The new All Blacks to watch against Japan
When the All Blacks take on Japan in Tokyo next weekend there are sure to be some new faces charging out onto the field.
Steve Hansen’s bumper squad of 51 features eight uncapped players, with seven of them named in a 19-man wider group specifically assembled to prepare for the match against Japan.
A few names surprised fans, but Steve Hansen’s track record has proven that he’s rarely wide of the mark when it comes to player selection.
Here are the new faces you need to look out for on Saturday and moving forward. You can watch the game throughout Asia live on RugbyPass.
Tyrel Lomax
22-year-old tighthead prop Tyrel Lomax shapes as an integral piece of the All Blacks’ front row in the near future.
Lomax previously represented Australia at the Under 20 level and played a season for the Melbourne Rebels before shifting across the Tasman to join the Highlanders in 2018.
Last year Lomax made his debut for the New Zealand Maori and has enjoyed a fine season with Tasman in the Mitre 10 Cup.
The prop possesses elite size, comparable to new All Blacks teammate Ofa Tu’ungafasi, and has been compared to 45-test stalwart Carl Hayman.
He also has his father’s international pedigree to boot, as the son of former Kiwis rugby league prop John Lomax.
George Bridge
I wouldn’t have been upset if George Bridge had been included in the main All Blacks squad.
The versatile outside back has been in world-beating form all year, starring for the Crusaders with 15 tries on the wing and leading Canterbury to the Mitre 10 Cup Premiership final from fullback.
At 23 years old Bridge is in the Ben Smith mold, and may force Steve Hansen’s hand come World Cup time if he can pull together another outstanding Super Rugby season in 2019.
READ MORE: Making the case for George Bridge
Bridge stands out in several key areas. He’s brilliant under the high ball, an elusive runner and ranked as one of the better defensive outside backs in Super Rugby in 2018.
He has already shown the All Blacks what he can do, scoring two tries against them while lining up for the Barbarians in 2017.
Brett Cameron
Perhaps the biggest surprise in the squad, 22-year-old first-five eighth Brett Cameron’s selection speaks volumes of his standing in the eyes of the selectors.
The diminutive Cameron admitted himself that his selection came completely out of the blue. He has just six minutes of Super Rugby action under his belt with the Crusaders but has helped Canterbury to consecutive Mitre 10 Cup finals, winning in 2017.
Cameron is notably the only first-five in the 19-man wider training group, though Canterbury and Crusaders teammate Richie Mo’unga may find himself staying with the group in Japan despite scintillating Super Rugby form.
Cameron finished 2018 ranked second in the Mitre 10 Cup in terms of points scored with 121 and kicked for goal with a success rate of 80%.
Dalton Papalii
Put simply, Dalton Papalii is a freak.
Although he’s the only uncapped player named in the All Blacks’ 32-man squad, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Steve Hansen let the young loose forward get his international feet wet against Japan next weekend.
Papalii’s performances for Auckland this season have been nothing short of spectacular. The flanker has stuffed the stat sheet with astronomical tackle figures. His tackle accuracy of 97% might be the only thing more impressive than his competition-leading 169 made tackles.
READ MORE: The Rise of Dalton Papalii
In his last five starts for Auckland, his tackle counts were 23, 29, 22, 21 and 20, with just six misses all season.
After turning 21 earlier this month, Papalii shapes as a key figure in the All Blacks for years to come.
In other news:
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 …
30 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!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 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.
30 Go to comments