The Return of SBW and the All Black's midfield puzzle
Sonny Bill Williams returned to the Blues starting line up against the Hurricanes and put in an inspired performance. The All Blacks selectors could have ticked off his upcoming selection after the first forty minutes. If he remains healthy it seems like an inevitability that he will be in the 12 jersey when the All Blacks take on France.
He is unlike any other midfielder in New Zealand Super Rugby teams – he is the last of the ‘big’ midfielders in the country. While other teams have trended towards smaller, ball-playing midfielders, SBW remains a sizable force whose job is to bend the defensive line with strong carries and line running.
His ability to punch through the line and suck in defenders is unrivaled in World Rugby – when you add in the masterful offloading ability you get a unique attacking weapon. This was on show again in his return, as he wrapped one behind the back of sweeping halfback Finlay Christie whilst sandwiched between the tackles of Ardie Savea and Ngani Laumape for a try assist.
Here is the bottom line – no other 12 available for the All Blacks can create space at the line for other players like Williams. Every carry he has requires the attention of multiple defenders and as a freakish contortionist, he can get the ball away from impossible situations. There are very few players that can complete a one-on-one tackle on Williams and prevent an offload. Last year with the All Blacks he shelved a lot of the offloading but showed he has added a short kicking game to his repertoire.
Ryan Crotty, Tei Waldon, Ngani Laumape, Johnny Fa’auli have been the regular starters for each of the other franchises, with the Blues running with a carousel of players in Williams absence. The closest clone is Laumape, who is used as a compact battering ram but is significantly smaller and doesn’t possess the same level of vision. His primary instinct is to run over players, rather than anticipate the tackle and look for support.
With France playing a one-dimensional crash and bash game around Mathieu Bastareaud, picking Williams will ensure that France doesn’t have as much gain line success. His defence is imposing, and he is capable of shutting down Bastareaud single-handedly.
The British & Irish Lions success with two playmakers at 10 and 12 (Jonathan Sexton and Owen Farrell) raised discussion about New Zealand trending that way with a double-barreled attack, but there isn’t a 10 in New Zealand with the size and defensive reliability of Farrell that could play that role.
If the All Blacks want some balance in the midfield it will be at centre where they can pick a ball-playing midfielder and luckily they have a plethora of them. This means the one man that risks getting squeezed out is Ryan Crotty – despite recommitting to NZR on a one-year deal. He does currently provide that balance but his play dipped last year at international level and with rising stars in New Zealand’s centre stocks, one more year might be a bridge too far. Although Williams is older at 32-years-old, he is a superior athlete and doesn’t require as much speed as a centre does.
At Super level, the Crusaders prefer Crotty at 12 with the young Jack Goodhue favoured at centre. Presumably, the athleticism of youth gives Goodhue the nod, allowing Crotty to defend inside and avoid matchups against more athletic opposition. At international level, this may continue to become too much of an ask. If Crotty shows more signs of slowing in 2018, it might be time to build a new midfield combination around Williams.
Goodhue has been outstanding in one and half seasons of Super Rugby and is firmly in contention to partner with Williams. His line running is astute and he would find plenty of lanes to hit outside of Williams. His passing game would enable the All Blacks to still get enough quality ball to wings like Ioane. Their skill sets complement each other and would be my preferred pairing.
Anton Lienart-Brown is another top-level centre playing at a high level in Super Rugby. He has the most line breaks (9) and line break assists (8) of the bunch. His passing abilities are similar to Goodhue, with excellent catch-pass ability.
The most surprising contender is the Highlanders Rob Thompson who statistically has been one the best centres this season in Super Rugby. He has the third-best tackle success rate (86.8%) of the New Zealand centres, a touch behind Lienert-Brown (87.0%) and Goodhue (87.65%). In attack, he has registered five try assists and two tries, along with six line breaks and eight line break assists which is the highest output of any New Zealand centre. His dynamic short range kicking game has been integral to the Highlanders play.
Of the emerging bunch, it’s hard to split the three. They each offer slightly different strengths but all have great defence and ball-playing ability. Matt Proctor is a fourth option but surprisingly has a lower tackle success rate and hasn’t had the time on the field that the others have.
Don’t be surprised to see Williams partner with a new centre before the Rugby World Cup, at the very least as a backup trial and at most a replacement for Crotty.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
I wasn’t aware that the blitz targeted space so, as usual, something learned from reading one of your articles, Nick. Watching the game live I attributed the Saints’ inaccuracy to their own mistakes and nerves. Perhaps some credit to the Leinster D.
8 Go to commentsGotta give it to you Graham, you support your players and team to the hilt. There may be strains of exaggeration laced throughout but gotta love the passionate parochialism.
