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'Versatility isn't going to help us': Why the All Blacks need a specialist No 12
With only six weeks left to go before the All Blacks take on Ireland in a three-test series, debate about All Black selections is starting to heat up.
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Of all the positions to select, who will get first nod to start at second-five against the Irish remains arguably the hottest point of discussion as a number of players find themselves in strong form for their Super Rugby Pacific franchises.
Speaking on Sky Sport’s The Breakdown, former All Blacks Jeff Wilson, Mils Muliaina and Sir John Kirwan shared their views on who they believe is the right selection at second-five for the All Blacks.
“There are so many guys who are performing. I hope we have the courage to look at the options available to us and one of those is Jordie Barrett,” Wilson said.
“When I sat down and put together an All Blacks side, thinking about who’s going to play when and where, I looked at it and thought we have so much versatility in our team, we have got so many guys who can play multiple positions.”
“The Hurricanes have decided it’s not a bad idea to play Jodie Barrett at 12, with Josh Moorby being in such great form.
“I look at that and I think to myself, ‘What is it we are looking for, how is it we want to play and how do we incorporate the talent?’ For me, I look at Jordie Barrett as an excellent option at 12.”
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Muliaina weighed in with his views of Barrett’s efforts at second-five, saying he brings a “different style” to other midfield contenders and it may be that he makes the No 12 jersey his own given the impressive form of Crusaders star Will Jordan.
“I think he actually has proven that he can slot in there, and he’s probably a victim of circumstance,” Muliaina told The Breakdown.
“You look at the fact that Anton Lienert-Brown is out, Goodhue is coming into form, I think he [Jordie Barrett] brings a different style, and the reason why he has is because he’s had stability.
“He’s had momentum staying in the position for a number of weeks for the Hurricanes. I think he can actually transform that into the All Blacks. The problem when you get to the All Blacks is it’s such a hard position to go chopping and changing.
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“Jordie’s mindset now has to be, ‘Am I going to be a genuine second-five-eighth and is Ian Foster going to pick me?’, and have that discussion because last year he was a fullback.
“Given the fact Will Jordan is playing so well, maybe it is a fix.”
Kirwan, who has previously advocated for the selection of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck at No 12, is primarily concerned with consistent selecting a team and giving them enough time together to gel ahead of next year’s World Cup in France.
“We’ve just got to pick a test side and stick with it,” Kirwan told The Breakdown.
“Seriously, besides injury, I don’t believe we should worry about versatility anymore… I seriously don’t think versatility is going to help us moving forward.
“My point is, if you put Jordie there, he has got to stay there for 10 tests, because he has to get used to it. This is the biggest challenge that the All Blacks selectors have.
“In at least 10 [out of the 18 tests leading up to the 2023 World Cup], the All Blacks have to play together. If you go Jordie… or If you pick Roger, he’s going to need time in that position, he is going to have to play all this season.”
Among all this discussion, Wilson made note that the sheer number of contenders for the position means there is no obvious first-choice pick at No 12, but implored the All Blacks selectors to have the courage to pick based Super Rugby Pacific form.
“It’s a highly-congested spot. You’ve got the likes of Roger Tuivasa Sheck, you’ve got Jack Goodhue who is coming back, David Havili, who played in that 12 jersey so much last season, Thomas Umaga-Jensen, Quinn Tupuea,” he said.
“If you start looking at the back-to-back performances and the skillsets, the thing that is important to me is to create from the second-five position.
“It’s to be able to get over the advantage line, it’s to be able to carry strongly. We know Jodie Barrett can do that, we know Thomas Umaga-Jensen can do that.
“Jordie Barrett’s ability to offload, the last guy we had that in that position, who was 6’4” or 6’5”, his name was Sonny Bill Williams.”
“Jordie Barrett is a talent with the ability to offload. We have started to see it from Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.
“I’m just looking at it and going, ‘Are we going to have the courage to look at the form of these guys in Super Rugby?’, otherwise there’s no point them even looking.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Wayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
1 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
28 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
3 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
28 Go to comments