Why an All Black loss this weekend would actually be a pretty good result for NZ rugby

If you’re ever going to find a time when New Zealanders will be alright with an All Black loss, this weekend will be it. No, it’s not because we’re finally growing up and accepting that there’s better things to worry about than a game of rugby – although the somewhat muted acceptance of last month’s defeat to the Wallabies may be a sign that we’re heading that way.

This weekend sees the All Blacks take on the Barbarians, a team containing 12 New Zealanders. The rest of the team is made of up South Africans, and is coached by Robbie Deans and Scott Robertson. Logically, this game should be taking place at Eden Park – but to at retain at least some of the historically Northern Hemisphere-influenced BaaBaas tradition, it’s being played at Twickenham.

Make no mistake about it: NZ Rugby has more or less co-opted the Barbarians team, just like they did last year and just like the Wallabies did last weekend. At Wembley last November, the Springboks almost found out the hard way that an invitational side full of New Zealanders isn’t a walk in the park. They were lucky to get out of the fixture with a 31-all draw, although given some of the Boks’ other results over the last couple of years a close loss probably wouldn’t have looked so bad anyway.

The Maori All Blacks will be in the UK in a week too, meaning that around 80 of NZ’s best players are all in the same place at the same time. It’s a clever move by the All Blacks, who have made no secret of the fact that they’ll be using the talent stocks available to full advantage.

So while this game, like Scotty Stevenson and Mils Muliaina said on The Short Ball, is more or less an All Black trial – so is the entire tour. There’s another game scheduled against a ‘French XV’ that will be an old school midweek tour fixture in all but name, and because of the way that the players will be geographically available it means that they didn’t have to name an extended squad to cover for it. Thanks to the Barbarians, they didn’t even have to pay for their airfares.

Out of the BaaBaa starting backline, any of George Bridge, Julian Savea, Vince Aso, Richard Buckman and Richie Mo’unga could be on the other side wearing an All Black jersey and no one would be batting an eyelid. Even starting BaaBaa halfback and captain Andy Ellis could probably do a decent job if he was called in, and reserve Mitch Drummond is definitely in the conversation as an All Black of the future.

The All Blacks did actually lose to the Barbarians not that long ago, and that was a team stacked up with southern hemisphere players as well. That day it was Bryan Habana that did the damage, scoring a hattrick. Ironically, on the other wing was recently dropped All Black Joe Rokocoko – just like the position Julian Savea now finds himself in.

The last proper All Black trial happened years ago, back when they used to call the teams the Probables and Possibles. For the record, the it was an upset – the Possibles got up 37-32 in Napier. But not too much of an upset to start alarm bells ringing among the All Black coaching staff, rather a happy reassurance of the arsenal they have at their disposal.

You’d have to think it’d be a similar feeling if the All Blacks end up on the wrong side of the scoresheet on Sunday morning. Because, as if it anyone needed any reminding, a Baabaas victory in this fixture would really highlight the depth that exists in New Zealand rugby right now.