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The winners and losers for the All Blacks in 2022

By Ben Smith
(Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images and Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

The All Blacks 2022 season will be remembered as a turbulent time for the the men in black after a rocky start that almost culminated in the sacking of head coach Ian Foster.

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Coming off the back of losses to Ireland and France last year, the All Blacks lost a home series to Ireland 2-1 before dropping the first test to South Africa in Mbombela.

Hopes of turning around the season rested on the Ellis Park test against the Springboks, which the All Blacks won 35-23 to save their Rugby Championship hopes and secure the Freedom Cup.

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They went on to retain the Bledisloe Cup with a 2-0 series win over Australia, capture the Rugby Championship crown, and finish the year with wins over Wales and Scotland before a draw against England.

The notable winners and losers from the All Blacks from 2022 season.

Losers

John Plumtree and Brad Mooar (Assistant coaches)

Foster’s assistants paid the price for the All Blacks’ wobbles, let go unceremoniously after the Ireland series defeat. Hard to not have the pair at the top of the list after being the first All Blacks coaches to be dismissed in a long time.

Foster waved goodbye to his hand-picked pair of assistants, one of whom NZR had to make a release payment to secure in the first place. The strength of Foster’s coaching group was touted as a key reason he was handed the job, but three seasons into the decline the team was blown up.

Instead of going down with the ship as captain, Foster jumped on a new one with Joe Schmidt and Jason Ryan.

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Both discarded coaches failed to really land on their feet, having previous been head coaches of the Hurricanes and Scarlets respectively. Plumtree picked up an assistant role with USA Eagles, while Mooar joined the Gwent Dragons as a helping hand briefly.

Nepo Laulala (Tighthead prop)

Laulala lost his standing in the propping stocks for the All Blacks after starting 11 Tests in 2021 at tighthead prop. He proved to be a casualty of the Ireland series, missing selection during the Rugby Championship as Tyrel Lomax became the established tighthead with rookie Fletcher Newell on the bench. Angus Ta’avao also registered a start ahead of Laulala.

The All Blacks’ tight five were found wanting against Ireland, slipping off tackles and failing to handle the breakdown effectively and the props paid the price.

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Recalled for the Northern tour, Laulala started against Scotland but his performance off the bench in the implosion against England could spell the end of his All Blacks career. At the very least, he has a lot of work to do to win back a starting role or even a finishing role.

Pita Gus Sowakula (No 8)

Sowakula’s short-lived All Black career has been well documented. Restricted to bench cameos against Ireland, the Chiefs No 8 was subsequently overlooked for the Rugby Championship and hasn’t been picked since. His capping by New Zealand has been criticised with suggestions of ‘eligibility capture’ to prevent the Fijian playing for his native country.

However, it could be much simpler than that. Sowakula’s selection could easily have been tied to former forwards coach Plumtree who was known to be a strong advocate of his ball carrying ability. Once Plumtree was gone, Sowakula lost his advocate in the All Blacks’ brain trust. He isn’t the only forward to lose standing since Jason Ryan took over.

Leicester Fainga’anuku (Left wing)

The young Crusaders winger was given a rough introduction to top flight rugby, starting the first two Tests against Ireland. His performance in the second Test, a 23-12 loss, ended up being his last of the year.

Ireland found him out defensively, whilst a yellow card didn’t help his cause. The talented Fainga’anuku was dropped for Sevu Reece for the decider, then surpassed by the returning Caleb Clarke for the Rugby Championship.

He was picked for the Northern Tour but withdrew for personal reasons. This early chapter for the dynamic Crusaders wing has been challenging but is just the beginning, he has the ability to bounce back and make it as an All Black.

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (Second five-eighth)

The NRL star ends up on this list only because the All Blacks really failed to get the most of him in 2022. This isn’t just about his lack of starts, but how he was used off the bench as well.

Debuting in the third test against Ireland in the final 10 minutes, the All Blacks struggled to get him the ball. A midfield scrum in front of the posts with the defence split was seemingly not a good enough situation to give the hot-stepping No 12 the ball to make something happen.

When given the chance to start against Japan he was the All Blacks’ best, producing the goods to show his offloading ability, his strong carrying and his ability to make plays.

Given the expectations around Tuivasa-Sheck and the natural talent he has, it is still not clear where he will fit into the All Blacks plans with Jordie Barrett now becoming an option at second five in a crowded position with David Havili, Quinn Tupaea, Anton Lienert-Brown and Jack Goodhue all potential options in 2023.

Winners

Ethan De Groot (Loosehead prop)

The Highlanders loosehead prop made a successful return into the All Blacks fold after laughable suggestions by Ian Foster he needed to work on his fitness and work rate before the Ireland series.

