All Blacks greats predict team selection for clash against USA
All Blacks greats Sir John Kirwan and Mils Muliaina have predicted which players will feature for New Zealand against the USA Eagles this weekend.
The All Blacks will begin their tour of the United States and Europe in Washington DC on Saturday [local time] as they face the tier two Americans who head into this match on the back of a World Cup qualifier defeat at the hands of Uruguay.
The USA’s loss to their South American rivals emphasises the gulf in class between them and the All Blacks, who are fresh from their Rugby Championship success in Australia.
Such disparity between the two teams has left many anticipating a rout from the travelling Kiwis, who may look at this fixture as a chance to blood young and inexperienced players while also giving returning veterans a chance to get back into test rugby.
All Blacks head coach Ian Foster has already indicated he will use the fixture to reintroduce captain Sam Cane and experienced hooker Dane Coles into the mix after lengthy injury lay-offs.
Cane and Coles are two of five players – including seasoned lock Sam Whitelock, loose forward Shannon Frizell and uncapped second rower Josh Lord – who travelled to the American capital a few days earlier than the rest of the Australian-based squad.
All five players missed the Rugby Championship for a variety of reasons and instead trained, played and recuperated in New Zealand until being called upon for the end-of-year tour.
It is expected most, if not all, of those five players will feature at FedEx Field in five days’ time alongside a number of other players who have been starved of game time in recent weeks.
However, speaking on The Breakdown on Monday, Muliaina said he was unsure about the selection of Lord, the 20-year-old who was plucked from obscurity to replace locks Scott Barrett and Patrick Tuipulotu in the touring squad.
Both players returned to New Zealand following the Rugby Championship after obtaining MIQ spots, leaving Foster to turn to Lord, who only has five Super Rugby matches with the Chiefs to his name.
Despite the attention surrounding him and whether he will make his test debut for the All Blacks, Muliaina said he believes Foster has only taken Lord on this tour to garner off-field experience.
Instead, Muliaina, the former All Blacks captain who played 100 tests for New Zealand, said he would prefer to see the team’s returning veterans such as Cane, Coles and Whitelock get some game time against the United States.
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“I’m not sure about Josh Lord,” the 2011 World Cup winner told The Breakdown.
“I think he might just be there for a bigger experience in terms of the whole culture, the whole environment, but, when you look at those experienced guys, that’s massive getting those guys over there.
“It’s invaluable what they bring off the field, and so you roll them out there and it’s a good chance, also, for them to get a bit of game time.”
Muliaina added that the test presents a prime opportunity for Coles to overcome a persistent calf injury, which the 76-test hooker said last week had been a source of frustration as Codie Taylor, Samisoni Taukei’aho and Asafo Aumua impressed in the No 2 jersey in his absence.
The former utility back also said that the inclusion of Cane in this week’s match day squad would be beneficial in his preparation for upcoming tests against Wales, Italy, Ireland and France after more than six months without action due to a pectoral injury.
“Obviously it’s frustrating that he’s [Coles] had a calf injury and that, but a game like this can actually get your rhythm back into things,” Muliaina said.
“Sam Cane’s had a game in Heartland [Championship], he now goes back into the environment, so you get them back out there in the lead-up to what’s coming ahead of them over in Europe.”
While Kirwan agreed with much of what Muliaina said, he argued that Lord should be involved in this week’s match as he said it is unlikely he will feature at all throughout the rest of the tour.
“I agree with Milsy, I think you play everyone this week,” the 1987 World Cup-winning wing told The Breakdown.
“I think they’ll be fit enough. I also think you play the young fella [Lord] because he’s probably not going to get another game, so just get him out there, or put him on the bench, bring him on late.”
On the topic of who should start at first-five this weekend, Kirwan was of the belief that Richie Mo’unga deserves a run in the No 10 jersey following Beauden Barrett’s lengthy run of starts during the Rugby Championship.
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Mo’unga only played about a dozen minutes off the bench in New Zealand’s final Rugby Championship match against the Springboks three weeks ago after missing most of the tournament to attend the birth of his second child.
Prior to that, the 27-year-old had established himself as the starting All Blacks playmaker through his efforts in Super Rugby, the July tests and the Bledisloe Cup, but Barrett took full advantage of his absence by producing a string of captivating performances.
After heading into the Rugby Championship as the preferred first-five option, Mo’unga seemingly has his fair share of work to do if he is to solidify his place ahead of Barrett in the pecking order.
