Dubai: New Zealand might be on the verge of breaking the most consecutive wins record but they are still beatable, according to former All Blacks fly-half Andrew Mehrtens.
The All Blacks can equal their own record of 17 consecutive wins — held jointly with South Africa — if they beat the Springboks in their penultimate Rugby Championship clash in Durban on Saturday.
Steve Hansen’s side will then surpass the record with victory over Australia in the Bledisloe Cup in Auckland on October 22.
But speaking on the sidelines of the Emirates Airline Long Lunch at the Crowne Plaza in Dubai’s Festival City on Thursday, Mehrtens said the All Blacks weren’t invincible.
“They struggled in the second half against Argentina last weekend,” said Mehrtens, 43, who scored 967 points in 70 games for New Zealand between 1995 and 2004. “Argentina (who eventually lost 36-17) disrupted them and bore a physicality that didn’t allow the All Blacks to play their game.
“They found that tough as any side will, you’ve just got to do that for 80 minutes. Argentina wasn’t able to do that but England or a motivated South Africa at home can. If the All Blacks play well they are really hard to beat but they are still beatable. The team that will beat them is the one that can control the tempo.”
Of the record, Mehrtens, who famously missed a match-winning drop kick in New Zealand’s 1995 World Cup final defeat to South Africa, added: “All things considered, I think they probably will break the record, and I think they deserve it with the way they’ve been playing.
“The milestone isn’t something they set out to achieve it’s just a byproduct of trying to be excellent every week. I don’t think it’s something they’ll focus on for a long time, but it would be nice to knock that one off and keep going on the path they are going.
“People are saying next year’s Lions tour of New Zealand will be a walkover for the All Blacks, which I think is absolutely absurd, the Lions will have an incredible team who will be well coached,” he continued to warn. “Kiwis, as a general rule, don’t like to wax too lyrical about their team because you’re always only ever one game from your next defeat.”
Asked if this New Zealand side were better than the one that became the first to retain the World Cup last year, Mehrtens replied: “They always used to be ruthless when they saw an opportunity, but now they are probing the whole game and giving the opposition no respite.
“The All Blacks now create a weakness and then exploit it and don’t just wait for it to happen. They go through particular phases where they sense the opposition is fatiguing where they really up their game and within 10-15 minute spells score three or four tries to put the game beyond doubt. Like I say they are not invincible, they could come a cropper like any team, but they are pretty good at the moment.”
