williams is better than Moody and I would take Savea over Read. So perhaps in 3 positions the 2024 team is better….overall bench and starters the 2015 team is way better. Ten points better with massive advantages at half back, center and lock.

    
    

    The implication is obvious.

    
    

    
    

I am not looking at career differnces and only looked at the6 eams that actually played in the semi-against the AB's in the semi-final - whle bearing in mind we had a bad coach in 2015 in Meyer and there was a non-esxistent game plan as well - while most of te 2015 was made up of have beens and never have beens.     

One has to look only at the comparison between the 2015 Springboks and the 2024 team against the AB's in the first test anyway.   

I highlighted the better players 

15     Le Rouz vs Fassie 

14     Pietersen  vs   Arendse

13     Kriel

14     De Allende

11     Habana  vs   Kolbe

10     Pollard   vs   Feinberg/Mngomezulu

9       Van Heerden vs   Williams

8      Vermeulen  vs  Wiese

7      Burger  vs   Du Toit

6      Fourie   vs   Kolisi

5      De Jager   vs  Nortje

4      Etzebeth

3      Malherbe

2      Du Plessis vs  Mbonambi

1       Beast vs  Nche

16     Strauss vs   Marx

17     Nyakane  vs   Steenekamp

18     Du Plessis vs Koch

19     Matfield  vs  Nortje

20     Alberts    vs  Smith

21    Pienar  vs  Reinach

22    Lambie  vs   Pollard

23    Serfotein  vs  Nobody 

So the 2024 team as a whole was vastly better than the 2015 one anyway.    The Springboks in 2015 had a failed coach with no game plan  and now they have a star one in 2024. 

Dave you are utterly delusional if you think this AB side is in any way shape or form equal to that of the Carter-era. Next you'll probably be telling us that Australia now is not any worse than the Mortlock/Larkham era, other team s have just gotten better.

The All Black pack has declined for some time, but the backline remains good. The backs don't look as good, playing behind a pack that has often been beaten,

Towards the end of the Hansen era, cracks appeared. When Retalick was injured, the All-Black pack was not great Then when Whitelock got older, his form declined as well.
Barret at 10 was winning games for the All Blacks, where their forwards were well beaten.

They need some new locks ASAP. However, they did almost beat the Boks at Elis Park. 
Perhaps the conditions at Newlands will suit them, but the All Blacks play well on the highveld, which is better than other test teams.

The other teams have improved, but the All Blacks are not back to where they were - and may not do so until some new locks - 1-2 new props are found

SB

The AB's have a resources problem - nothing else.   The Woke culture remove cmpeititve sport and perormance levels ddecline.   In SA wth use of all race groups the resources have multiplied and is now better than anytime in the past.     

The AB's has a problem - since the demise of Super Rugby - they are shprt  funding to remunerate their players and good payers rather play in the 6 nations countries and Japan resulting in the decline of resources.   The answer for the AB's may be for them to include NZ players  in foreign countries in the AB team like SA, Australia and Argentina s already doing.         /