Kirwan said that positional competition can only be good for the All Blacks, noting that he would opt for Mo’unga in this week’s clash.
“There is now real competition that Foster has created, and there’s competition at 10, and they’re both different players. They’ve both got x-factor at different moments,” he said.
“With Jordie [Barrett] coming in and putting up his hand at kicking, that’s going to be a real interesting run, right? Because Mo’unga loves kicking the ball for goal, so I just think it creates the perfect scenario.
“I’d put Mo’unga out there against the States straight away, and then it’s all on.”
Furthermore, Kirwan suggested that Whitelock should be the frontrunner to captain the side this week ahead of Cane and interim skipper Ardie Savea.
Cane was named as full-time All Blacks captain last year, while Savea was appointed captain of the All Blacks for their Rugby Championship campaign when Cane, Whitelock and Aaron Smith were all left in New Zealand.
However, Whitelock has extensive experience captaining the All Blacks, having done so throughout the July tests and Bledisloe Cup earlier this year, and Kirwan said letting the 127-test lock lead the side would relieve Savea of extra repsonsibilities.
“I think Whitelock comes back into the captaincy role. I think Ardie’s done a great job, but he’ll be happy, he’ll just be freed up to play.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks, Nick, not only for this fine article, but for all the others during 6N 2024. I really enjoyed this 2024 tournament, and felt it was one of the best for many years. That final match in Lyons was really good. England were certainly unlucky when that speculative hack by Ramos lead to a French try. It could just so easily have landed in English hand.s, and they score at the other end. I did think though that the French played some great rugby, and some of their driving play in the forwards was just fearsome. I watched Meafou with interest, and he has a good start to his career. It is interesting to compare him with Will Skelton. Lot of similarities, though so far Meafou has not shown any offloading threat. All credit to Borthwick for being prepared to change, and what great result, even if that last game was lost at the death. I feel they are a real chance to cause the AB’s problems this winter/summer. Finally a comment on Ireland. I thought their last game was their worst, and they did not look like the world’s No 2 side at all. What really worries me is that the loss to England was, in my view, down to poor decision making by the coaching group, and ofc Andy Farrell wears that. It was a big mistake to move JGP away from scrum half. Murray should have been the one to go to the wing. And the “finishers” should have been on the field earlier. And this is the second time this has happened. The RWC Qf against the AB’s, and not getting Crowley onto the field was a huge mistake. Finally, finally, watching Italy play was a joy. How wonderful that they are no longer the punchbag of the 6 N.
41 Go to commentsGreat story. Rugby needs new investment in teams like Brussels another pro league in Europe would be great.
1 Go to commentsAlso, looking at the data from last year, it seemed like by far the two biggest predictors of success were (1) kicking more than your opponents, and (2) having a higher rate of line-out wins than your opponents. I haven’t gone through the stats this year with a fine tooth comb, but the increase in kicks per game and the increase in tries from lineouts would suggest that these two metrics are only getting more important. England’s move away from a kick-heavy game to win against Ireland was seen by some as evidence that running rugby is on the rise. Alternatively it could be taken as evidence that if one team kicks more, and the other team wins more lineouts (as England did) a match is bound to be close to a draw.
2 Go to commentsI have been finding it odd that points per 22 entry has become such a talked about stat, given that your points per entry can be driven down by having more entries. These data would seem to confirm that it isn’t a useful metric, or at any rate is less useful than total entries.
2 Go to commentsI think the last two games England have played is some of their best rugby they have played under Borthwick. There has been a lot more attacking instinct and as a reward have created some well worked tries. Ollie Lawrence is a good foil at 12 as he offers the hard direct lines whilst the rest of the backs can play open. As much as it pains me to say but I do hope England keep playing this way. On a side note my favourite try of the weekend was Lorenzo Pani’s for the nice loop play that put him away and his finish was excellent. Thanks as always Nick.
41 Go to commentsMost exciting player on the planet right now, worth the price of a ticket.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith and Ireland live rent free in Safa’s heads. Their comments only triggers because its true. If the Boks had dismantled a 14 man AB’s, then there would be more respect. But they didnt, in fact quite the opposite, the 14 man NZ were clearly better. And the Bok have always been ordinary between RWC’s, thats why their supporters are now ‘only RWC’s matter’. They know thats BS. Its BS to both AB’s and Bok’s due to their history. But now its all the Safas have. Now we’ll hear excuses when they lose “oh we didnt have all our players available, the ABs/France/Eng/Irel were at full strength”, forgetting for a minute that its because of their own dumb policy. Oh well, makes a change from blaming ‘cheating refs’.
