Have the All Blacks lost their aura? New Zealand are not in terminal decline but their international rivals are right to sense a chance to upset them, writes ALEX BYWATER

When England suffered a series defeat to New Zealand last month, Steve Borthwick seemed optimistic after two narrow defeats by a cumulative margin of just eight points.

Despite the coach’s positive attitude, you got the feeling his team missed a big opportunity to make a statement against the All Blacks, who are used to being unbeatable on home soil.

That sense of missed opportunity was only heightened last Saturday when Argentina did what England could not: beat New Zealand in a famous 38-30 victory in Wellington.

“They realise they’re in a cycle and this is the start of it,” former All Blacks captain Sean Fitzpatrick told Mail Sport of his country’s 2024 class.

“They’ve got a tough season ahead of them. I think it’s a case of the All Blacks finding out where they are.”

Argentina handed the All Blacks a rare home defeat on Saturday with a 38-30 victory

After watching Los Pumas win, England should feel they missed a big opportunity in July

Any defeat for New Zealand always leads to a degree of soul-searching in the Land of the Long White Cloud, largely because the team is used to being the perennially dominant force in international rugby. Only a fool would ever write off the All Blacks entirely.

And yet it seems clear they are more vulnerable now than in previous years as they enter a new era under enigmatic new coach Scott ‘Razor’ Robertson.

England should have beaten New Zealand twice. Opponents are watching the All Blacks at the moment, thinking they can be beaten. Such sentiment was hard to find before.

“The All Blacks will be very disappointed with the way they performed last Saturday. The Argentinians didn’t let them get the better of them,” Fitzpatrick said.

“I do believe the team will succeed under Razor. He has set himself a very, very tough target. Of course he had to play in the Rugby Championship. But he didn’t have to come to the UK at the end of his first season and play Japan on the way up and then England, Ireland, France and Italy this autumn.

“That’s a really tough series of games. But Razor wants to learn more about his team. He challenges the players and the coaches and I think they’ll be a lot better at the end of the year.”

Now without the likes of Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick and Aaron Smith, who have been mainstays of their team for so many years, New Zealand are looking to bring in a new generation of players at the start of a new four-year cycle. They are far from alone in this, but the teething problems were there for all to see.

New Zealand are at the dawn of a new era with coach Scott ‘Razor’ Robertson leading the way

Legends like Sam Whitelock are no longer in the team as they bring in new talent

Former All Black Israel Dagg described his old team’s exit strategy against Argentina as ‘appalling’ and ‘horrible’.

Scott Barrett, currently injured, has taken over as captain, but two more experienced men, former captain Sam Cane and TJ Perenara, have decided to leave for lucrative Japanese moves.

New Zealand has a similar policy to England, where players must represent club teams in their home country in order to play for the national team. They have become accustomed to stars leaving.

Star player Will Jordan admitted: ‘It’s a challenge when you come together as a new group.’

All Blacks star Will Jordan has admitted new groups pose a challenge as they mesh together

The All Blacks are unlikely to panic. The last two times they lost to Argentina, they still won the Rugby Championship – the southern hemisphere equivalent of the Six Nations, which also features South Africa and Australia. There can be no doubting Robertson’s credentials, either, given his extraordinary performances with the Crusaders.

But with back-to-back world champions South Africa still to come and a gruelling European tour to follow, further defeats are more than possible. England will be looking for revenge on home soil in November. So will the All Blacks when they host Argentina again tomorrow (SAT) morning at Eden Park – a venue they have not lost at since 1994.

Although he is due to leave for the Far East soon, Robertson has brought Cane back to take on the Pumas this weekend.

Cane’s previous Test appearance resulted in him being sent off in the 2023 World Cup final, which he lost to South Africa.

New Zealand will be looking to take revenge for their loss to Argentina in their second Test in Auckland

They will be looking to maintain their 30-year unbeaten run at Eden Park when Los Pumas come to town

New Zealand has bigger problems too.

Their Under-20 team is not as dominant as it used to be. In fact, they haven’t won the Junior World Cup since 2017, suggesting their player pipeline is no longer producing the level of talent it once did. There are problems at grassroots level, and financial problems too.

Rugby worldwide is suffering from a financial crisis and New Zealand is certainly feeling it. They sold a stake of between five and ten percent to private financiers Silver Lake for £93 million in 2022. Sources in New Zealand have suggested their governing body will have burned through that money by 2031.

So, while New Zealand are far from being in a terminal phase, all is not rosy in the All Blacks’ garden. Their international rivals rightly smell an opportunity to upset them.

It is an advantage that they must now try to exploit.