The All Blacks‘ second-row depth has been the cause of a persistent selection headache in 2026, but a stand-out performance in Sydney’s second Bledisloe Test has left forwards coach Jason Ryan with nothing but praise for his starting duo.

Both Fabian Holland and Scott Barrett missed the entire 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season due to injuries, with Holland sustaining a shoulder injury in a pre-season hit-out and Barrett running into back trouble as he looked to return from a non-playing sabbatical in May.

But with both back on their feet in time for the Bledisloe Cup, the All Blacks were finally able to see the two workhorses in tandem in Sydney. And the coaches liked what they saw.

“I think you’d probably say that starting front row and the two locks, with Scott Barrett back in and Fabian Holland, was massive for us yesterday,” Ryan told Jason Pine on Newstalk ZB on Sunday.

“Fabian was huge, and he’s had a bit of a mixed season. He had a big injury and didn’t play Super Rugby at all. A little bit of shoulder reconstruction and a bit of work there. He’s coming back into his work.

“We know what he’s capable of. It takes time to get your confidence right and come back and get right into Test footy, but I think last night he was like, ‘yeah, I’ll take this, thanks’. And he did. We’re getting a few big bodies back up front…

“Look, I think just on Scott Barrett, I think it’s a massive reward, firstly, for what he’s done and how he’s rehabbed his body. He’s really needed it. I noticed him, and I actually said to him when he ran out at Eden Park, he just had this massive smile on his face, and it was like he said, ‘it was almost like my first game’, you know?

“There’s a bit of relief in the role that he’s got, I guess, which is natural. You’re going to feel that, and let’s just play some footy. And also, he does know now that his body is genuinely right. So, I think it’s under 12 months now from a World Cup, and we would have loved to have taken him over to South Africa, but it wasn’t to be. But we’ve still got them another couple of times yet, and potentially next year at the World Cup. So, yeah, it’s great.”

Ryan was impressed by more than just the second row, with his scrum operating at 100 per cent across the two-Test series. New Zealand’s starting front row has been relatively consistent this season, with Ethan de Groot and Codie Taylor starting when fit, while Fletcher Newell and Tyrel Lomax have shared the starting tighthead responsibilities. The bench, though, has seen more rotation.

“Those boys, they’ve learned a bit in the last wee while, to be fair, and I think that they are connecting with each other really well and scrummaging well as a unit,” Ryan added. “And we have got that bit of mobility and a little bit of power that can come on with those three.

“But we’ve got to make sure that if we do bring them on, we’ve got that balance of our game right, so that we’re not cooking them too much. And I think that will be something that we can reflect on, because I think the ball in play (time), I haven’t seen the stats yet, but I’d say it’s probably the biggest ever off the top of my head. Sometimes the ball wasn’t even touching the ground, was it? She was pretty quick.”