All Blacks third-in-lines potentially facing the chopping block
Round 3 of the 2019 Mitre 10 Cup kicked off on Thursday night with a repeat of one of last year’s Championship semi-finals.
Hawke’s Bay hosted Otago in Napier and of particular interest was the presence of two peripheral All Blacks.
Brad Weber lined up at halfback for the Magpies whilst Liam Coltman packed down at hooker for the Razorbacks.
Both players are third-in-line for the All Blacks in their respective positions and both will be on edge waiting to hear if they get the call up for the World Cup squad which will be named on Wednesday.
Weber made his test debut against Samoa in 2015 but had to wait four years for his second match. The diminutive scrumhalf found himself down the pecking order over the last few years but fought his way back into the squad courtesy of an exceptional season for the Chiefs in Super Rugby.
His form saw him elevated ahead of Chiefs teammate Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi.
It’s a similar story for Coltman, who has been in and out of the national squad since he was first called up in 2016, accruing four caps since his debut. Coltman had a strong year for the Highlanders which saw him named as one of the four hookers in the first All Blacks squad of the year – alongside regulars Codie Taylor and Dane Coles, as well as newbie Asafo Aumua.
Coltman and Aumua had evidently performed well enough throughout the Super Rugby season to leapfrog incumbent Nathan Harris.
All three of those players have struggled with their lineout throwing at times but Coltman’s strength at the breakdown was likely what has earned him a spot in this year’s squad to date.
The All Blacks have taken three hookers and three halfbacks to the last four World Cups but that could change in 2019. In each of the past four tournaments, the back-up hookers and halfbacks have been fairly obvious picks (or at least were proven performers on the international stage). That’s not the case in 2019 and the back-ups could find their World Cup dreams cut short come Wednesday.
With Weber and Coltman both running out on Thursday night, they had one last opportunity to show that they’re on form and ready to perform should they be called up for the showcase tournament.
It’s fair to say that Weber made the most of his chances whereas Coltman may have put the final nail in his coffin.
Hawke’s Bay jumped out to an early lead thanks to a try to their own hooker, Ash Dixon. Dixon and Coltman have job-shared at the Highlanders for a number of years and the Hawke’s Bay captain was parked at the back of the maul to successfully finish off a lineout drive.
It didn’t take long for Otago to fight back, however, with left wing Jona Nareki dancing over from close range. Nareki is rumoured to have signed with the Highlanders for next year, with the likes of outside backs Ben Smith, Waisake Naholo and Matt Faddes all heading overseas.
Just when Otago looked to be getting the upper hand, courtesy of a yellow card to Magpies first five Lincoln McClutchie, it was Hawke’s Bay who somehow found themselves dotting down once more through Tom Parsons. Coltman threw into the Otago lineout just metres from their own try line but the ball instead found Brad Weber. A few phases later, Parsons was shoved over for the score.
That was to be the final scoring act of the first half – but Coltman made his presence felt at the breakdowns in the lead up to half time, with the Otago rake both winning and conceding penalties.
Hawke’s Bay took control of the game in the second half, building a handy 29-7 lead on the back of tries to McClutchie and Weber. The Razorbacks added some respectability to the score thanks to experienced backs Josh Ioane and Michael Collins – but it all came too late.
The events of the Magpies’ 29-21 win likely won’t have swayed the All Blacks selectors’ decisions – but seeing Coltman make a costly mistake throwing into the lineout won’t have done him any favours. Is he consistent enough a player to be trusted in the knockout rounds of the World Cup?
We’ll know soon enough if Weber and Coltman are in the selectors’ plans for the World Cup, which is now less than a month away. It will be an incredibly nervous wait for the pair – don’t be surprised if one or both miss out on selection next week.
Comments on RugbyPass
Seems to have been a bright start but it tailed off. To win the big matches you have to get used to putting your foot on the throttle and your opponent’s necks in an 80 minutes performance which is what the All Blacks were renowned for. An example in the Women’s game is England v Ireland in the 6N match played at Twickenham in April. Watch on YouTube.
1 Go to commentsBobby has been a first grade bonehead since high school. Like a true Cape Tonian, his own reflection is more important than anything else.
