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How all five halfbacks vying for All Blacks spots could end up facing Ireland
Only five days remain until the first All Blacks squad of the year is unveiled, and there is no shortage of debate as to which players will make the cut in Ian Foster’s side.
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36 players are expected to be named next Monday ahead of the upcoming three-test series between the All Blacks and Ireland, but few have their places in on the squad list cemented.
That much is particularly true at halfback, where there are five genuine contenders for All Blacks selection vying for just three spots in the New Zealand national squad.
It means any two of either Aaron Smith, Finlay Christie, Brad Weber, TJ Perenara and Folau Fakatava – all of whom are considered frontrunners for inclusion in Foster’s squad – will miss out.
So tight are the margins between all of those five players that Crusaders halfback Bryn Hall struggled to separate them while picking his All Blacks squad on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
After plenty of thought and discussion, Hall told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod that it was nigh on impossible to exclude any of those players from New Zealand’s halfback contingent due to their form and various skillsets.
“I’ve been having that many headaches and we’ve had that many chats within our team, just in general with the halfbacks that you take, I just think they must have to select four,” Hall said.
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“I’m not too sure Nuggy [Aaron Smith] is out for [with his groin injury], but you’ve obviously got Nuggy, you start with Nuggy, and then you just can’t go past Finlay Christie because he’s been the form halfback and the biggest part of that Blues team with Beaudy [Beauden Barrett].
“Then you’ve got Folau who just adds something completely different, but then you’ve got Brad and TJ that are incumbents in that side and haven’t done anything to not get picked.”
However, while two of the aforementioned players are bound to be excluded from the national squad, former All Blacks hooker James Parsons outlined how all five halfbacks could still yet feature against Ireland.
Parsons told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod that the All Blacks selectors are likely to have a plan in place to get all of Smith, Christie, Weber, Perenara and Fakatava game time against the Irish, although not all of them will do so for the All Blacks.
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Instead, Parsons suggested that the All Blacks may opt to exclude Perenara and Weber in a bid to make them available for the Maori All Blacks, who will host Ireland in two mid-week matches during their tour of New Zealand.
In doing so, both players would still get to face the Irish, as would Smith, Christie and Fakatava, in what Parsons effectively described as a trial for Rugby Championship selection in August and September.
“Brad and TJ, they’re both eligible for the Maori,” Parsons, the former two-test front rower, told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
“That potentially could play against them because they know they’re going to get some rugby and it could be an all-out, who of the best three, out of this series, will get the nod for the Rugby Championship?
“I don’t know, but let’s not forget those mid-week [Maori All Blacks tests]. That’s an option to get all five out there and playing off for the three for the Rugby Championship.
“I think they’ll [the All Blacks selectors] have a plan around all five of getting them rugby, I feel, and that’s why the two tests against the Maori is crucial for a number of players, to be honest.
“I think all five are going to be factored into playing minutes. I don’t know how that looks. Do they carry an extra because of Aaron’s injury?
“Not too sure, but all five are going to get an opportunity against Ireland to stake their claim for the Rugby Championship. I think that series provides an opportunity for everyone to get out there playing.”
While Parsons’ theory has its merits, it didn’t help Hall make a final decision as to which player would accompany Smith and Christie as the third halfback in his All Blacks squad.
“If I had to make a call, I’d go – based on form – I’d go Aaron Smith, Finlay Christie, and I’m going to go Folau, but I think either TJ or Brad, if there’s a few injuries,” the Maori All Blacks representative said.
“Actually, I don’t know. I don’t know. I’m going to go Aaron Smith, and Finlay Christie, and I’m leaving the third one because I seriously can’t choose.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Wow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
1 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
1 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
16 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
16 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
4 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
3 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
16 Go to comments