Steve Hansen is looking at the bigger picture
Steve Hansen’s decision to name eight debutantes in his 23 to face Japan this weekend has raised a few of eyebrows, with pundits claiming a drastic crash in the value of the All Black jersey.
An article in The Guardian alluded to the real All Blacks being thousands of miles away with the current crop of rookies handed ‘confetti caps’.
Hansen has defended his decision and referred to the notion he was gifting test caps as ‘nonsense’, though he probably didn’t need to. This weekend’s test against Japan is the perfect opportunity to both indoctrinate and evaluate the next generation of talent rising through the ranks. Hansen is doing everything right.
The same can be said for Ireland’s Joe Schmidt and Italy’s Conor O’Shea, who are using their Test in Chicago to blood some new players and test different combinations – and are just as wary in terms of preparing their players for tougher fixtures.
Naming a 51-man squad for the upcoming northern tour should be seen as a masterstroke, especially given the context of the scheduling. Why shouldn’t Hansen save his resources for the gruelling four-fixture month ahead? Backing his new charges to deliver when called upon is sure to build a substantial amount of trust within the squad.
It’s also important to recognise that while this squad doesn’t have the usual experience one comes to expect from an All Blacks side, there is still a plethora of frontline talent present. Jordie Barrett was starting against the British and Irish Lions just over one year ago, Nehe Milner-Skudder was the breakout star of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, Waisake Naholo has been one of the form wingers of 2018 and there have been calls all year for more Richie Mo’unga involvement.
READ MORE Steve Hansen names eight new All Blacks for Japan clash
With less than one year until the Rugby World Cup, who can blame Hansen for wanting to try out as many combinations as possible and build as much familiarity with his players as he can before the showpiece tournament.
Who can blame Hansen for picking four first-five eighths to tour after he and Sir Graham Henry were forced to call upon New Zealand’s fourth-choice 10 in a Rugby World Cup final?
He needs to know who he can turn to if and when the All Blacks find themselves in a tough spot, and picking a 51-man squad allows him to get a clearer picture of who fits that criteria. If he’s lucky he’ll unearth a few gems in the process.
While some of the older rookies – for example Hurricanes pair Matt Proctor (26) and Gareth Evans (27) – may not feature in Hansen’s long-term plans, the nature of rugby is unpredictable and, should injury strike, the All Blacks coach will now know exactly what he can get out of his next cabs off the rank.
Picking a 51-man squad not only aids the All Blacks in the short term, it makes things easier in the long run and allows a look into where prospects stand in the national pecking order.
Given that the Rugby World Cup is fast approaching and rumours of another post-Cup All Black exodus are increasing in frequency, getting players like 21-year-old Dalton Papalii and 22-year-old Tyrel Lomax – a pair that may be seen as projects now but shape as All Black mainstays in the long-term – into the environment early will serve Hansen well in preparations for the next cycle.
Of course having the ability to pick 51 players of international quality is a luxury most nations are unable to afford. The depth at Hansen’s disposal is the envy of the rugby world, and he can’t be blamed for using it.
Put simply, picking project players with international upside indicates that Hansen sees the bigger picture – something plenty of other teams are unable to do at present.
Closed-minded fans and pundits that only see the eight asterisks on the team sheet need to take a step back and see what Hansen sees before waxing lyrical about the value of the jersey.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
Pacific Lions, cry me a river
125 Go to commentsThis is the single worst piece of journalism I have ever seen since your last one. As a neutral, who really states that there should be an asterisk next to a win? You are an utter embarrassment to real AB fans, journalism and that joke of a house which pays you for this nonsense. Get a life, Ben.
125 Go to commentsGuys. Cancel the World Cup champions after this analysis. It changes everything. Ben knows. We’ll have to unengrave the Bokke off the trophy and hand it to the ABs, now that I’ve been enlightened about this illegitimate win. This needs to be done. Now!
125 Go to commentsBen is right here though, Springboks were woefully poor with the advantage they had throughout this game. The France match was heroic because that was an even contest this match had it taken place in Rugby Championship would have been an easy win for NZ. If anything this match should tell the Bok coaches that a lot of this team should be changed. They beat this same NZ team by record margin with the same circumstances but with a different core. They bring back the tried and tested guys and they nearly botch this game.
125 Go to commentsI knew who wrote this article from the first few words in the headline…lol. The red card actually did the ABs a favour. It galvanized them, only then did they step up a gear. Before that there was zero momentum.
