Ex-All Black left with 'two questions' over selections vs Springboks

The inaugural Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Tour is upon us, and All Blacks selectors have four games against South Africa’s URC teams to settle on their best 23 players for the four-Test series against the Springboks. However, one Kiwi pundit believes there are only two starting jerseys yet to be claimed.

With three Tests now under Dave Rennie’s belt as All Blacks head coach, he and his selectors have fielded 33 players, with just Kyle Preston, Simon Parker and Beauden Barrett the squad members left out during the July slate.

There have been nine players who have started all three games: Ethan de Groot, Codie Taylor, Luke Jacobson, Ardie Savea, Cam Roigard, Ruben Love, Jordie Barrett, Will Jordan and Damian McKenzie. The other 24 players have been given more brief opportunities to stake their claim on one of the remaining six starting roles or eight bench spaces.

Following the selection changes across the three Tests, ex-All Blacks hooker James Parsons has been left with “two questions”, which he addressed when asked about the selection puzzle on this week’s episode of the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.

“I’ve got two questions. Centre: I thought Quinn (Tupaea) was just superb, but I thought Billy (Proctor) was superb, and we know what Anton (Lienert-Brown’s) ability is as well,” Parsons said.

“I think hooker as well. That was the best 50 minutes of rugby Asafo Aumua has played. Get away from the X-factor stuff; his set piece was special. Plus that explosive carry.”

The race for the No.13 jersey has been one of the hottest topics in New Zealand this year, with Quinn Tupaea winning Super Rugby Pacific Player of the Year in the No.12 jersey, yet having limited Test experience at centre, while Billy Proctor has been a specialist centre throughout his professional career and has the advantage of his Hurricanes connections with Roigard, Love and Barrett inside him.

The claimed challenge to Taylor’s place in the starting team is new. The 35-year-old has started 76 of his 108 Tests for New Zealand and enjoyed a starting berth in every game since the 2023 Rugby World Cup began.

However, the hooker left the field just 30 minutes into New Zealand’s win over Ireland with an injury that could keep him out of the start of the South Africa tour. Asafo Aumua’s performance off the bench earned him high praise from Rennie, who labelled the Hurricanes hooker a “beast” while also complimenting the work of Samisoni Taukei’aho against Italy the week prior.

Meanwhile, the always-competitive loose forward selections have been generating plenty of debate, particularly in regard to the blindside flank.

“Tupou (Vaa’i) was great, but Wallace (Sititi) still has plenty to offer,” Parsons added. “But Wallace was great off the bench against the French… these Springbok Tests are going to be won at high tempo in that last 20.

“Seven and eight are locked in in my head. The coaches have been very clear: Jacobson’s the seven and Ardie’s the skipper, so he’s going to be at eight.

“You can’t underestimate Wallace’s lineout ability. I don’t want to underplay that; he has got a very powerful jump, and he can get in the air. But off the back of what we saw (against Ireland) in terms of the impact (Anton) Segner and (Peter) Lakai made, having two loosies on the bench, we might see a 6/2 (split), with another lock on that bench.

“Back to my original point, I think it is clear it is going to be Wallace or Tupou Vaa’i at six. I think it’s strategy: going into the Boks, you can expect to see Tupou Vaa’i more often than not.”