The criticism by Foster simply didn’t hold much weight when the All Blacks were stacked with powerful but less mobile props in Nepo Laulala, Karl Tu’inukuafe and Ofa Tuungafasi.

They paid the price against Ireland for those selections while De Groot was part of the transformed the All Blacks front row that turned the performances around down the stretch, including the Ellis Park miracle.

Under new forwards coach Jason Ryan, De Groot made his mark and showed why Foster should have picked him in the first place.

Tyrel Lomax (Tighthead prop)

The Hurricane had one of the biggest turnarounds in 2022, reviving his All Black career and cementing a place as a first choice starter. Originally heading to South Africa as injury cover, Lomax started the second Test against the Springboks in the famous Ellis Park win and didn’t look back.

The 26-year-old went on to start all of the remaining Rugby Championship fixtures, and the Wales and England Tests on the end-of-year tour.

After just three starts in his first 15 Tests since his 2020 debut, Lomax’s remarkable rise is one of the All Blacks feel good stories of 2022.

Samisoni Taukei’aho (Hooker)

Undoubtably the find of 2022, no player was more important to the All Blacks revival in 2022 than Samisoni Taukei’aho. The Chiefs hooker hit the ground running in Mbombela in his pressure-cooker first start hitting crucial throws under pressure and bringing some much needed punch up the middle in the carry game.

Although the All Blacks lost, Taukei’aho impressed by throwing at 100 per cent completing 10 from 10 lineouts and built on that performance the next week at Ellis Park, scoring a try in the All Blacks stunning 35-23 win.

His absence was cruelly felt when he was taken off in Christchurch against Argentina early, which then saw veteran Codie Taylor miss some critical throws down the stretch in that loss.

A man-of-the-match performance in Melbourne against the Wallabies followed, with two tries and nine carries while completing 100 per cent of his lineout throws.

The 25-year-old quickly became the first choice hooker as the All Blacks opted to keep starting their new front row of De Groot, Taukei’aho and Lomax.

Dalton Papali’i (Openside flanker)

The Blues No 7 was arguably the form openside of Super Rugby before getting struck down with appendicitis towards the end of the season.

However, the 25-year-old had to bide his time for opportunities with the All Blacks as captain Cane started throughout the season as the side searched for answers.

Against the Brave Blossoms, Papali’i produced a whirlwind cameo to help the All Blacks hold on, coming up with 9 tackles in 15 minutes and the final penalty at the breakdown to turn over Japan’s last attacking chance.

After Cane suffered facial fractures in that 38-31 win over Japan, the door opened for Papali’i to show what he could do in a starting role.

With Papali’i in the lineup, the All Blacks didn’t miss a beat in the back row with a bruising performance against Wales, completing 16 tackles and making an early line break in the lead up to the first try. He also added a turnover.

Against Scotland he had another two-turnover performance, coming up with 13 tackles in another solid outing, while against England he snatched a runaway intercept try, 13 tackles and another turnover.

Papali’i elevated his case for starting over Cane with his performances at the back of the year, but is unlikely to usurp the All Blacks captain.

Rieko Ioane (Centre)

Ioane finished the year cemented as the All Blacks best option at centre heading into 2023. Despite some flaws in his attacking game that were on show against Ireland, the Blues midfielder became a much more efficient playmaker as the season progressed, setting up his outsides with regularity.

The switched flipped for Ioane at Ellis Park as the All Blacks opted to run it wide from deep against South Africa which utilised Ioane’s speed.

There were still some missed opportunities, like his monster break at Eden Park against the Wallabies with Will Jordan looming up on his outside, but even that play showed Ioane was assessing his options with more impetus rather than purely playing with blinkers.

Perhaps more importantly, Ioane’s defence went to another level in 2022 with a number of critical try saving tackles a testament to his improving D. He held up numerous players over the line, including a key stop on Andrew Kellaway in Melbourne.

With Goodhue injured and Lienert-Brown coming back late from an injury, Ioane is best placed to wear the No 13 jersey at the World Cup in part due to the new style of play that the All Blacks coaches want.

Ioane is a breakaway threat that is now being utilised more effectively, while all the other parts of his game continue to rise.

Joe Schmidt (Assistant coach)

The former Ireland head coach ended up in an ideal role to help the All Blacks after originally taking up a selectors role.

As an assistant he will stay out of the spotlight and away from the media duties, but retains a hands-on role on the field overseeing the small details which seems to be his expertise.

Many players are seeing the benefit of Schmidt’s coaching with far better execution across their attacking play.

Given the state of chaos that the side was in when he joined, Schmidt will be praised if they win but won’t cop all the blame if they lose.

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j
john 31 minutes ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 2 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

13 Go to comments
T
Trevor 5 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

29 Go to comments
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