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Time for All Blacks to re-affirm their standing after disappointing 2019

By Tom Vinicombe
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

A win, a draw and a loss doesn’t exactly make for great reading. That’s exactly how New Zealand’s 2019 Rugby Championship campaign finished, however.

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It could’ve been so much worse, too. The All Blacks narrowly escaped with a four-point win in Argentina to kick off their campaign while a 74th minute Richie Mo’unga penalty kick back home in NZ ensured that Herschel Jantjies’ last-minute try for the Springboks didn’t consign the All to another loss.

Whatever the case, Ian Foster will be hoping for a much better result when his squad travels to Australia for this year’s iteration of the Rugby Championship.

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Jerome Kaino on the future of the All Blacks, Cheslin Kolbe and his final season in rugby

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Jerome Kaino on the future of the All Blacks, Cheslin Kolbe and his final season in rugby

First up, however, they’ll need to produce some emphatic wins over Australia in next month’s Bledisloe Cup matches.

Last year, the Wallabies embarrassed the All Blacks in Perth. The 47-26 drubbing marked Australia’s highest-ever score of their trans-Tasman rivals as well their biggest-equal winning margin.

Seven of the men that started for the Wallabies in that match aren’t a part of Dave Rennie’s 44-man squad. Kurtley Beale, Rory Arnold, Izack Rodda and Tolu Late have relocated to France while Samu Kerevi and Christian Lealiifano has taken his talents to Japan. Isi Naisarani, meanwhile, was simply overlooked by new coach Dave Rennie.

In contrast, just four of the defeated All Blacks from their starting team are absent from Foster’s first squad of the year. Ben Smith and Kieran Read have hung up their international boots while Owen Franks is in England and Scott Barrett – the man who was sent off 39 minutes into the defeat – is nursing an injury.

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While the Wallabies’ absentees will likely be replaced by relatively untested newbies, NZ’s ever-apparent contingency plans could see the vacated spots filled by experienced options. Read’s absence will likely be the most significantly felt, with Ardie Savea, Sam Cane and Hoskins Sotutu all possibilities to wear the No 8 jersey.

Last year’s comprehensive defeat aside, New Zealand have had the wood over their neighbours in recent times, suffering just four defeats since 2010.

Rennie, who coached the Chiefs to two Super Rugby titles in 2012 and 2013, is well-aware of the history between the two nations and while he’s introduced a gluttony of young stars to the Wallabies, he’ll also be well aware that subjecting them to the All Blacks machine at this stage of their careers could reinforce the hoodoo that Australia simply doesn’t beat New Zealand – except on the odd occasion.

That puts the former NZ Under 20s coach in a difficult position. Man for man, are the experienced players in the Wallabies talented enough for Rennie to mould them into a team that can best the All Blacks? Or does he put his faith in the 20- and 21-year-olds in order to give his side that extra oomph?

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The selection equation is probably not so difficult for Foster, who has a few key calls to make but will likely stick with largely the same side that lined up in last year’s Rugby World Cup semi-final.

Foster will have a bit more freedom to experiment when the Rugby Championship arrives in November. If the All Blacks do take a 46-man squad to Australia, as is expected, then a slew of new and returning players could be set for minutes – especially if Argentina and South Africa don’t have access to their top talent.

Many of the Pumas players have been struck down by coronavirus while, over the weekend, South Africa’s Super Rugby sides played their first competitive matches since March.

Still, given the relative disharmony that existed amongst NZ fans when Foster was first appointed as coach ahead of Scott Robertson, last year’s assistant won’t want his charges to take their foot of the pedal.

This year is a time to re-affirm the All Blacks as the superpowers of world rugby, and that must start in October when the Wallabies come to town.

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Jon 4 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 7 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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T
Trevor 11 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks 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.

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