The NZ provincial sides that could be unstoppable with their All Blacks available for selection
While it will still be some time before we know what the rugby calendar will look like in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, there have been suggestions aplenty regarding what we could expect from the compacted season.
One such suggestion would see New Zealand’s provincial competition again take pride of place in the rugby year.
The Mitre 10 Cup has fallen in prominence over the last decade, typically competing for the spotlight with Test rugby due to the congested calendar.
In 2019, six rounds of action were completed before the Rugby World Cup took over the airwaves but there were also various international warm-ups taking place throughout those first weeks.
2018 was a similar story, with the Rugby Championship and the Mitre 10 Cup kicking off on the same weekend.
While this naturally has a direct impact on the viewership of the Mitre 10 Cup, the arguably bigger issue is that All Blacks are almost entirely absent from New Zealand’s oldest nationwide rugby competition.
Last year, Brad Weber, Liam Coltman, Atu Moli and Rieko Ioane were the only All Backs who travelled to the World Cup who notched up any game time for their provinces.
It was a similar situation the year prior with just a handful of players who were lacking in game time allowed to turn out for their provincial sides.
You have to look back to 2006 for the last time that All Blacks played any sort of meaningful role in what was then called the Air New Zealand Cup.
In that year, the likes of Mils Muliaina, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Byron Kelleher and Keith Robinson faced up against Tana Umaga, Conrad Smith and Piri Weepu in the competition’s final.
This was only possible as the Super Rugby season was considerably shorter (16 weeks instead of 21), allowing the slightly more compact Tri-Nations (10 weeks instead of 14) to finish up with six rounds of action still go to in the Air New Zealand Cup.
It’s gotten to the point where many All Blacks’ provincial teams are token alliances used almost exclusively for marketing.
It was trumpeted as a fairly big deal when Kieran Read changed provinces from Canterbury to his native Counties Manukau back in 2017 but the All Blacks captain never donned Counties colours for anything other than promotional purposes.
That wouldn’t have been the case if the provincial season wasn’t now simply treated as a development competition.
Super Rugby could still take place in some form this year but at best we’re likely to see a New Zealand-only competition.
The alternative is to kick off the Mitre 10 Cup a little earlier in the year, whenever professional sports becomes viable once more, and welcome New Zealand’s top talent back into the provincial fold.
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Yes, it’s only 30-odd extra players being added to a competition which sees upwards of 400 players already taking part, but it’s 30-odd of the best players – men who could not only lift their sides’ performances but also help mentor the many rookies in the early stages of their careers.
The fact that the All Blacks are relatively evenly distributed amongst the provinces compared to 20 years ago would also mean that the likes of Canterbury, Auckland and Wellington wouldn’t simply be injected with all the talent.
Last year, Taranaki finished 5th in the Championship division – effectively ranking them as the 12th strongest province in New Zealand.
It would take a brave man to suggest that Taranaki wouldn’t challenge for the overall title if they had all their All Blacks on deck, however.
Simply adding the three Barrett brothers, Beauden, Scott and Jordie, to a side already well supported by Super Rugby players, would help take the 2014 champions’ game to another level.
In fact, Scott and Jordie have never actually had the opportunity to don the amber and black hoops of the Taranaki provincial side, originally earning their stripes for Canterbury.
The other team that might significantly benefit from having all their All Blacks fit and available for selection is Waikato, who weren’t far off making the finals in last year’s Premiership.
While their pack may not get too much propping up (although a fit Luke Jacobson would be a huge boon), their backline would suddenly be teeming with X-factor in the form of Damian McKenzie, Anton Lienert-Brown and Sevu Reece.
Couple those three with Solomon Alaimalo, Quinn Tupaea and Fletcher Smith and you’ve got a backs division on par with any in Super Rugby.
It’s also worth considering there are a huge number of former NZ players who now ply their trade in Japan, where the Top League season has been cancelled for the rest of the year. It may be a pipe dream, but is there a chance that some of these players could return for a one-off season in New Zealand? Could Kieran Read run out for the Counties Manukau Steelers after all?
Back in the real world, the extra time allotted to the Mitre 10 Cup could also allow for a full round-robin instead of the contracted season and Premiership/Championship split that fans have had to put up with for the last few years.
The whole season could be capped off with the much-fabled North Island v South Island match, selecting players based on their performances from throughout the Mitre 10 Cup.
Now may not be the time to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but it is a great opportunity for New Zealand Rugby to try something different. The season has been so comprehensively upturned that the status quo is no longer possible and a one-off refresh would certainly not be a bad thing.
The provinces that would benefit from having their All Blacks available:
Northland – Jack Goodhue
Auckland – Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Rieko Ioane
Counties Manukau – Nepo Laulala
Waikato – Luke Jacobson, Anton Lienert-Brown, Sevu Reece
Bay of Plenty – Sam Cane
Taranaki – Angus Ta’avao, Scott Barrett, Beauden Barrett, Jordie Barrett
Hawke’s Bay – Brodie Retallick (in Japan), Brad Weber
Manawatu – Aaron Smith
Wellington – Dane Coles, Ardie Savea, TJ Perenara
Tasman – Atu Moli, Shannon Frizell
Canterbury – Codie Taylor, Joe Moody, Sam Whitelock (in Japan), Richie Mo’unga, George Bridge
Otago – Liam Coltman
Comments on RugbyPass
I certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to comments