The players the All Blacks may look to inject to bounce back from loss
While the latest loss to Ireland may have left a sour taste in some fans’ mouthes, given how comprehensively the All Blacks were both outthought and outplayed by their opposition, Ian Foster’s men can still finish the season with an impressive 13-2 record with a victory against France in the final match of their European tour.
Ireland’s recent success over the All Blacks meant the game in Dublin was always likely to be the toughest assignment of the trip to the Northern Hemisphere but France, who have not beaten the All Blacks since 2009, have made huge strides in recent years and next weekend’s game in Paris will be no easy feat.
Foster now has to make a decision whether to give the men who were outperformed by their Irish opposites a second bite at the apple, or whether to freshen up the team and give some of the fringe players waiting on the sidelines an opportunity to show they belong in the first-string lineup.
Had the All Blacks won against Ireland, the latter strategy would almost certainly have been employed. Given the result didn’t go their way, however, there’s now a greater element of risk to the final match of the year and a second loss on the trot would have some baying for blood. The fact that the All Blacks have had to chop and change their selections over the last few weeks further complicates matters.
The game against Ireland, after all, was the first time that the All Blacks have really been challenged since they took on the Springboks in the final weekend of Rugby Championship action back in early October.
With the season seemingly hanging on the line – despite New Zealand boasting the best test record of any international side this year – Foster certainly won’t be looking to completely throw the baby out with the bathwater, but there are some players who he will likely look to inject next weekend in Paris.
Aaron Smith
The All Blacks have always looked better when they’re being dished up razor-fast ball from the breakdown and it would have been interesting to see if Foster would have still handed TJ Perenara the start against Ireland if Brad Weber had been fit and available for selection, instead of dealing with concussion protocols.
Perenara, for all his strengths, pales in comparison to Weber when it comes to getting to the breakdown quickly, and then getting the ball out of the mess of bodies. Weber, however, also lacks the astounding accuracy that Aaron Smith always brings to his game.
'This is not a biggie for me but it was clearly a tactic and good on them [Ireland] for doing it' #AutumnNationsSerieshttps://t.co/omT0cJwWe9
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 14, 2021
Thankfully, the All Blacks’ first-choice halfback was summoned into the squad ahead of the clash with Ireland and will likely return to action against France, despite last featuring in the test arena in mid-August. Handing the livewire the starting No 9 jersey could be a hard ask, but it might be deemed necessary.
Akira Ioane, Sam Cane and Luke Jacobson
The loose forward trio that ran out against Ireland should be commended for their valiant efforts in defeat – the game wasn’t lost in the forwards, and Ethan Blackadder, Dalton Papalii and Ardie Savea got through a mountain of work for the All Blacks, especially on defence.
Papalii topped the tackle count, with 25 to his name and just one miss, while Blackadder (20) wasn’t far behind. Savea, meanwhile, was his customary busy self and managed to get his ball-running going in the second spell after struggling to break free from the Irish shackles in the first half.
But, after a highly attritional match near the end of a 15-test season, Foster may wish to give some of his busier players spells – especially when there are ample replacements waiting in the wings.
Akira Ioane started out the season as the first-choice blindside flanker and after looking the goods against Fiji and Australia earlier in the year, came somewhat unstuck against the more physical Springboks side. He’s not started a match for the All Blacks since that loss at the end of the Rugby Championship, and the game against France could be his opportunity to reassert his place in the pecking order.
Luke Jacobson, meanwhile, is yet to have a bad game in the black jersey and could push Savea into the openside flanker role, unless Foster wants to reintroduce Sam Cane to the mix.
Don’t put it down to the luck of the Irish, the All Blacks were well outplayed on Sunday morning [NZT]. After playing 80-minutes, here's what scrumhalf TJ Perenara said the All Blacks need to improve on. #IREvNZL #AutumnInternationals https://t.co/OcgFXZlxGf
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 14, 2021
David Havili or Quinn Tupaea
The All Blacks fielded their fifth midfield combination for the year against Ireland, with Anton Lienert-Brown and Rieko Ioane running out in the No 12 and 13 jerseys respectively, but the former succumbed to injury before the end of the first half which saw David Havili slot back into the inside centre role.
Neither the starting nor finishing midfield combination flourished under the high-pressure defence from Ireland with Ioane struggling to link up with his outside players and various stages and Havili guilty of making some poor kick decisions.
Regardless, with Lienert-Brown potentially unavailable next weekend, Foster may have to shift things up and the introduction of Quinn Tupaea could add some much-needed go-forward in the midfield – although a Tupaea/Ioane combination may boast too much power and not enough distribution for the selectors’ liking.
Elsewhere around the park, the All Blacks aren’t so well-stocked right now that there are obvious changes to be made. If Damian McKenzie is able to regain some of his early season form then he’d be a contender to take over at fullback, but Jordie Barrett has been superb in that role this season, so that would be an unlikely move from Foster.
Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick both played 80 minutes against Ireland but given that Foster didn’t feel confident injecting Tupou Vaa’i late in the piece, it’s difficult to see a permanent change being made ahead of the weekend either.
Ultimately, the All Blacks will dust themselves off and feel confident that if they can get their hands on the ball and not squander position, they’ll be able to rack up some good tries against a young French side that isn’t quite the finished product. As such, it likely won’t be positional changes that help turn around the All Blacks’ fortunes, it will be strategic ones.
Comments on RugbyPass
This is short sighted from Clayton if you ask me, smacks of too much preseason planning and no adaptability. What if DMac is out for a must win match, are they still only going to bring their best first five and playmaker on late in the game? Trusting the game to someone who wasn’t even part of planning (they would have had Trask pinned in as Jacomb preseason). Perhaps if the Crusaders were better they would not have done this, but either way imo you take this opportunity to play a guy you might need starting in a final rather than having their 12th game getting comfortable coming off the bench.
1 Go to commentsThanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.
21 Go to commentsWhat a load of bollocks. The author has forgotten to mention the fact that the Crusaders have a huge injury toll with top world class players out. Not to mention the fact that they are obviously in a transition period. No this will not spark a slow death for NZ rugby, but it does mean there will be a new Super Rugby champion. Anyone who knows anything about NZ rugby knows that there is some serious talent here, it just isn’t all at the Crusaders.
2 Go to commentsI wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
4 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
7 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI 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.
5 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 comments