Scott Robertson explains Ethan de Groot's Ireland omission

Ahead of their date with world No. 1 ranked Ireland in Dublin, New Zealand have decided to leave recent incumbent loosehead prop Ethan de Groot on the sideline.

The selection call comes after an England Test in which de Groot was ruled out for not meeting “internal standards”, which meant Tamaiti Williams returned to the starting unit and Ofa Tu’ungafasi made his way back into the matchday 23 on the bench. The duo have been retained for this week’s grudge match.

Williams performed strongly throughout his starts against Argentina and South Africa in The Rugby Championship as de Groot dealt with a neck injury suffered in the New Zealand loss to Los Pumas in Wellington.

The 26-year-old Highlander returned for the two Tests against Australia, putting in 40 and 51-minute shifts respectively. He was then overlooked for the Japan Test, with Williams and Tu’ungafasi selected.

“It’s a performance decision, those two performed really well,” All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson told media in Dublin following the team naming, referring to Williams and Tu’ungafasi’s efforts in the win at Allianz Stadium Twickenham.

The coach said the call was made to back the 140kg Williams on the basis of form throughout “the whole season”, implying de Groot’s omission is not a disciplinary call.

“He’s a 50-60 minute player, got a couple of tough calls we believe last week against him and he’s fit and ready to go so he’ll continue.”

Those calls went against New Zealand at scrum time, an area they’ve looked powerful throughout 2024 while struggling to capitalise on that power. Robertson said his side have gotten the scrum results they want “at times”, but are far from satisfied.

“Look, we’d like to have eked out a couple more penalties, to be honest with you. And use it more as a weapon. We’ve put a lot of time into that and probably could have got a little bit more reward, yes.”

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins

2

Draws

0

Wins

3

Average Points scored

21

22

First try wins

60%

Home team wins

0%

The coach then expanded on where his pack have struggled and where improvements need to be made.

“Just how other teams have scrummaged against us, we could have adapted a little bit better, and probably adapted to the ref as well a couple times.

“Look, we’ve shown some really good pictures, I’m not looking to say that we haven’t but we probably could have got a couple more advantages out of it, penalty advantages.”

While the Kiwis will be without form front-rower Codie Taylor, the Irish will be without stalwart Tadhg Furlong due to a hamstring strain. It’s an absence Robertson says could have an impact on the Test.

“Its Tadhg, it’s Tadhg that’s out so of course it does. It’s a leading question. You know he’s world-class, so we see some opportunities in it, yes.”

Starting alongside Williams is Tyrel Lomax in the No. 3 jersey. The 28-year-old was keenly aware of Furlong’s absence, which he mentioned when Irish media pointed out that the Irish front row felt aggrieved over some scrum calls in the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final loss.

“Obviously they’ll feel pretty hard done by, I certainly do every time I get penalised,” Lomax grinned.

“I think it’ll be a good battle this weekend, in the scrum and maul; they’ve got a really good maul. I think Tadhg’s out but Finlay Bealham comes in to start who’s a really good player as well. It’ll be a battle, I’m looking forward to it.”

The prop, who started that quarter-final and played 63 minutes, previewed what to expect from Ireland in the scrum battle.

“They’re as strong and stable as you’d get from a northern hemisphere side I’d say. They look for a good hit, a good second shunt. So, like I said, looking forward to it.”

Lomax, like Robertson, was adamant the All Blacks could reach another level in the set-piece after struggling early against England.

“Definitely got a little bit more left in us, I thought the way the bench came on and really changed the game with our scrum was awesome but us as starters laying a good platform for our backs and trying to assert a little bit of dominance early.”