Super Rugby's inconclusive season also curtailed any chances of answering a key question for the new All Blacks coach
Between the 2015 and 2019 World Cups, the All Blacks selectors struggled to really settle on a first-choice fullback.
Ben Smith was superb in the backfield at the 2015 tournament but the decision was made to move towards operating with a second playmaker at fullback, which saw both Damian McKenzie and Beauden Barrett take up the role.
With McKenzie out injured in 2019, Barrett spent much of last year’s World Cup operating at 15 and while it certainly wasn’t the reason for the All Blacks’ semi-final demise, it wasn’t exactly a raging success either.
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Smith, who was primarily used on the wing, is now in France. Steve Hansen, the man with the final say in all the decision making, has also headed offshore.
That means new head coach Ian Foster has a big decision to make when it finally comes time to select a Test fullback.
Barrett is still an option but could end up not playing any professional football this year. While he certainly looks like a natural fullback, the All Blacks’ key playmaker for the past World Cup cycle could prefer a move back closer to the action – though he may find some serious competition from Richie Mo’unga.
There are four other players who, should international rugby not return until next year, could be vying for the 15 jersey.
First up is the younger Barrett brother, Jordie.
Jordie’s elevation to the All Blacks in 2017 against the touring British and Irish Lions probably came a year or two early and while some have suggested that Barrett isn’t up to international standard, the Hurricanes utility is still just 23 years old.
He’s also been the form New Zealand fullback over the first seven weeks of competition and has been the senior playmaker at his Hurricanes outfit now that Beauden has left Wellington, regularly stepping in to play first receiver.
If the All Blacks were being selected today, Barrett would probably be Foster’s first-choice fullback.
Next in line is the returning Damian McKenzie, whose 2019 was cut short due to a ruptured ACL.
While McKenzie hasn’t quite looked up to his regular self just yet, he’s one of the most electric players on the planet and possibly could have been the X-factor missing from New Zealand’s game during the World Cup semis.
The aura of unpredictability that surrounds McKenzie, however, is both a blessing and a curse. For every three moments of brilliance that the pocket rocket has, he tends to have an accompanying moment of utter despair.
Frankly, none of New Zealand’s current crop of fullbacks seem to be entirely immune to those kinds of errors – which is the major difference between the men coming through and a guy like Ben Smith.
Perhaps Crusaders utility David Havili is the most reliable of the options – and the top-end of his game seems to be right up there with the likes of McKenzie and Barrett this year.
Havili has looked electric in 2020 and while he’s always been a strong performer for the red and black machine, he’s taken his game up to another level this season.
He’s making the most linebreaks out of the All Blacks’ main three fullback options, creating the most linebreak assists and also breaking the most tackles.
Factor in Havili’s superior run metres and offloads, and he’s clearly creating the most havoc for defending sides in 2020.
With the All Blacks' fullback role up for grabs, did Jordie Barrett do enough to usurp Damian McKenzie for the New Zealand No. 15 jersey? #SuperRugby https://t.co/oUgIlE3nui
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 14, 2020
Like Barrett and McKenzie, he’s also more than capable of covering a number of positions across any backline and can kick goals to boot.
His vice-captaincy role with the Crusaders shows that he’s also a cool head under pressure – which is another thing that the All Blacks may have lacked at key moments over the last few seasons.
Havili’s performances have been second-to-none this year and it’s just a late injury that prevented him from taking the field in the last month that possibly helped Jordie Barrett edge ahead in the fullback stakes.
That leaves one possible wildcard; Havili’s Crusaders teammate Will Jordan.
After missing 2018 through injury and accruing plenty of minutes off the bench in 2019, this year was supposed to be Jordan’s Super Rugby breakout. Unfortunately, a lingering groin injury curtailed his chances of making an impact.
Still, the 22-year-old performed respectably in his 181 minutes of game time and will be another year wiser in 2021 – and hopefully free of his various injuries.
With the Super Rugby season ending prematurely and the Test season still up in the year, we may never get an answer to who new All Blacks coach Ian Foster views as the nation’s best fullback. There’s ample talent in the country right now – even if they don’t get too many opportunities to show off their prowess.
WATCH: All Black fullback Christian Cullen destroying the Springboks and Wallabies during his Tri-Nations career from 1996-2002.
Comments on RugbyPass
Super rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
8 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
8 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
14 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
14 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake 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
22 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.
8 Go to comments