The new men the All Blacks might call upon for the Rugby Championship
After a first-ever series defeat at the hands of Ireland, Ian Foster’s All Blacks will be licking their wounds ahead of what mounts as a crucial two-game series in South Africa to kick off the Rugby Championship.
Never in the professional era have the All Blacks started their season with such a tough run of matches and after two disappointing losses to the Irish, Foster may look to rejig his squad ahead of the upcoming tournament.
The All Blacks named an unusually large 36-man squad for the July tests and it’s unlikely Foster will increase the size for the Rugby Championship, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be any changes.
Five players from the initial squad, Josh Lord, Hoskins Sotutu, Stephen Perofeta, Jack Goodhue and Caleb Clarke didn’t feature against Ireland.
Lord was ruled out of the series – and the rest of the season – before it even kicked off, while Goodhue and Clarke were on the mend from ailments, while Sotutu and Perofeta simply missed the cut.
The only major change that’s already been flagged is Brodie Retallick’s absence. The towering second-rower was forced off the field early in Saturday’s loss and is now on the mend from a broken cheekbone, which will see him out of action for at least the first few rounds of the Rugby Championship.
Patrick Tuipulotu has already been training with the squad and is all but a certainty to come into the squad but with Lord out of action and Scott Barrett seemingly the first-choice blindside flanker, it could be that Foster and his selectors call upon the services of another lock.
The likes of Quinten Strange and Mitchell Dunshea have spent time in the camp before but it’s more likely that one of the Maori All Blacks’ top performers gets the nod.
Josh Dickson has been a pillar of the Highlanders lineout for a number of years and has come close to selection in the past. At 27 years old, Dickson is no spring chicken – but could still have two World Cups in him – and with the likes of Tupou Vaa’i and Lord already blooded in black, perhaps a more experienced option would be a more worthwhile call-up.
Alternatively, Dickson’s teammate at both the Highlanders and Maori All Blacks, Manaaki Selby-Rickit, has been growing into a formidable presence and has similar mongrel about him – although he does possess a chequered past.
In the loose forwards, Pita Gus Sowakula wasn’t exactly a massive success in his two appearances off the bench against Ireland – but it would be a harsh move to drop him from the squad now. Similarly, Sotutu would be an unfortunate casualty after not getting the opportunity to earn any minutes throughout the series.
The drums have been beating loudly for Crusaders loose forward Cullen Grace, however, who was superb in the Super Rugby Pacific final and again when the Maori All Blacks defeated Ireland in Hamilton.
If Grace were to earn a call-up, who would be the unlucky man to drop out of the squad? Sowakula or Sotutu loom as the obvious candidates potentially facing the axe, given they cover the same positions as Grace, but you could make the case that with Sam Cane and Ardie Savea the only guaranteed selections in the loose forwards, Dalton Papalii might be one openside flanker too many.
Papalii can cover the blindside flank but given the All Blacks’ preference for a bigger ball-carrier in the No 6 jersey, the Blues captain might be surplus to needs, thus granting Sowakula, Sotutu and Grace the opportunity to fight it out for two spots in the matchday squad.
At halfback, whether Foster wants to deviate from the trio he named for July will come down to whether Brad Weber and TJ Perenara were actually ‘dropped’ from the All Blacks, or if they were simply pushed into the Maori All Blacks in order to get more game time. If it’s the former, then there’s little reason for the All Blacks to switch things up.
The only other area that desperately needs reassessing is the front row – specifically the tighthead side of the scrum.
Nepo Laulala, Ofa Tuungafasi and Angus Ta’avao were all disappointing throughout July. Laulala was unavailable until the third test, where he offered little around the field and was originally pulled from the match at halftime but was required to return after Tuungafasi copped a shoulder to the head. Tuungafasi, on the other hand, had an absolute stinker in Dunedin, incurring multiple penalties and generally not looking like a test-level player. Ta’avao, meanwhile, spent next to no time on the park and will likely have to sit out one more match due to the red card he incurred in the second match.
The All Blacks can probably afford to carry one, maybe two of these players – but all three? Crusaders props Fletcher Newell and Tamaiti Williams are up-and-comers who made great strides throughout Super Rugby and are both better long-term propositions than the current crop of tightheads and while some may argue that they’re not yet ready for test rugby, the same argument could be made for the current trio, based on their performances in recent times.
That leaves one ‘wild card’ – utility back Damian McKenzie. McKenzie wasn’t eligible for the July tests, having left the country at the end of last year to play in Japan without a new deal inked with New Zealand Rugby. Jordie Barrett was safe but mostly subdued in the No 15 jersey throughout July and a bit of flair at the back would help the All Blacks immensely – especially if they continue to rely on counter-attack and individual plays to net them tries. That flair doesn’t necessarily have to come from a man like McKenzie, who would be tested under the high ball by the Springboks next month, but he wouldn’t be the worst option. Without any vacant spaces in the squad, however, McKenzie’s selection would likely require the omission of someone like Stephen Perofeta – which would hardly be just rewards for the Blues playmaker’s superb work throughout the Super Rugby Pacific season.
Ultimately, despite some unimpressive performances throughout July, the All Blacks have the individual players to go undefeated throughout the Rugby Championship, even though they face a tough ask first-up against the Springboks in South Africa. It’s unlikely that Ian Foster and co will make any sizeable changes to the squad for the coming tournament but it wouldn’t be a major surprise to see a few new faces come in to mix things up.
Comments on RugbyPass
9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
8 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
8 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
8 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
8 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
3 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to comments