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Star players return for All Blacks’ must-win World Cup clash with Italy
With “everything to play for” against Italy on Friday night, the All Blacks have named a near full-strength team which includes returning duo Shannon Frizell and Jordie Barrett.
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Tyrel Lomax and Sam Cane are also set to return from injury off the bench which is another major boost for the All Blacks ahead of a must-win clash with the Azzurri.
The All Blacks’ World Cup dream hangs in the balance. New Zealand started their campaign with a historic loss to France in Paris, and another defeat would probably send them packing.
With the hopes of a rugby-mad nation resting on the shoulders of the 33 men in the All Blacks’ squad, coach Ian Foster has named a frighteningly strong side.
“Italy is growing in confidence after winning their first two games and they represent a massive challenge for us after coming off our bye week,” Foster said in a statement.
“We fully respect their growth over the last two years and are expecting a huge game with both teams having everything to play for.”
Along with the return of Frizell and Jordie Barrett, coach Foster has also picked Cam Roigard and Damian McKenzie on the bench.
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Sam Whitelock will also surpass former captain Richie McCaw as the most capped All Black in history, should the 34-year-old come off the pine after being named on the bench.
Head-to-Head
Last 4 Meetings
Wins
4
Draws
0
Wins
0
Average Points scored
69
10
First try wins
75%
Home team wins
25%
Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Codei Taylor and Nepo Laulala will pack down in the front row, while Brodie Retallick and Scott Barrett have been selected as the two starting locks.
Frizell is set to return from a hamstring injury and being named at blindside, and will link up with Dalton Papali’i and captain Ardie Savea in a formidable backrow trio.
Veteran Aaron Smith and playmaker Richie Mo’unga will combine in a familiar halves pairing, and the backline will be boosted by the return of Jordie Barrett at No.12. Barrett will start alongside Rieko Ioane in the midfield.
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Coach Foster has come with a powerful back three with Mark Telea’a and Will Jordan named on the left and right wings respectively, and Beauden Barrett will start at fullback.
All Blacks team to take on Italy
- Ofa Tu’ungafasi (55)
- Codie Taylor (80)
- Nepo Laulala (51)
- Brodie Retallick (105)
- Scott Barrett (64)
- Shannon Frizell (28)
- Dalton Papali’i (28)
- Ardie Savea (captain) (77)
- Aaron Smith (121)
- Richie Mo’unga (51)
- Mark Tele’a (6)
- Jordie Barrett (52)
- Rieko Ioane (65)
- Will Jordan (26)
- Beauden Barrett (118)
Replacements
- Dane Coles (88)
- Tamaiti Williams (3)
- Tyrel Lomax (27)
- Samuel Whitelock (148)
- Sam Cane (90)
- Cam Roigard (3)
- Damian McKenzie (43)
- Anton Lienert-Brown (65)
Comments on RugbyPass
Honestly, I am a bit lost here …. Ireland - RSA was (at least in my opinion) perhaps (from a purely technical / rugby-skills-show point of view) the pinnacle of the RWC2023 - almost flawless playing (putting aside the kicking of RSA which was the difference between the two teams), rugby at it’s very best …. if I were a Bok and after the game some Irish lads came around saying “see you in 5 weeks same place”, I definitely wouldn’t have thought of it as being in any way “arrogant”, rather a sort of jolly “if we both continue to play like this, no one could stop us” - besides, few of us fans would have, at that time, been surprised to see the same teams playing on 23 september and 28 october 2023 ….. well, we all know Ireland chose to hit a slump to keep the QF curse alive …..
133 Go to commentsThere’s value gleaned from having an All Black star running and training with your team. How many games he starts (or even where he plays in the backline) will be decided on a week by week basis based on the needs for that week. But the overall learning and growth for all concerned, I’d think, is massively beneficial. Especially for Irish players.
7 Go to commentsSon, whith just " raw athlete “ , you are able to beat “ better rugby players “ by 74 points…. May be England should recruit in athletics….
1 Go to commentsPffft. It’s not a one-way street bud and Irish teams don’t seem to have had an issue taking kiwi players previously.
7 Go to commentsParticularly great to have captain Scott Barrett back after going off last week for the Crusaders. Codie Taylor a real leader and mighty Tamaiti Williams join Fletcher Newell in the front row. Those 2 will make a big difference. Great bench with the likes of Tom Christie, Jamie Hannah etc who are playing well. Should be a great derby.
1 Go to commentsDoes a blitz defence not have a weekness against a well-placed grubber kick, perhaps angled cleverly. All the defence is up and the full-back can only cover so much ground. Thoughts?
28 Go to commentsWhile Iose is destructive in the Canes set-up, he is not big for an international 8 and could struggle against the top teams. With his speed, he could be developed into a seven but, as Ben points out, he doesn’t show a scavenging game with the Canes or make dominating tackles. Sotutu has shown a step up this year and attitude plus motivation seems to be the big areas of growth. Deserves another AB shot imo.
3 Go to commentsNaholo is my only question mark for this side. He wasn’t the only one who had a forgettable game against the Brumbies but he was passive, defensively poor and generally lacked energy. Needs to get a whole lot busier for me. I would have liked to see Sullivan on that wing with Higgins on the bench (if staying with a 6-2 as BeegMike points out on here!)
3 Go to commentsWell, I am sure that Eben said exactly what he meant to say, exactly how he meant to say it. Does he strike you as a man that doesn't know arrogance when he sees it. He should know it because he has shaken the arrogance out of many foes before.
133 Go to commentsPls get it into your thick arrogant heads that the final was played by two Southern Hemisphere teams. The best against the best and that Argentina was just unlucky otherwise non of the Northetn Hemisphere teams would have seen the light of day.
133 Go to commentsAs long as New Zealand youth are involved in sport they are passionate for, and are well supported, it’s all good. I love league as well as rugby. NRL clubs have long since scouted the First 15 competitions, the NH and Japan scout super rugby and NPC. It’s a miracle there’s any players left for the all blacks to pick from.
4 Go to commentsI'm a Bok fan, so I don't say this lightly, but he is one of my all time favourite players. I am really going to miss watching him play. Thanks for many great memories. You are a true legend of the game.
3 Go to commentsBest way to deal with all of this is to play another game.
133 Go to commentsIt’s 12-15 games Luke. Ringrose has barely played in 2024 and Henshaw and Keenan have also been out for spells in the same time period. There are always injuries and for younger players to play with the likes of Barrett will be great for them. It’s just looking for negatives where there are none.
7 Go to commentsAndy Goode pushing his own agenda with very dubious considerations on refereeing performances. Luke Pearce speaking a bit of French doesn’t make him a good and adequate referee for the Champions Cup final; his latest refereeing performance in particular was not so great.
4 Go to commentsJordie knows that he has to earn the right to put on the jersey, whatever that jersey might be.
7 Go to commentsThe best outside centre in the world at one point. He will be greatly missed.
3 Go to commentsYip his great for the big moments when needed as a safa really enjoy watching him
4 Go to commentsOne that will start to come up from now on is penalties for back pushes during kick chase scrambles. Very difficult to detect. In Croke Park if you replay the Hendy NH try, you will see Furbank push Porter in the back, who collides with Larmour knocking the ball across into Hendy’s path to dot down. A more significant example was in the RWC QTR final where Arendse pushes Fickou into two other French players for the ball to spill into Arendse’s path for him to gather and run in to score SAs first try. Not cheating if you are not caught and very difficult to spot but with kicking becoming so critical I feel its an area that will referreeed/TMO-ed more.
4 Go to commentsWhat a pathetic little twit Andy Goode is, as if we care what he thinks…..😂
133 Go to comments