23 Go to commentsNo Nick, they did not, in fact, justify any ‘probables’ label. At no time did they seriously compete for the championship. Ireland led from start to finish and in the end, as a result of glaring referee errors, were never under serious pressure to lose their crown.
41 Go to commentsMoney for him, and his family, has been the sole motivator since he signed for Queensland aged 17. Why else sign for Melbourne. Tupou is poorly advised. If he’d stayed and developed in NZ he would have had a long Test career. If Leinster offer him a few more coins than he’s currently earning, he’s goneburger.
4 Go to commentsFinn. No one would say Ford had played well up until the last game. One standout performance in 5 is hardly in form . It should be a given that a 10 will control play . Not in Fords case be praised for suddenly doing so. Where was he against Scotland ,Italy. The pundits were saying how far away from play he was standing and one even said that the Ireland game was his last chance saloon to perform . Not exactly top form catching anyones eye. If he can play like this game after game then great. Keep him in . But after 90 odd caps we all know he just doesnt keep it going . By all means keep him there but the issue is that Borthwick will persist even when he plays poorly. Which is more often than not. Thats why i am concerned that Smith ,despite fab form , cannot get a game at his preferred spot. Can you imagine Ford at full back .
5 Go to commentsI do not really get why put Ollivon at 6 when he’s a 7, while Cros was the best Frenchman of the tournament, playing at…6. His only game replacing Aldritt at 8 doesn’t change much in terms of his impact. Lamaro was also outstanding in that brilliant Italian side, probably better than Reffell. So putting 2 Welsh players from the wooden spoon holders, and none of the 4th nation (Scotland) is also strange. Is it about showing that in this harsh transition Wales is, there were some standouts…?
6 Go to commentsThe events at this year’s six nations should undermine many of the arguments made against promotion and relegation between the six nations and the REC. If Italy had been allowed to yo-yo between divisions it conceivably could have really hurt their development, but if Italy, Wales, and Scotland are all at risk of relegation, with none of them being relegated more often than once every 3 or 4 years, you’d have to back all of them to muddle on through it, especially when you factor in the likelihood they’ll still be guaranteed world league matches against tier 1 opponents. Another way of looking at italys resurgence would be to say that the development model of adding an extra team to the six nations has worked, and now must be done again. Georgia could join to make it a 7 team round robin, and if and when Georgia demonstrate an ability to consistently win games, Portugal can also be added to make it an 8 team 2 conference competition. Frankly at this point I think it falls to world rugby to demand that the 6N act in the interests of the game. If the 6N won’t commit to expansion then the 6N teams should be handicapped in world cup draws (i.e. world cup seedings would not be based on their ranking points, but on their ranking points minus a 5 point penalty).
6 Go to commentsSteve Borthwick deserves credit for releasing the shackles on his England side and letting them play in a manner that somewhat resembles the top sides in the Gallagher Premiership. Will they revert to type in New Zealand in July.?
41 Go to commentsJames Lowe wouldn't get in any other 6N team. He's a great example of Farrell’s brilliance, and the Irish system. He is slow. His footwork is poor. But he fits perfectly in that Irish system, and has a superb impact. But put him in another team, and he'll look bang average.
6 Go to commentsCrusaders reached their heights through recruitment of North Island players, often leaving those NI teams bereft of key players. Example: Scott Barrett and Sam Whitelock robbed the Canes of their lineout and AB locks. For years the Canes have struggled at lock. This rabid recruitment was iniated by rule changes by a Crusader dominated NZR Head Office. Now this aggressive recruitment has back-fired, going after young inside back Hamilton Boys stars. They now have 4 Chiefs region 10s and not one with the requisite experience at Super level. Problems of their own making!
2 Go to commentsOver rated for a long time…exposed at scrum time too.
4 Go to comments“Firing me” should have been Gatland’s answer.
2 Go to commentsFinn Russell logic: “World” = 4 countries. Ireland may be at or near the top. FR’s bigger concern should be he and his fellow Scots (incl. the Bloemfontein ones) sliding back down to below top 10
42 Go to commentsMind games have begun. Ireland learned their lesson after saying they could beat England with 13 players or whatever. Still, if they win at Loftus, that would be impressive - final frontier etc.
58 Go to comments$950k for a Prop that isn’t fit enough to play 10 mins of rugby? Surely there is someone better to replace Big Mike with
4 Go to comments