Mark Telea made himself undroppable for England Test - and what about 2023?
Few would have expected at the beginning of the season that Mark Telea would be the man entrusted with the No 14 jersey for the final All Blacks‘ match of the year against England.
Even coach Ian Foster would not have anticipated that the 25-year-old would accustom himself to Test rugby so well against Scotland that he would be undroppable for the final match of the campaign.
But after spending weeks on the sidelines waiting for an opportunity, Telea announced himself to the world with an electric showing in Edinburgh, scoring two tries, beating away defenders with ease and exhibiting a quick pair of heels to boot.
Foster effectively had no choice but to give Telea a second run against England and while he wasn’t entirely error-free at Twickenham, he was still a marvel down the flank.
Sevu Reece had a blinder in the No 14 jersey in the opening game of the season while Will Jordan showed off his wide skill set against Australia at Eden Park, but those are perhaps the only two performances of the season on the right wing that have matched Telea’s for impact, and the 2022 debutant has now thrown the cat amongst the pigeons for next season.
An inner ear issue for Jordan paved the way for Telea to join the All Blacks squad, but Foster could have just have easily run Reece or Leicester Fainga’anuku on the wing against Scotland and England. Instead, he opted for the wild card – and it paid off in a big way.
Jordan will be expected to make a return well before Super Rugby Pacific next year and get a full season under his belt before the Rugby Championship kicks off and if he, Reece and Telea are all fit, the All Blacks selectors will have to seriously think about who will serve them most in the No 14 jersey.
Reece is perhaps the least secure of the trio, having really only featured as a bit-part player since a six or seven-game stretch in 2019 when he was the first choice in the role.
With a bit of a re-jig, however, it’s entirely possible that the other two options could both feature in the top line-up for 2023.
Jordan, after all, is a fullback first and foremost and with Jordie Barrett making the successful (and long overdue) shift to the midfield this year, there might be a spot open in the backfield.
Beauden Barrett has been filling that position in the latter half of 2022 but hasn’t exactly made it his own. Three workmanlike performances at 15 should not have convinced the selectors that he’s locked down the role and Jordan could be poised to reinvent himself as a Test fullback next season.
Jordan’s move to the back would allow Telea to maintain his position on the right wing and continue his growth.
Should Foster and co decide that Jordan isn’t the man to wear No 15, however, it still doesn’t close the door on both players featuring in the first-choice side.
While Reece, Jordan and Telea have shared duties on the right-hand flank throughout the season, Caleb Clarke has been ever-present on the left wing since making his return to the Test arena against the Springboks in Mbombela. What’s followed is nine further starts in a row for the 23-year-old and while he has the raw attributes to be world-class, he’s not exactly taken the chances presented to him.
For all his power and pace, Clarke drifts in and out of games and makes a considerable number of unforced errors. The All Blacks selectors will be hoping that with another season of Super Rugby under his belt, Clarke could progress into the dominant force many believe he’s capable of emulating. If those developments don’t come, however, a man like Mark Telea wouldn’t look out of place in the No 11 jersey.
Telea might not quite have the robustness of Clarke but he’s still a big, powerful winger, clocking in at over 100kg, and would complement Jordan’s selection on the right exceptionally well.
Heading into the season, the thought of Mark Telea usurping Caleb Clarke or Will Jordan would not have appeared on many folks’ bingo cards and yet two very impressive performances from the late bloomer have certainly upset the apple cart.
Comments on RugbyPass
Bell 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.
13 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?
4 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.
4 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 commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
13 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to comments