The trouble with the All Blacks' reserve squad members
In taking a mammoth squad of 36 players to South Africa, the All Blacks are perhaps risking leaving some of their men undercooked for the latter stages of the Rugby Championship.
Hoskins Sotutu, Stephen Perofeta, Jack Goodhue and Caleb Clarke were all named in New Zealand’s squad for their July series with Ireland but failed to take the field. Meanwhile, the likes of Dane Coles, Angus Ta’avao, Tupou Vaa’i, Finlay Christie, Folau Fakatava and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck were given precious few minutes off the bench.
In the past, some of those players would likely have been left at home to clock up some minutes with their provincial sides while the rest of the squad ventured to the Republic. The NPC is set to kick off on August 5 – the same weekend that the All Blacks take on the Springboks in the first of their two tests – and the likes of Counties Manukau and Taranaki would undoubtedly love to have access to players such as Sotutu and Perofeta.
Having suffered back-to-back defeats to Ireland, Ian Foster is simply not in a position where he can afford to throw a smattering of newbies into the mix against a Springboks side that will be out for blood – especially not when the All Blacks will already have to cope without the likes of Joe Moody, Nepo Laulala and Ofa Tuungafasi in the front row.
Last year, Foster fielded what was very close to his top line-up in both matches against South Africa, with just one change made to the forward pack between Tests (Luke Jacobson took Ethan Blackadder’s place in the loose forwards for the second game but had originally been named in the starting line-up for the first fixture too, only to succumb to injury on the eve of the match), and three changes made to the backline (Brad Weber, Sevu Reece and a fit-again Anton Lienert-Brown taking the places of TJ Perenara, Will Jordan and George Bridge).
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It would be a major surprise if a similar approach wasn’t utilised in the coming weeks, with the All Blacks chasing an unusually elusive victory.
That means unless Foster and his selectors have a change of heart, the likes of Sotutu, Vaa’i, Perofeta and Tuivasa-Sheck are much more likely to spend the fortnight holding tackle bags than running out on Saturdays to take on the Springboks.
There’s naturally a strong argument for adopting a horses-for-courses approach to selection but when the teams that the All Blacks struggle with the most are the ones that certain players are ostensibly ill-suited to go to battle against, it does beg the question of whether it makes sense to continuously select those players in the wider squad.
Take Hoskins Sotutu, who was one of the best-performing loose forwards in Super Rugby Pacific.
Sotutu excels in the open field; his running game is as strong as any fullback and his passing game is up there with the best midfielders in the world. That’s not to say he wouldn’t flourish in a tighter game against opposition such as Ireland and South Africa – but he’s certainly not had the chance to prove otherwise in a black jersey.
Sotutu first earned selection in the All Blacks in 2020 and the NZ national side have played 24 matches in the two and a bit seasons since. The Blues loose forward has featured in just 10 of those matches – five times off the bench – and earned just 11 minutes against the Springboks. He hasn’t featured in any of the games against Wales, France or Ireland and it would be a major surprise if the 24-year-old is given the opportunity this year to take on similar opposition.
If Sotutu is only useful against the likes of Australia, Argentina and Italy, then is his place in the All Blacks really justified?
Perhaps the All Blacks selectors expect him to eventually mould his game such that he’ll be better suited for Northern Hemisphere opposition – but that’s never going to happen if he’s not actually on the field, and the two-week period in which NZ play in South Africa would be the perfect opportunity for him to earn his first minutes of action in almost two months by running out for Counties Manukau against Otago and Hawke’s Bay.
Similarly, is Stephen Perofeta going to get a run against the Springboks when the likes of Beauden Barrett and Richie Mo’unga are available? It’s possible – but unlikely.
With the All Blacks now running with supersized squads, the second-tier of top-line players – those men who are knocking on the door of Test rugby but perhaps still need to get some development under their belts – are finding themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place. While it makes sense to travel to South Africa with three halfbacks or three hookers, especially with injuries so common in the modern game, do the All Blacks really need six loose forwards, five locks or five midfielders on deck, when some of those players are still in the early stages of their careers and desperate for on-field development opportunities?
Comments on RugbyPass
NZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
22 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
22 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.
22 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
22 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
22 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
28 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
22 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
90 Go to comments