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How could the All Blacks midfield look without the injured Jack Goodhue?
Crusaders centre Jack Goodhue has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2021 rugby season with an ACL injury that he sustained in the golden point win over the Hurricanes last weekend.
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The 25-year-old was subbed off in the 21st minute after attempting to tackle Hurricanes centre Peter Umaga-Jensen. In a statement released by the Crusaders on Thursday, the severity of his injury was confirmed.
“Jack Goodhue has also had scans which have confirmed a significant knee injury, including an ACL rupture. He will require surgery, and is not expected to be available for any further rugby in 2021,” the statement read.
Goodhue will no doubt be a significant loss for the Crusaders, but the extent of his injury will also see him ruled out of international test matches later this year.
He was a regular for the All Blacks last year, starting at inside centre in five of the six matches played, so it’s unquestionably a big hole to fill for Ian Foster.
Arguably the most important selection which will determine who else can come into the midfield depends on where Anton Lienert-Brown lines up for the All Blacks.
Lienert-Brown started all but the first Bledisloe Cup test at outside centre last year, and he’d have to be considered as a frontrunner to retain that jersey.
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Let’s say he does, the All Blacks would have plenty of world class options to choose from at inside centre. For me, picking Laumape to partner Lienert-Brown would make the most sense in this situation.
On his day, he’s the most destructive centre in the country with ball-in-hand, but partner that with his improved playmaking ability, and the All Blacks may just have themselves a suitable replacement for Jack Goodhue.
Also, he’s been there and done it before at test level – starting at inside centre for the All Blacks last year, in the one match Goodhue didn’t.
Another really exciting option would see David Havili return to the All Blacks fold. Havili has started the last four matches for the Crusaders at inside centre, and he’s set to run out in the No 12 jersey there as well this weekend against the Chiefs.
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He’s been a reliable performer for the Crusaders for years now, having played a significant role in the Crusaders dynasty of Super Rugby titles.
A number of TJ Perenara's Hurricanes and All Blacks teammates have backed the halfback's potential move to the NRL.https://t.co/cqD6zVXkjP
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 16, 2021
Havili’s form probably warrants an All Blacks re-call but in which position was always going to be a point of debate. But, with Goodhue going down and with Havili’s familiarity in the No 12 jersey, it seems like this could be his time to shine.
As well as being one of the world’s best centres, Lienert-Brown has also shown in the past that he can do a job at No 12. Ian Foster and the All Blacks selectors may potentially decide that he’s the perfect replacement for Goodhue and shift him in one spot.
If Lienert-Brown were to shift to inside centre, then Rieko Ioane would certainly be in the conversation to partner him in the midfield. Ioane started the first test match of last year at No 13, with Lienert-Brown coming off the bench.
He’s started all five Blues matches at 13, and he’s set to start at centre again this weekend.
Ioane has run for 320 metres in his five matches played, which is an impressive 64 metres per match. He’s also beaten 14 defenders, made five linebreaks, and had nine try assists – the last of those stats could arguably be the most tempting for Foster.
That’s more try assists than any aforementioned player, with Laumape the closest with seven. Even then, when you compare the numbers further, Laumape has run for 130 metres, while Chiefs youngster Quinn Tupaea has run for 112, and Lienert-Brown has not even half of that (68).
Before I give my verdict for who I think should replace Jack Goodhue, I’ll put forward another two names: Leicester Fainga’anuku and Peter Umaga-Jensen.
TJ Perenara has been backed by a Wallabies legend to make a successful transition to rugby league following a shock report that the All Blacks halfback is in talks to move to the NRL. https://t.co/Z4gYbLQXgF
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 16, 2021
Fainga’anuku has been named to start at centre, directly replacing Goodhue in the Crusaders line-up. There’s no doubt that he’s an exciting talent, and many New Zealand rugby fans I’m sure, would love to see him get his chance in an All Blacks jersey.
While he’d probably still be an outside chance to replace Goodhue, he’s a chance nonetheless.
Late last month, RugbyPass’ Alex McLeod picked the Crusaders utility in a mid-season All Blacks squad. Even though he was named by McLeod as an outside back, it shows that he’s certainly the calibre of player that the All Blacks may be looking for.
Finally, Peter Umaga-Jensen, one of the standouts of Super Rugby Aotearoa last year. While it’s fair to say that he hasn’t played to the same standard that he did last year, which saw him make his test debut, he’s been in the international set-up before.
But all players considered, at this stage, the ideal replacement for Jack Goodhue in the All Blacks midfield is Rieko Ioane. Although not a direct swap, but as per the very foundations of this piece, I’d have Anton Lienert-Brown at 12 and Ioane at 13.
Both players have test experience, having been both part of wins and some forgettable losses. This level of experience is invaluable considering they’ve just lost a regular starter from last year’s test window.
While some might disagree, and potentially argue that this is a time for player development, the All Blacks can still reach those same targets by including younger, more inexperienced players in the squad.
If the All Blacks elect to go with a centre off the bench, then Laumape is the right player for the job. His impact off the bench would simply be unmatched compared to any other player on this list.
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Comments on RugbyPass
An on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
11 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to comments