Justin Marshall, a former captain of the New Zealand All Blacks, has been harsh in his criticism of the 2022 international season. The 81-cap international stated in his most recent interview that even a successful World Cup campaign in 2023 would not make up for the historic losses that were sustained throughout 2022.
Marshall was not overly encouraged by the All Blacks’ eight victories this year.
because the nature of the team’s four losses and single draw made it clear that the team was a diminishing threat to the new powerhouses of Ireland and France.
Argentina and Ireland will remember those four defeats fondly because they were their first victories on New Zealand soil. With their second victory, Ireland secured the Steinlager Series, their first series victory in All Black territory.
After losing their final two Test matches the season before, a large portion of the devoted Kiwi fanbase went into panic mode, despite the fact that the team had one of the highest win rates in sporting history. Instead, they won just two of their first six games. Marshall insisted that the All Blacks jersey’s legacy and status had deteriorated throughout the campaign, despite the fact that a year of unbeaten play may have placated some of that local audience.
Marshall stated on The Platform, “I certainly feel that that record this year is not adequate.” It does not meet All Black requirements.
Naturally, making history in a negative light never goes over well. The jersey has been damaged by our first-ever home loss to Ireland in a Test series and our first-ever home loss to Argentina in a Test match.
Marshall expressed disapproval of New Zealand Rugby’s conservatism in their coaching selection.
and their subsequent retention of Ian Foster despite the criticism and poor results, despite the difficulty of the decision.
The former halfback reflected on the 2019 Rugby World Cup, stating that he “certainly saw the writing on the wall” regarding the coaching setup’s need for a refresh. However, he also cited the players’ overwhelming support for Foster following the South Africa Tests as evidence that the support for Foster was also significant.
As his co-commentator Grant Nisbett had done a few days earlier, Marshall was asked to rate the season on a scale of one to ten. Nisbett had given the team a score of 6.5.
Marshall went on to say, “The disappointment with the draw against England.” One of their worst years in the last decade, if you ask me, and a lot of inconsistency as well; they struggled against Japan and Scotland for long periods. Dropping a Test match comfortably to South Africa in South Africa. Although they won, it wasn’t exactly a cakewalk when you look at the small details.
“I’m only going to give them a six,” I said. They had some success, and they still managed to win some of those Test matches, but it didn’t give me a lot of hope or confidence that we will be in great shape and a real threat to the teams at the top of World Rugby right now when we go to the Rugby World Cup.
“We’re assured of our starting XV, for anyone feeling super confident about the team going into next year and saying, “We are finally through that little lull, we are actually firing on all cylinders now,” are we? I do not believe so.