Former Springboks scrum-half Kevin Putt has said the All Blacks do not have the depth “to put 10 of them in at once”, after the changed side lost 35-28 to Wales.
Putt was speaking on Sky Sport NZ’s The Breakdown with James Parsons and Aaron Cruden. New Zealand play England at Twickenham on Saturday (England v New Zealand preview).
Not every absence was a choice. Will Jordan tore a hamstring against Scotland and Jordie Barrett failed a head injury assessment in the same game.
So who has to come back in for England?
Putt says rotation, not the system, cost the All Blacks
The panel put the number of changes from the previous Test at 10. Putt said that was too many in one go.
“But our depth is not good enough to put 10 of them in at once. You’ve got to have those flipping key players,” he said.
He backed the coaches’ structures and blamed the rotation. “If we put our best team out, we can beat and probably will beat anyone in the world,” Putt said. “You’re going to have to rest them, but you don’t rest them collectively.”
Head coach Dave Rennie has said the side he picked was good enough to win (Rennie on his selection).
Cruden says the All Blacks missed Will Jordan most
Asked who New Zealand missed most, Cruden picked Jordan over Cam Roigard, Damian McKenzie and Jordie Barrett.
“I’m going to go with Will Jordan, just the way the game panned out,” he said. “We know Dave Rennie and his coaching group see counter-attack as a set piece.”
Putt had made the same point earlier. “They were happy to kick long balls and not contest them because they knew we had no attacking prowess,” he said.
Wales kicked from hand 24 times to New Zealand’s 17. Assistant coach Neil Barnes said on 10 November that the All Blacks were hopeful Jordan could face England.
Parsons wants Jordie Barrett’s rush defence against England
England beat Japan 78-15 last weekend (England v Japan match report). Parsons said New Zealand cannot give them the time Japan did.
“So defensively, I know Jordie, you know, people were hard on him when he was flying out against Scotland, but he was actually forcing traffic back into the forwards,” Parsons said.
“Although that looks like a missed tackle, that defensive pressure doesn’t allow them to get to the edge,” he added.
Wales found that edge in Cardiff. Louis Rees-Zammit made four line breaks.
‘Crying in our beer’ and still top of the table
The defeat did not cost New Zealand first place. They lead the southern Nations Championship table on 22 points, one ahead of South Africa, because four tries and a seven-point margin earned two bonus points.
“We have a terrible week. We’re flipping crying in our beer as it goes along and we’re still top of the table,” Putt said.
Only the team that finishes top plays in the final at Twickenham on 29 November. Putt called Cardiff “a little bit of a road bump on the motorway”.
“We’ll be fine against England next week,” he said. “Best players on the field.”
Kevin Putt, Aaron Cruden and James Parsons were speaking on The Breakdown, Sky Sport NZ, on 15 November 2026. Watch the full episode.
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