1
All Blacks surprise with two new midfield options
Many fans expected to get a look at one new midfield option for the All Blacks on Saturday night. Few realised they’d get a glance at a second.
ADVERTISEMENT
While Quinn Tupaea was somewhat of an unexpected call-up to the New Zealand national side, being whisked away from the Maori All Blacks, the 22-year-old was immediately thrust into action by the selectors and was named in the No 12 jersey for Saturday night’s test with Tonga.
The Chiefs midfielder looked relatively comfortable outside Richie Mo’unga and formed a strong partnership with regular All Blacks Rieko Ioane. His carrying game was strong, his passing was accurate and his decision-making was mature – choosing to hold onto the ball instead of throwing the miracle offload that can so often be utilised by excited, inexperienced players.
Following the match, Ian Foster said was pleased with the performance of the young midfielder, as well as the other three All Blacks debutants – but also pointed out that Tupaea had learnt some harsh lessons on the field against a Tongan team that were more than welcoming of players running directly at them.
“I thought that the four guys who played their first test should be pretty proud of what they did,” Foster said.
“[Tupaea] got smacked early, I think he realised after 10 minutes that maybe it might be better to go for a weak shoulder than t-bone. But he stayed in the game.”
Tupaea is one of just two players in the squad to have regularly played in the inside centre role throughout Super Rugby this year. The other is Crusaders utility David Havili, who wasn’t able to train fully during the week which made it an easy decision for Foster to hand Tupaea his test debut.
ADVERTISEMENT
Havili, however, will be fit and firing ahead of next weekend’s game against Fiji and is expected to be named at No 12 for the match. With one final game in the July series, Havili will have to put in a confident performance to prevent Tupaea from taking back the jersey for the last match against Fiji.
That’s assuming, of course, that Foster doesn’t make a more left-field call on the second five-eighth role.
Anton Lienert-Brown, who’s currently recovering from minor surgery, has regularly featured at No 12 for the All Blacks in the past but does look more at home at outside centre.
The #AllBlacks have a slew of fullback options at their disposal but they're not so blessed in the midfield. Could the selectors kill two birds with one stone by shifting one of their brightest talents? #NZLvTON
?? Gregor Paulhttps://t.co/3lXtbuzaCf
— The XV Rugby (@TheXV) July 3, 2021
Then there’s the man who replaced Tupaea after 63 minutes, Jordie Barrett.
The youngest Barrett brother has become adept at slotting in all over the All Blacks backline and had featured at fullback, on the wing and at first five prior to Saturday’s match but looms as a potential long-term option in the No 12 jersey.
ADVERTISEMENT
Foster acknowledged given the injuries to Lienert-Brown and Braydon Ennor, who was forced to pull out from the squad for the July matches, Barrett was the obvious man to cover the midfield.
“We’ve got a couple of midfielders down and so with David and Anton out, Jordie was always going to be the person to cover and it was just the sub decision that we made,” Foster said after the match. “But he trained in a few positions during the week.”
The Barrett trio of Beauden, Scott and Jordie all have multiple strings to their bows. Alongside Jordie’s flitting across the backline, Beauden has played at first five and fullback for the All Blacks while second-rower Scott has filled in on the blindside flank.
Scott Barrett isn’t planning on slotting in anywhere else around the park, however, but did have one more positional suggestion for his younger brother.
“I think the next thing for him will be lock,” Barrett joked on Sunday. “I’m just focussing on playing lock and if they call upon me at 6 then [he’ll jump in].”
Comments on RugbyPass
What was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
28 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
83 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
83 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
4 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
28 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
4 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
4 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
28 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to comments