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Retallick to captain All Blacks as Moody returns for Los Pumas
Brodie Retallick will captain the All Blacks for the first time in his test career when they face off against Los Pumas on the Gold Coast this Sunday.
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Retallick, who was named as one of two vice-captains for the Rugby Championship, takes the leadership duties off stand-in captain Ardie Savea, who has been left out of the clash at Cbus Super Stadium.
Savea’s absence paves the way for Luke Jacobson to earn his third international start this season, with the seven-test No 8 joining Dalton Paplii and last week’s man-of-the-match Akira Ioane in the loose forwards.
The inclusion of Jacobson in the starting lineup is one of six changes made by head coach Ian Foster to the run-on side from the team that defeated the Wallabies 38-21 at Optus Stadium in Perth last Sunday.
Two of those changes come in the front row, where Karl Tu’inukuafe replaces George Bower at loosehead prop to get his second start of the year in the black jersey, while Asafo Aumua will play his third test as Samisoni Taukei’aho stays put on the bench.
Bower doesn’t feature at all in the match day squad, as veteran prop Joe Moody returns from a five-month sideline spell caused by foot injury sustained during Super Rugby Aotearoa to start from the bench.
He will be partnered by Tyrel Lomax, who hasn’t played for the All Blacks since their clash against Fiji in Dunedin two months ago, as the two replacement props.
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In the backline, TJ Perenara swaps in at halfback for Brad Weber, to has dropped to the bench, and will alongside former long-time halves partner Beauden Barrett for the first time since last year’s Bledisloe Cup defeat to the Wallabies in Brisbane.
After two appearances off the bench for the All Blacks following his return to the national camp from his sabbatical in Japan during the first half of the year, this week’s test will be the first time Perenara has started for the All Blacks in 2021.
It will also be just the 18th time he has started a test match in his 71-cap career, with five of those previous starts coming against Argentina.
The midfield of David Havili and Anton Lienert-Brown, meanwhile, remains unchanged, but there is a new look to the back three as both Rieko Ioane and Will Jordan have dropped out of the starting team.
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Ioane, one of the standouts in last week’s win over Australia, will instead start from the No 23 jersey, while Jordan, who dotted down for his 11th try in just his seventh test against the Wallabies, has been given a rest in the wake of his try-scoring feats.
Quade Cooper will make a dramatic return to test rugby as Wallabies coach Dave Rennie rolls the dice to try to keep Australia’s forlorn Rugby Championship hopes alive. #Wallabies #AUSvRSA #RugbyChampionship https://t.co/nQtqSCYadA
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 9, 2021
In their places on the left and right wings come George Bridge – who marked his return from injury with a try off the in Perth – and Sevu Reece, while Jordie Barrett retains the No 15 jersey after his red card was rescinded by SANZAAR earlier this week.
Moody, Lomax, Weber and Ioane act as the new faces in the reserves, where Damian McKenzie will provide cover as playmaker, and Ethan Blackadder and Tupou Vaa’i will be hoping for more extensive game time against Argentina.
Foster said in a statement that the rotation of his side is a necessity given the travel conditions they are working under as he looks to keep his players preserved and fresh for the upcoming matches against the Springboks.
“The key to selection this week has been about managing the player workload across the whole squad, which I think all teams will be doing in the Championship,” he said.
“We want to ensure we have a fresh, excited squad ready to play a physical and passionate Argentinian team.
“They’ve had a tough time on the road with matches in Europe and South Africa before coming to Australia. But we know from last year that when they spend a lot of time together it really unifies them, so we’re expecting a torrid game.”
He added the selection of Retallick as captain is indicative of his stature in the squad, which has grown immensely ever since his test debut back in 2012 against Ireland.
“Brodie is a great leader in this team and we don’t take his leadership for granted,” Foster said.
“We think this is a great honour for him, and he and his family can be hugely proud. He’s playing really well and leads from the front. He has come back into the black jersey this year and just picked up where he left off.
“He also has an experienced partner in Beaudy (Barrett) alongside him who is bringing a calmness to the team and a sense of direction and we’re seeing that in the way he plays.”
All Blacks team to play Los Pumas
1. Karl Tu’inukuafe
2. Asafo Aumua
3. Nepo Laulala
4. Brodie Retallick (c)
5. Scott Barrett
6. Akira Ioane
7. Dalton Papalii
8. Luke Jacobson
9. TJ Perenara
10. Beauden Barrett
11. George Bridge
12. David Havili
13. Anton Lienert-Brown
14. Sevu Reece
15. Jordie Barrett
Reserves:
16. Samisoni Taukei’aho
17. Joe Moody
18. Tyrel Lomax
19. Tupou Vaa’i
20. Ethan Blackadder
21. Brad Weber
22. Damian McKenzie
23. Rieko Ioane
Comments on RugbyPass
Jake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
13 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
1 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
3 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
13 Go to commentsThe Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
13 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
39 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
11 Go to commentsWhat 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.
39 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.
86 Go to comments