All Blacks coach hints at selection changes for second Fiji test
All Blacks assistant coach Brad Mooar has hinted that another upheaval of players could be in the offing for a third straight week ahead of this Saturday’s clash with Fiji in Hamilton.
The All Blacks have relocated to the Waikato’s main centre after posting a 57-23 win over Fiji in Dunedin – a match where the scoreline didn’t accurately reflect how hard the hosts had to fight to ensure they emerged victorious.
Nullified by Fiji’s physicality and tenacity at the breakdown, the All Blacks never really managed to get themselves out of their opponents’ sights until the final quarter of an hour.
Leading by only eight points with 15 minutes to play, the New Zealanders had to rely on their bench to blow the score out as reserve hooker Dane Coles crossed for four tries, while prolific reserve wing Will Jordan added one of his own late in the match.
Those tries gave the All Blacks a flattering winning margin as the Fijians wilted due to their lack of preparation that came as a result of quarantine restrictions upon their arrival into New Zealand from all corners of the globe.
Fiji’s less-than-ideal build-up to the first of their two tests against the All Blacks makes their competitiveness against the world’s second-ranked all the more admirable, and Mooar suggested that could necessitate changes for this week’s re-match.
“For us, as coaches, it’s great that a number of guys who haven’t played for a while have now had a game and we’ve worked the whole squad into putting the jersey on – all those who have been available,” Mooar told media on Sunday.
“I don’t know what the plans are around that, we’ll know in due course, but what I see is an excess of 30 guys ready to put the jersey on and go hard this week, so competition for places is outstanding.”
Mooar’s comments come after the All Blacks made a whopping 13 alterations to their starting side to face Fiji after they demolished Tonga 102-0 in Auckland the week beforehand.
A further six changes were made on the bench, and a similar level of rotation is expected for New Zealand’s final match of the July test window at FMG Stadium Waikato this weekend.
Other members of the All Blacks’ coaching staff – Ian Foster, John Plumtree and Scott McLeod – have all indicated in recent weeks that the tests against Tonga and Fiji have been used to give their players opportunities to state their cases for inclusion in the opening Bledisloe Cup clash on August 7.
All but three players – Anton Lienert-Brown, Ardie Savea and Tupou Vaa’i – in the original 36-man squad have since taken to the field as the coaches and selectors have held true on their promise of handing out game time.
An injury to Karl Tu’inukuafe means Aidan Ross has been added to the #AllBlacks squad for their final test against Fiji. Despite having to dig deep into their propping stocks, NZ are still looking strong in the No 1 jersey. #NZLvFIJ
?? Tom Vinicombehttps://t.co/GchgcS10YY
— The XV Rugby (@TheXV) July 12, 2021
Lienert-Brown (elbow) and Savea (knee) have been unavailable thus far due to their respective injuries, but Mooar said both players are likely to feature this week, as is Vaa’i, who has been eased into action following his Super Rugby season.
“Alby [Lienert-Brown], Ardie and Tupou are really tracking superbly and they’ve taken more and more part of training as the week’s gone on, so it’ll be good to see them start to put more into it as well as we build the week,” Mooar said.
The news isn’t so promising for five-test flanker Dalton Papalii, who is continuing to work through a calf strain sustained in the win over Tonga and is likely to miss the second Fiji test after sitting out the first clash at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Papalii’s Blues teammate and loosehead prop Karl Tu’inukuafe, meanwhile, has picked up a shoulder injury, which has paved the way for uncapped Chiefs prop Aidan Ross to come into the squad as injury cover.
“We’ve obviously got Karl, who’s got a slight left shoulder issue, so he’s going to stay with us and work through the week and Aidan Ross comes in, so that’s pretty exciting for him. Magnificent to see another guy come in and get a taste of it,” Mooar said.
Of those who took to the field against Fiji in Dunedin, reserve playmaker Damian McKenzie is the only injury concern after he dislocated a finger, something of which Mooar managed to make light of.
Fiji’s impressive performance has sparked the discussion over where they should be playing. #NZLvFIJ https://t.co/ESyHa7lYKf
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 11, 2021
“He had a stubborn dislocation on his ring finger, which probably explains why he hasn’t managed to put a ring on it yet,” Mooar joked.
“It looked a bit nasty, but he went off and had it dealt with at the hospital and there’s no break in it, which is superb, so it’s strapped up and deals with the swelling. He’ll just have to try and keep it straight.”
That could deny McKenzie the chance to play in front of a home crowd in Hamilton on Saturday, meaning Jordie Barrett could get a second successive crack as New Zealand’s starting fullback.
Things are far less straightforward from a selection point-of-view across the rest the of the starting XV, though, as the All Blacks selectors face some tough selection decisions ahead of the Bledisloe Cup series and Rugby Championship campaign.
That, Mooar said, leaves his side in a “good space” as the All Blacks aim to close out the first part of their test season with an improved effort against a spirited Fijian outfit.
“You make that many changes and still look at the team that ran out and you say, ‘Well jeez, that’s a top-line side’, so we’re in a pretty good space there.”
Comments on RugbyPass
This looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to commentsIt’s the massive value he brings with regard team culture/values, preparation, etc. Can’t buy that. I’m hoping to see the young locks get their chance in the big games though.
10 Go to comments