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The logical pick as the next-best All Blacks-eligible number 10
For someone who rarely gets injured, Damian McKenzie sure has caused a stir by injuring his knee.
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Most of those in Chiefs territory got that sinking feeling when he went down against the Blues. Their playoffs, let alone title, hopes went west as he limped off. Anton Lienert-Brown is manfully attempting to carry the Chiefs backline on his shoulders, but it will be to no avail.
Yet, judging by the head-shaking and hand-wringing, you would think the chances of an All Blacks’ Rugby World Cup three-peat have just evaporated. Who will be the third-string No 10? How will we replace the mercurial counter-attacking talents of D Mac? Whatever will we do?
Several pundits went off-piste with the assertion that the Blues’ Otere Black was the next cab off the rank. Black is a decent bloke, a fine goalkicker and probably a good pro. He is not an All Blacks No 10. His passing is laboured and he is not someone who will take on the line or set a backline alight. Were it not for Harry Plummer’s goalkicking issues, Black would be wearing the No 22 jersey for the Blues.
The Crusaders’ Brett Cameron, who was gifted one of the cheapest All Blacks jerseys in history last November, is also not the answer. One of the best goalkickers in the country, Cameron played so poorly at pivot for the Crusaders against the Waratahs – albeit in a dreadful overall team display – that Scott Robertson has not been able to risk him again. Mitch Hunt, who will never be an All Black, has shown himself to be a better all-round footballer and is the natural understudy to Richie Mo’unga.
So who is the next-best All Blacks-eligible No 10? Quite simply, Josh Ioane of the Highlanders.
And not just because he controlled play with aplomb in the shutout of the Sunwolves last weekend. He has been showing growing maturity and class for the last 12 months. He was the inspiration behind Otago’s rousing Ranfurly Shield win over Waikato and was, with Fletcher Smith, the premier No 10 in the Mitre 10 Cup. They should have taken Ioane to Japan instead of Cameron.
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In 2019, Ioane has started six of the Highlanders’ nine matches in the No 10 position. They dabbled with Marty Banks, who is accurate off the tee and a Tasman Mako and franchise legend. But an All Blacks No 10 he is not. He tackles like Ronan O’Gara, for one. So watch the Ioane-Aaron Smith halves combination closely in the coming weeks. It may be telling as the Highlanders make a late tilt for the playoffs.
For all that, the All Blacks selectors, among them Grant Fox and Ian Foster, who should know a decent first five when they see one, may decide that Ioane is not quite ready for the highest level. That would be a fair enough call. His time will come.
So if that were the case, they would opt for cover in the back three. Jordie Barrett is your man. He may have gone to the Rugby World Cup anyway, but he can play in multiple positions, including No 10. He could carve up Namibia from pivot.
We do not need to resort to bending the rules, or making desperate plays for Hayden Parker (!!!), Daniel Carter (!!) or Aaron Cruden (!). Parker is the best goalkicker on the planet, and has developed his all-round game, but he was surplus to requirements not that long ago. Has he really made supersonic progress in one season? Carter is the best No 10 of all time, but has a neck injury, which meant he could not even suit up in France. He is also 37, lest we forget.
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Cruden is 30 and has had a topsy-turvy time for Montpellier with his form and body, not to mention his boss firing a few shots his way. His club could potentially yet reach the French Top 14 playoffs and, if they made the final, that would be played on the same weekend as the Chiefs’ final regular season match on June 14. Would the selectors take him on sight unseen or ask him to turn out for his College Old Boys club in Palmy to keep the match fitness up before making a remarkable test comeback in July? I rather think not.
They have options, even if they decide against promoting Ioane, who is clearly the next best eligible first five. Don’t panic. Save that for if Beauden Barrett or Richie Mo’unga go down.
NZR re-sign Richie Mo’unga:
Comments on RugbyPass
Wayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
1 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
28 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
3 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
28 Go to comments