2 Go to commentsNice one Nick. No doubt Vunivalu’s involvements and work rate are improving this year in attack, but I still think he is too raw on the defensive and backfield part of his game to be considered as a starter. Wales would just kick and run it to his side all night as the brumbies have done to good effect in the past. But, his size/power will keep him in the convo with Mark N leaving and Petaia’s injury record. Hunter definitely enjoying an injury-free run this season and being given the keys by Kiss - I have always been a fan of his. All I’d say is that his triple threat has been evident since 2020/21. I remember him making a grubber for a petaia try after the siren to beat the Brumbies in Canberra after the 80th minute in 2021. Lastly, Jock Campbell, who I know isn’t at the top of your list, I thought had alot of positive involvements in the saders game including both of Tim ryan’s tries and Mcreights
53 Go to commentsAg please, Pieter Stef Du Toit has played circles around this clown.
1 Go to commentsJust celebrating the Bok’s 1648th consecutive day as RWC champions. They are also the Qatar Airways Cup winners, which I know BennieBoy cares about a lot.
1 Go to commentsGood to here positive stories towards Aus Rugby. Although that might be the case, and highers up are right about Jordie, I wouldn’t stress trying to retain him. What I have seen of him in recent times is that he’s not using that something special. I feel there a better ‘something special’ options coming through that they won’t have to compete with league for, hell even in Kerevi and Paisami (isn’t it great to finally see his ability getting recognized, probably taking this article in isolation too much here).
53 Go to commentsgreat article! I wonder whether we will we see Ireland adopt the Nienaber blitz? All the teams who have tried it so far (SA included) have gone through significant teething problems in the first season; Ireland could possibly be in the unique position of being able to switch to a hard blitz in season 2 of a world cup cycle and already have so many players used to the system that it can be implemented seamlessly.
8 Go to commentsThey probably left another 20 on the field to be fair. Also - the officiating was… ordinary.
1 Go to commentsblackadder isnt a key player at all you cant say hes been the best player or a key all black when hes injured every week
2 Go to commentsThat loss to the Blues still stings! The Reds have fallen short in 4 of the 6 games decided by 7 points or fewer. Are they not fit enough to close out the close games or are there tactical issues when games go down to the wire? The pleasing thing is no Australian side can better the Reds record of 3 wins from 5 against Kiwi sides but the Brumbies can match it. Les Kiss has instilled a belief in the Reds that they can match it with all the New Zealand sides.
53 Go to commentsA potential 5th star for Leinster and redemption adter losing 2 tight finals against La Rochelle against Toulouse and the chance for Jacques Nienaber to have some success without Rassie Erasmus running the show.
8 Go to commentsThanks Nick, and welcome back 😁 Vulavalu does look better this year, and about time. I suspect Schmidt will knock the hubris out of him. That one handed put down was so embarrassing. Mind you, I had thought Kiss would deal with that. Leaving aside the different games and skills, in NRL he had a very good (but no bullshit) type of coach in Bellamy, something he hasn't had in Union until this year. Bellamy would have roasted him unmercifully for an unprofessional put down.
53 Go to commentsYou’d think the first step would be taking responsibility for the stupid sh*t you did and to stop blaming other people. Does he seriously think that people believe him when he says it just magically got into his system without him knowing anything about it? You’re gonna notice if you’re on the juice, bruh.
2 Go to commentsI watch the Reds now, and many of their players, and think back to watching London Irish in their last two years under Michael Kiss. I recall Nick Phipps looking a very competent scrumhalf, Rob Simmons a lynch pin in the lineouts. Both men writen off by many on the rugby sites. There is no question in my mind that Kiss has a very different touch to any coach the Reds have had in years. It will take time, but this team could develop into a very good team, hard to beat by any one down here in the SH. You highlight two players especially, Nick. Vunivalu and Paisami are thriving this year, especially the latter. And so many others. The now heavier Fraser McReight, his great mate Harry Wilson, and the “Fardy” man, Liam Wright. That is only three, ut in reality every player is acroos the whole squad is the better for the new regime.
53 Go to commentsRecord Score Downloading…………..
1 Go to commentsWonderful insightful interview with Crusader Johnny McNicoll. He was exceptional in the wins over the Chiefs and Rebels and I am sure he will get a contract again for 2025. He was an excitement machine for Canterbury and the Crusaders in 2011-16 and he still is. He has added to the attack particularly. Had a fine career with Wales in the intervening years.
2 Go to commentsAmazing what decent coaching can do! I always felt Folau never improved much as a player and never had a great coach using his talents. Suli seems different at qld this year.
53 Go to commentsI’m sick to death of waiting 3 years for league players to become half decent. It cripples Australian rugby in the meantime. The Reds actually looked half competent without Vunivalu not starting last week. He’s just a liability of errors. Paisami is looking better than he has in previous years but I’d have Kerevi back in a flash. A kiwi wont tho …...
53 Go to commentsExcellent analysis Nick as we have come to expect. I was not really aware that NFL strategies have been adopted by rugby teams, especially in defence. One point I would make is that the Northhampton attacking player on the end of the chain in the video examples has not maintained the correct depth to be effective. In the footage shown the outside player is too flat to make the best of the opportunity his inside players have provided. In each case they have to reduce speed and turn their body backwards to secure the ball, losing all momentum and giving the impressive scrambling defence the chance to shut down the threat.
8 Go to commentsMorning, John. Do you think that it may be a good idea to rest both teams from the Madrid comp leading in to the Olympics
2 Go to comments