All Blacks coach Ian Foster believes the absence of South Africa's physically imposing teams from Super Rugby has had a negative impact on the New Zealand team.
South African sides have not played in the competition since before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and Foster says their absence is being felt.
"I think we've definitely missed playing South Africa in Super Rugby, just the sheer size of the players and the fact that maybe they don't allow you to play as much rugby as you want to play," Foster tells Stuff.
Four teams from South Africa featured in the 2019 edition of Super Rugby, but the pandemic forced the cancellation of the competition in 2020.
Later that year, the South Africa Rugby Union announced the country's franchises would withdraw from Super Rugby to join the United Rugby Championship, with teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales.
For the 2021 season, five teams each from Australia and New Zealand played in Super Rugby Trans-Tasman, before a new competition - Super Rugby Pacific - was created for next year, featuring new franchises from the Pacific Islands, Moana Pasifika and Fijian Drua.
Foster also wants to make the All Blacks' end-of-season review process less judgmental.
New Zealand won 12 out of 15 tests in 2021, claiming the Rugby Championship, but lost back-to-back tests against Ireland and France to finish their northern hemisphere tour last month.
"Reviewing is a multifaceted thing and everyone will find different ways to do it," Foster says.
"For us, we do a review every week. We get used to having pretty tough conversations with each other after test matches and after training sessions.
"I think the challenge, when you review, is to make sure it doesn't turn into a judgment from one group to the other."
Reuters
