Tupou Vaa’i was sent as a lamb to the slaughter against France
Lucky. It’s only a pool game.
The All Blacks have finally lost a group match at a Rugby World Cup after 31 consecutive wins – outmuscled by France 27-13 in the 2023 opener.
The All Blacks attack was clunky with a cross-kick the only weapon consistently likely to prize open the French defense.
Discipline was poor with the All Blacks losing the penalty count 12-4, the scrum faulted in the first half, and it’s hard to recall a single lineout drive.
The hosts’ territorial kicking was superior and their work at the breakdown efficient, helped by the late withdrawal of All Blacks captain Sam Cane, and the most baffling All Blacks World Cup selection since Christian Cullen played centre in 1999.
What on earth was lock Tupou Vaa’i doing at blindside flanker?
In his Super Rugby career, Vaa’i has only started three of his 44 games for the Chiefs in the six jersey. All those games were in 2022 with two defeats against the Blues (22-24) and the Crusaders (19-34). The only win was against bottom-placed Moana Pasifika.
In 23 Tests for the All Blacks Vaa’i played 18 minutes as a replacement for openside Dalton Papalii in a dead rubber victory over Australia (38-21) in Perth in 2021. He has recently drifted into the loose forwards with little explanation.
Nine nondescript minutes in the 35-20 success over South Africa on July 15 was followed by a more conspicuous struggle – 41 minutes on the blindside in the record 7-35 defeat against the Springboks on August 25.
Since Jerome Kaino retired in 2017, Liam Squire, Shannon Frizell, Akira Ioane, Ethan Blackadder, Dalton Papalii, Vaea Fifta, Luke Jacobson, and Ardie Savea have played blindside flanker in a Test match.
Such instability. Surely a better pathway forward is to pick actual loose forwards.
Frizell, unfortunately injured, is clearly head of the pack after three storming displays in the 2023 Rugby Championship. Rookie Samipeni Finau appears to have fallen out of favour and what were the All Blacks selectors saying to Luke Jacobson omitting him at the expense of such a green replacement?
Typically, an eight, Jacobson played more games at blindside for the Chiefs in 2022 than what Vaa’i has played in his whole career.
Scott Barrett isn’t an ideal blindside, but he’s played 40 more tests than Vaa’i.
Surely, he was a better pick in an emergency than Vaa’i especially with Brodie Retallick (104 Tests) left on the bench.
Vaa’i is noted as a strong carrier and brings greater height than Jacobson. That can be the only logic for his selection which in this Test was a complete failure. He could have started at lock too but that would have exposed the initial folly of taking too few loose forwards.
As a trio the All Blacks loose forwards were completely outplayed by the French. Vaa’i was a lamb to the slaughter, a fish out of water. A gifted young athlete let down by bad selection. The field day had by Charles Ollivon at the breakdown was a highlight for the French.
Injury to wing Emoni Narawa leaves a space open in the All Blacks roster. Outside back cover appears less essential than loose forward cover.
Ethan Blackadder recovered from his latest injury, and following a strong 93 minutes in two wins for Tasman in the NPC, has been summoned to France.
Will Blackadder drastically improve fortunes after just five matches for the Crusaders in Super Rugby in 2023? His last All Blacks Test was in a loss to Ireland in 2021.
Blackadder, when available, has been an essential cog in the Crusaders juggernaut. Of the 36 matches he’s played for the seven-time reigning champions 28 have been on the blindside with only four defeats suffered.
Blackadder is not an exceptional lineout jumper, but he will add considerable zeal at the breakdown. He is a prolific tacker, robust on his feet, and an assertive cleaner. His carrying and distribution are more nuanced than Vaa’i and he’s work rate in tight is higher than Papalii and Jacobson.
The All Blacks don’t have the raw power of South Africa, France, or Ireland. A loose forward trio of Blackadder, Papalii and Ardie Savea lends itself to a more savaging, quicker style of play which could spare us of the incessant kicking.
What if Blackadder succumbs to injury again? Brad Shields last played for England in 2019. He’s been immense for the Wellington Lions in the NPC. You could do a lot worse than a seasoned campaigner like Shields right now.
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
31 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
31 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
31 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
31 Go to comments