On form it's Ruben Love then daylight for the All Blacks

When it comes to the All Blacks crop of No.10s selected Monday it’s Ruben Love then daylight.

Veterans Damian McKenzie and Beauden Barrett have also been selected, as expected, but neither can match Love on form.

McKenzie had a nightmare performance in the Super Rugby final, but even before that, the 31-year-old wasn’t producing at the type of plays that made him a sensation 10 years ago. He’s in a different stage of his career where he should be providing the steady hand, not the one orchestrating an implosion.

Barrett has fallen off a cliff at Super Rugby level with the Blues, unable to manage a game and searching for the magic plays that he used to make. The last half of the season was concerning.

The coaches are banking on experience with Barrett, who still produced decent showings last year at international level with the All Blacks. Fingers crossed what we saw with the Blues can be ignored and his All Blacks form will return.

Based on what we’ve seen in 2026 the starter has to be Love and only Love until Richie Mo’unga returns.

The 25-year-old delivered a man-of-the-match performance in the Super Rugby final to deliver the Hurricanes their second title in franchise history. The manner in which he did that, exuding confidence, bravado and club pride, is the tonic the All Blacks need.

At the same stadium that Dan Carter destroyed the British & Irish Lions at 23 years of age, Love scored two tries, set up another and kicked goals in atrocious conditions for a haul of 25 points. Yes it was only club level, but the parallels are there.

This feels similar to the moment the All Blacks went from Carlos Spencer and Andrew Mehrtens to Dan Carter, only this time it is Barrett and McKenzie handing the torch to Love.

Love possesses an optimistic flair and has the kind of game-breaking ability that we haven’t seen in a young playmaker since McKenzie, Mo’unga and Barrett themselves. He is entering his peak right now and it’s time for the All Blacks to ride that wave like they did with Carter in 2005.

If the All Blacks want to become an attacking force again, Love is the answer. It’s the perfect set up with his club teammates either side of him in the backline, Cam Roigard and Jordie Barrett, also likely to be the starters in the All Blacks.

Captain Ardie Savea spoke in Fielding at the squad announcement of the team taking a new approach as ‘fresh’ and exciting, and said that the All Blacks need to become pioneers of the game again. If they want to do that, the ready-made 10 is Ruben Love.

The most innovative team in Super Rugby this year was the Hurricanes, who doubled and tripled down on attacking, possession-based rugby. Even when you thought they might go conservative in the final due to cyclone-like winds, they happily brought out the full playbook and scored 60 points.

Love was at the forefront of that style of play. Most of his most important touches came from out the back, rolling off screens from pods or wrap plays to get around the edge and such.

It allowed him to see the game from behind a wall of protection but also the time to deal with oncoming rush defenders trying to shut down the play. So often Love’s quick hands would beat the man trying to close.

He was the pilot in the most prolific attack in the southern hemisphere, while also having the instinct to create himself when needed. He has the running game that McKenzie and Barrett have aged out of.

Around the world, the international game is trending towards high scoring fixtures with the average points per game on the rise.

The Springboks, with wonder flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu became an attacking juggernaut of their own for the first time under Rassie Erasmus’ watch. When they went younger in Wellington with a dynamic backline they put 43 points on the All Blacks. Against Argentina in Durban they racked up 67 with Feinberg-Mngomezulu making a statement to the world.

In the Six Nations, France became the first team to win the title and concede over 100 points doing so. They became the second team in Six Nations history to score over 200 points in the five-game tournament.

The top nations are geared towards attack like never before heading into the 2027 Rugby World Cup, and it’s where the All Blacks need to go under Rennie.

In reality, the All Blacks weren’t struggling for wins under Robertson. He had an 85 per cent win rate against the Six Nations teams. But as an attacking force, they weren’t quite there.

The manner of those wins didn’t leave the public convinced, with many tight victories grafted on penalty taking and a handful of tries.

If they give Love the No.10 jersey this year, he could do what Feinberg-Mngomezulu did in 2025. Or even what Carter did in 2005.

And that could transform the All Blacks back into an attacking powerhouse that buries teams by big scores again.