1 Go to commentsNo comment on the textbook red card for Ramm that was just ignored? Amazing that
4 Go to commentsThese rule changes have been implemented with good intentions, but much like every other rule change focus on isolated symptoms instead of the root cause. If you cannot croc roll, and cannot risk any head contact with a front on clear out, it is not clear how you are supposed to lawfully clear someone out who is attempting a jackal. This will backfire massively and lead to substantially more kicking. Teams will simply not want to take the ball into contact. Or it will lead to even more dangerous methods to clear players out who are over the ball. I much prefer having the set piece on a 30 second shot clock over no scrum on a short arm infringement. Resets are not a problem in themselves, but 90 second water and tactics breaks before every scrum are a big problem. Trainers constantly coming on to the field to help players pull their socks up and delaying the game are a problem. DuPont law was a blight on the game and should have been changed the day after it was first implemented.
79 Go to commentsAh yes, the opinion of Andy Goode… Andy Goode, the man who knows what some of the Irish players said to Eben Etzebeth after the QF, better than what Eben himself knows. And, judging by this piece, the Grandmaster of clichés.
2 Go to commentsI think this is a fair view. As a South African I am concerned about the depowering of the scrum but let’s be honest, until the SA vs FRA quarter many people didn’t even know you could take a scrum from a free kick. As you say it’s going to come down to interpretation… until then we don’t really know how this is going to impact the game. That would lead to my own objection. Do the unknowns of changing a law outweigh the cons of said law. With such an obscure law that most people had never heard of, one that had never really had an impact on the game in the first place is it worth changing to invite so much uncertainty. Better the devil you know then the devil you don’t as it were…
2 Go to comments162 comments so far and counting. i didn't realize that rugby fans are on the way to join the football brothers. what is the point to share personal opinion only to get all this shi*? it seems IRB bosses are doing the great job by killing the spirit of the game both on and outside the pitch. too sad, indeed. btw, was there anything on eben’s point of view from the boys in green, who he mentioned?
164 Go to commentsJob done guys. Great win in a game where things can quickly go wrong.
1 Go to commentsAlex Sanderson fantastic coach and person .So pleased he has signed another contract great days ahead for Sale under his leadership.
1 Go to commentsAndy Goode cant kick to 12
164 Go to commentsDoxed himself. Great work Johnny. You are well suited to the Saders
1 Go to comments_Best game players _
1 Go to commentsWho's Jarrad Hohepa?
1 Go to commentsSo let me get this straight. Say you have the dominant scrum. You are 99% sure you can go for a scrum pushover try on the line to win the game. The opposition knows it too. They give away a silly tap kick instead. You are now not allowed to scrum. This is ridiculous! *%@ing the game up as usual! The fact that the attacking teams are not allowed to scrum from a held up over the line is just as ridiculous. Really world rugby? Careful people might start a rebel league called True Rugby or Real Rugby.
79 Go to comments12 subs during a game? How has that been allowed to happen NB? I hate when the game goes in this monopolistic direction closing up shop, it just becomes non sport. Btw have you seen anything of how Liam Coltman was tracking for Lyon? He has just signed to return to Otago though we have a couple of young hookers developing here. He was a popular gentle natured character down here and I’m glad to see him back but maybe he will be a mentor primarily?
12 Go to commentsGreat breakdown and the global politics always confuses me a little. The southern hemisphere seems to be left out a bit but I wouldn’t even know where to start with fixing it. Club challenge could be a step in the right direction
12 Go to commentsSince he coached Free state, from that time onwards, I maintained he was the coach for the Boks. A nice, no nonsense guy with an excellent brain, who gets results.
11 Go to commentswell - they only played against 14 men and had the TMO team on their side - and still should have lost… so actually that makes sense.
35 Go to commentsSouthern hemisphere Rugby is exactly that, boring. Northern Hemisphere Rugby is soooo much more entertaining and better with better players.
2 Go to commentsIf he was to be cited for a dangerous behavior, then it’s natural that he should be. Then NTamack too, yes? And I’ll add a good whataboutism - Yeandle eye-gouging on Richie Arnold: not cited. Eye-gouging. Not high tackle. Eye-gouging. It was on French TV, with French TV directors.
5 Go to comments