There's still a way the All Blacks can play England in 2017
England and the All Blacks could still play each other in 2017 – albeit unofficially. Sounds far-fetched? It’s happened before, writes Jamie Wall.
It’s official: the All Blacks will not play England on their end of year tour. But the chance still exists to see the best take on the best… sort of.
One of the main reasons why the proposed All Blacks vs England showdown would have been a particularly dastardly move by the RFU is that it would have taken the place of the Barbarians’ 125th anniversary game against the All Blacks.
That’s right, the invite-only, practice-avoiding, social media champion all-star team that’s responsible for some of the greatest moments in rugby history.
The key part of that description is ‘invite-only’. As in, there’s nothing stopping them from inviting the entire England team to play in Barbarian colours on Twickenham for that fixture to make it an unofficial test match between the game’s superpowers.
Far-fetched? Not as much as you might think. In fact, it’s happened before – just over 20 years ago to be exact, on the very same ground, with the teams reversed.
Wearing bright red jerseys with a cute little lamb on the breast, a team that was essentially the All Blacks strode out onto Twickenham in November 1996 to play a hastily-arranged match with England as the NZ Barbarians. It came about during the heady early days of professional rugby, when just about any fixture seemed to be able to happen if there was money to be made.
That year the All Blacks had won nine tests and suffered one loss, however that blemish was in the dead rubber match after a historic series victory in South Africa. They had won the inaugural Tri-Nations series and were full of the players the rugby world wanted to see. The most notable of those was Jonah Lomu, who was getting another chance to heap some misery on Mike Catt.
The ‘96 England team, on the other hand, weren’t exactly the forerunners to the dominant side whose 18-test win streak just came to an end over the weekend. Captained by the less-than-legendary Phil de Glanville, they did at least have a pretty strong pack.
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The hosts, to their credit, did play their part in what was a very entertaining game. The NZ Baabaas’ first try is a reminder of what life was like before the TMO when Joeli Vidiri took a quick throw in despite being a good metre inside the field of play. Andrew Mehrtens cuts the English defence to shreds, despite having a physique which probably wouldn’t get him a trial as a ball-boy these days. Carlos Spencer chucks on a sidestep so filthy it sends the referee flying.
Since this November’s fixture falls outside World Rugby’s test window, it might be a little difficult to arrange a full team of English players to don the black and white hoops of the Baabaas. But given Barbarian F.C.’s win percentage against the All Blacks is exactly the same as England’s, they might not need them anyway.
Comments on RugbyPass
No Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
3 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
5 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
54 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
5 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
54 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
54 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
18 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
18 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
54 Go to comments