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All Blacks' exclusions spark fan debate about New Zealand's strength in depth

By Josh Raisey
All Black coach Steve Hansen (centre) assistant coach Ian Foster (left) and selector Grant Fox reveal the All Blacks 2019 Championship squad at Ponsonby Rugby Club (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Steve Hansen has named his All Blacks squad for the first two games of the Rugby Championship, with six uncapped players being selected. 

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Chiefs duo Atu Moli and Luke Jacobson, Hurricanes hooker Asafo Aumua, Highlanders fly-half Josh Ioane and Crusaders outside backs Braydon Ennor and Sevu Reece are the six uncapped players, with Reece opting to play for the All Blacks over Fiji. 

Inevitably with a squad like this, there will be some names that are missing, and many fans have taken to social media to question some exclusions. 

However, what is most alarming is the sheer volume of high-class stars that fans feel should be in the squad but have missed out. This is not necessarily because there is someone that does not belong in the squad. It’s simply that there are many players that are worthy of being internationals that are missing out. 

For a long time, Blues fans have campaigned for loose forward Akira Ioane to play for the All Blacks, and while he has been in and out of training squads, he is yet to be capped. 

On the other end of the spectrum is his team-mate and double World Cup winner Ma’a Nonu, who has thrown himself back into contention this season. The fact that these two have not been included has surprised some fans. 

With the addition of Ennor and Reece, as well as the Crusaders’ one-cap George Bridge, a number of outside backs have missed out. The Highlanders’ Waisake Naholo is one big-name omission that has shocked some, as well as five-cap David Havili, who has been imperious for the Crusaders all season. 

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Likewise, the Hurricanes’ powerful winger Ben Lam and his teammate Wes Goosen are more names that many fans thought were in with a shout. This is what the fans have said: 

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While some fans may be dismissing the chances of the excluded players of making the World Cup, this is only the squad for the matches against Argentina and South Africa in the Rugby Championship. 

The squad that will travel to Japan later this year is likely to see returning stars Ryan Crotty, Scott Barrett and Liam Squire, who continues his comeback after a long term injury, to name a few.

However, the most noticeable thing is the overwhelming strength in depth that the All Blacks have based on this litany of stars that have been overlooked. 

A competitive international squad could easily be formed of the players that are not selected, which is an indication of how dominant the All Blacks are in world rugby. Hansen has clearly had a tough job on his hands choosing this squad, and it will only get harder for him. 

WATCH: Part one of the two-part RugbyPass documentary on the many adventures that fans can expect to experience in Japan at this year’s World Cup

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Jon 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 12 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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