'He's got a huge opportunity': The All Blacks midfielder with the most to gain
With Ngani Laumape heading to France, Jack Goodhue sidelined for the season and Anton Lienert-Brown on the mend from minor surgery, the All Blacks have four options available to fill the midfield in the opening tests of 2021.
After a three-year absence from the national side, David Havili’s undeniable form at No 12 for the Crusaders has seen him return to the fold alongside his recent midfield partner, Braydon Ennor.
Meanwhile, Rieko Ioane has continued to advance his career in the No 13 jersey for the Blues after making a name for himself on the left wing.
That leaves 22-year-old Quinn Tupaea, perhaps the most surprising pick in the All Blacks squad that was named on Monday evening.
Tupaea, while he’s played at outside centre at various points throughout his young career, has looked at home at second five-eighth for the Chiefs this year and forged a strong combination with Lienert-Brown.
He’s also the only through-and-through No 12 in the squad, alongside Havili, with that pair likely to share minutes at inside centre against Tonga and Fiji.
Ennor and Ioane – who are both capable wingers – will likely go to battle for the No 13 jersey.
While still just a young man, Tupaea has been a standout during Super Rugby this season but was initially named in the Maori All Blacks squad for their upcoming series with Samoa. That understandably led many to assume that he wouldn’t be called up to the national squad – given that other eligible players like Akira Ioane and Tyrel Lomax were omitted from the Maori team due to their All Blacks commitments.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Aotearoa Rugby Pod, former All Black James Parsons has suggested that while Tupaea’s selection may have been a bit of a surprise due to his inclusion in the Maori team, the midfielder’s performances throughout 2021 speak for themselves.
“I don’t think there are bolters as such, anymore,” Parsons said. “I think he’s caught a lot of people by surprise. I’ll be honest, it’s not that you were expecting him to be picked but you’re not shocked that he’s going to be an All Black either. I think we always knew he was going to be an All Black.”
"When the #AllBlacks squad is properly dissected, its flexibility and versatility becomes obvious … But what’s maybe not so apparent is that there is a toughness about this team that was maybe not there last year."
?? Gregor Paulhttps://t.co/qndLi6abeY
— The XV Rugby (@TheXV) June 23, 2021
After making the shift to No 12 for the Chiefs in the early stages of 2021, having spent much of last year with 13 on his back, Tupaea was sidelined with an MCL for the middle part of the campaign. He came back with a vengeance in the final rounds of Super Rugby Trans-Tasman, however, to finish the season in solid form against the Australian sides.
“We spoke in depth during Super Rugby Aotearoa about how impressive he was,” Parsons said. “I’ve always been a big fan of his.
“He got that injury just as he was starting to have great success in Aotearaoa and then Alex Nankivell stepped up massively for the Chiefs. Then [Tupaea] came back and I think that performance against the Rebels was outstanding and then he backed it up against the Waratahs the following week. I suppose those sort of performances nailed down [a spot]. He only had three games in Trans-Tasman but statistically, he was off the charts.
“He was involved heavily and his skillset is right up there. He isn’t the complete package yet, probably doesn’t have that kicking game. But in terms of his attacking game with ball in hand and his physicality in defence, and also his physicality and willingness to want to clean rucks, and all those sorts of little extra effort areas.
“The uncoachable stuff that’s either in you or it’s not, he’s high in. You know that when he gets in an environment like the All Blacks, his game’s only going to go from strength to strength.”
Parsons didn’t necessarily advocate for Tupaea to be rushed straight into the starting jersey, however, and co-panellist Bryn Hall had plenty of positive things to say about his Crusaders teammates Havili and Ennor.
The All Blacks' midfield will look very different to the one that lined up last year. #AllBlacks https://t.co/XXaWkpoE9O
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 22, 2021
“[Ennor] came back from a pretty devastating injury in that North v South last year and worked really, really hard in the off-season,” Hall said. “Full credit to our physio staff getting him back to where he needed to be because he actually ended up becoming a better player with [high] scores in strength, power and speed – which were already off the charts before he did his ACL.
“He did really well to get back in the Trans-Tasman and got a few good games under his belt. I think the fact that he is an out and out centre is probably a good position for him, especially in that environment. You’ve got a lot of those players, Anton, Quin, can alter between 12 and 13 whereas Braydon’s an out and out 13.
“Davey, he’s probably the form 12 in the comp – especially in New Zealand, that’s my belief. You wouldn’t be surprised to see him getting the first crack in the first game.”
On a previous episode of the Aotearoa Rugby Pod, former Wallabies prop and current analyst Ben Darwin spoke of the importance cohesion plays when selecting a team – which might point to All Blacks coach Ian Foster employing a midfield of Havili and Ennor, given they’ve played together for the Crusaders and could be operating outside another Crusader in the form of first five Richie Mo’unga.
“With Richie there, you’d have to think that 10, 12 combination, they’ll look to give that a run first and foremost,” Parsons said. “But honestly, I think Quin Tupaea, give him an opportunity. If he can deliver that sort of performance that we saw against the Rebels, he’s got a huge opportunity to almost stamp his mark and hold a position in this All Blacks squad for a long time.”
The All Blacks kick off their 2021 campaign with a game against Tonga on July 3 at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland.
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments