Former All Blacks scrum-half Justin Marshall has boldly predicted that Scott Robertson’s side will dominate the sport in 2025.
New Zealand are looking to get back to the top of the rankings this year, a place they haven’t been since 2019, and Marshall reckons they have a very good chance of doing that.
They start their Test season with three matches against what will likely be a second-string France outfit before heading into the Rugby Championship.
Springboks clashes
Unlike in 2024, where the All Blacks took on the Springboks in South Africa, that doubleheader will take place in Auckland and Wellington.
Should they come through those matches unscathed, Robertson’s men head on their northern hemisphere tour, which potentially includes a match with Ireland in Chicago.
“We want the All Blacks winning every Test match, we don’t want us targeting blocks [of fixtures]. We’re not going, ‘let’s just beat South Africa, the world champions, and if we drop the odd Test match in between we don’t really care’. We want them winning them all,” Marshall told DSPN with Martin Devlin.
“It’s difficult challenges, some really big ones. Are we capable of winning every Test match? 100 per cent yes. We just need to get to the level of intensity, of skills, needed where each week we are very consistent. That’s what the good teams in the world do.
“At the moment, we’re still fluctuating, but we showed signs last year of being able to get there. If we can start off against whatever team France sends to us early in the season and start to perform, and then roll into the Rugby Championship and beat South Africa twice, then we’re on the right path.
“It’s not an easy task by any means because they are a very good, well-coached side but we are capable.
“Will we do it? Yeah, I’m going to say we will. I’m going to throw that out there. I’m going to say that, yes, the All Blacks are going to win every Test match this year.”
All Blacks great: Six Nations only behind the Rugby World Cup as the sport’s ‘pinnacle’
The All Blacks endured a mixed first year under new head coach Robertson, who was forced into a rebuilding job following the departure of some key players after the Rugby World Cup.
There were signs towards the end of 2024 that it was starting to come together, however, and they look well set for a positive 2025.
The highlight will once again be their encounters with the Springboks, while their rumoured clash with Ireland in the USA is another game Marshall is looking forward to.
Exciting matches in second half of 2025
“Obviously, that Eden Park game is going to be a belter and let’s not discount the fact we’ve got the world champions on our doorstep, and we’ve got to beat them twice,” he said.
“It’s very, very exciting to have them here.
“You’ve got the neutral venue to play Ireland. They have been a nemesis team for us, although we’ve had the wood on them over the last couple of years, beating them at the Rugby World Cup and then again last year in Dublin.
“Having that on the way through to the northern tour in Chicago again is a great advocate for rugby – to get it into the US with them going to be hosting the Rugby World Cup in the future.
“It’s a possibility for the New Zealanders to go, ‘Do you know what, it’s Ireland, they’re a good side, let’s go to Chicago and watch that game’. It’s going to be incredibly exciting.”
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/all-blacks-great-puts-his-head-on-the-block-with-bold-scott-robertson-statement-for-2025
