1
Liam Squire still in contention for All Blacks World Cup squad, but only 'if he's interested'
All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen has left the door open for Liam Squire to be re-called into the New Zealand squad for the World Cup next month, but only “if he’s interested”.
ADVERTISEMENT
The robust loose forward made himself unavailable for All Blacks selection for the Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup, telling Hansen that he “didn’t think he was ready” for international rugby following an injury-plagued Super Rugby campaign.
The 28-year-old, who will join Japanese club NTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes on a two-year deal next year, only played three matches for the Highlanders this season, with knee and hip injuries as well as “personal family issues” ruling him out of action for the Dunedin franchise’s first 14 matches.
Hansen labelled Squire’s self-imposed exile from the national squad as a “brave decision”, but his absence from the side has been noticeable.
Squire had been used as the All Blacks’ premier blindside flanker following the departure of long-serving veteran Jerome Kaino to Toulouse in 2017, but Hansen has struggled to find a replacement for Squire since the 23-test star, who is renowned for abrasive ball-carrying and physical style of play, made himself unavailable.
Shannon Frizell appeared to be the next cab off the rank in the national blindside flanker pecking order, but was one of five players, alongside Blues youngster Dalton Papalii, to be culled from the squad ahead of the Bledisloe Cup series.
That left Vaea Fifita and Luke Jacobson as the only primary options at No 6, but Fifita struggled to impress when fielded against Argentina and South Africa, while Jacobson is dealing with concussion symptoms.
ADVERTISEMENT
Second-rowers Jackson Hemopo and the suspended Scott Barrett can also cover the position, but have been mainly deployed in their core roles as locks.
Traditional openside flanker Ardie Savea started at blindside flanker during the All Blacks’ record 47-26 defeat against the Wallabies in Perth last week, and has been named to start there again for the re-match in Auckland on Saturday.
Hours before New Zealand’s Bledisloe Cup capitulation at Optus Stadium last Saturday, Squire started at No 8 for Tasman in their Mitre 10 Cup opener against Wellington in Blenheim.
He went on to be a key figure in the Mako’s 45-8 demolition of the Lions at Lansdowne Park, scoring the match’s opening try in an emphatic first half display.
ADVERTISEMENT
When asked at a press conference on Thursday, Hansen confirmed that Squire was still in the selection frame for the All Blacks’ World Cup squad, which is due to be named in the coming weeks.
“Yeah he is,” the 60-year-old coach said.
“But it’s whether he wants to be considered or not, that’s the key thing.”
Hansen went on to tell media that he and his fellow selectors, Ian Foster and Grant Fox, would take a keen interest in the Mitre 10 Cup as they track Squire’s form, which he admitted was “pretty impressive” against Wellington.
Squire has not spoken to the media since removing himself from national contention, but is expected to face Canterbury in Christchurch this weekend as Tasman look to make it two wins from their opening two matches of the Mitre 10 Cup season.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
In the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getitng to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
5 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
7 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
5 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
54 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
54 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
54 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
18 Go to comments