125 Go to commentsFirstly the foul on Bongi was a planned move just like the NZ master plan with Bryce Lawrence you kiwis are filthy fux perhaps try to play a cleaner game next time I doubt that’s possible tho but don’t worry world rugby is on yr side they trying to take away all the BOKS strengths to help all you weakling as Jeremy Clarkson would say LA OO ZA ERR..🤣
125 Go to commentsAbsolutely spot on Ben. I certainly wouldn't gloat over a win like that. Frustrating as it is it's done and dusted and history will forever show the result.
125 Go to commentsHo hum.
125 Go to commentsNo question they were the better team. But that is the beauty of sport isn’t it!
125 Go to commentsEveryone is into Hurling in Ireland according to Porter, but only 11 of Ireland's 32 counties enter a team into the national competition. Same old blarney.
1 Go to commentsLet’s be honest. The draw and scheduling in the World Cup was a joke but South Africa found a way after having to go the hard (nearly impossible) way to the Cup Final via France and England. NZ had a hard game against France (lost) and had 5 weeks to prepare for the Quarter, 3 weeks knowing it was Ireland. NZ theerfore had to win one big game against an Irish team who played SA and then Scotland 7 days before. They won and it was de facto a semi final because they were playing a relatively weak Argentina team and it was a walk over. In the final a very rested NZ team was playing a very tired SA team and still lost. They couldn’t score more than 11 points. Put another way SA had to find a way to win while tired and they achieved that. NZ should thank their lucky stars that they fixed the scheduling in 2015 otherwise they would be dealing with a Bok treble.
125 Go to commentsPerhaps if Bongi wasn’t targeted and removed from the game in the first 3 minutes it would have been quite a different game. Maybe if NZ also faced the same competition the Boks faced to their win NZ would have looked quite different. The final score shows who outplayed who.
125 Go to commentsRubbish article! Abuladze played most of Exeters matches when fit. He got injured against Glasgow a while ago and is out for the rest of the season, thats why he hasnt played for Exeter and Georgia recently. Do some proper research next time!
1 Go to commentsGotta love it when kids throw their toys out the pram and can’t hack it with the grown ups debate. Here’s looking at you turlough! 😉🤣
148 Go to commentsThey lost the game period move on
125 Go to commentsSpringboks won! Stop winging. You can change the game however much you and your rugby colonizing IRB want to and the Springboks will win you at that too. Your mind is colonized my friend get a life
125 Go to commentsBen, nobody gets fooled anymore by selective and biased data to support an hypothesis. Games are decided on such small margins these days that you win some and lose some, and dominance is a thing of the rugby past. Look at the RWC circle of fortune…. Ireland beats SA who beat France who beat NZ who beat Ireland. And so it goes on. Match officials help to eliminate real indiscretions. If they had been with us years before, no doubt results would have been different. Remember Andy Haden’s dive from a lineout in 1978 for which a match-wining penalty was awarded? Wales should have beaten the ABs that day. They took the loss like the gentlemen they were.
125 Go to commentsWith all the analysis and how good the all blacks were.The fundamental mistake with the ABs is that this is a test match and not an exhibition.There is no better team(country) in world rugby than the Boks that knows how to win a test match(we are post masters at this).We know our rules, we have the discipline, we tackle like beasts, we take our points and we never give up.I now have educated the ABs supporters(at least say thank you).Please stop “bitching” , accept what the outcome is and move along swiftly.
125 Go to commentsAnd they came from behind to win two big games before the final. No one can say what would have happened. Had the boks gone behind the game plan changes and the result may changes. Ifs and ands are irrelevant. The boks won. Neutral critics enjoyed the games they played. Its not a popularity contest. Get over it and move on.
125 Go to commentsI'm happy for the people of SA to get a second WC. And I mean that. I was very disappointed with this man's “stand on the hand” incident with Josh Van Der Flyer (Ireland). Ireland's downfall in the last WC was they did not rotate their first 15 as the head coach probably should have. That said, I'm happy for SA and genuinely hope it lifts the mood in their country. Ireland did beat them in the first match of the tournament. And before the trolls start trolling ….. please don't bother. Etzbeth said recently that the Irish players said after the match “see you in the final”…..this was actually wishing the SA team the best of luck in the rest, the Irish team were not dismissing the AB’s. This is what Etzbeth was implying. But he was wrong. I no longer live in Ireland. But I hope to see them lift that cup before I pass. Anyway, congratulations SA. 👍
13 Go to comments