What logic is there to bringing back Brodie Retallick

Brodie Retallick would be one of the better All Blacks I’ve seen. 

Rugged and skillful, he was everything you could possibly want in a lock. 

I say was, because I don’t see the logic in bringing him back into the fold. The same for flanker Shannon Frizell. 

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Codie Taylor had a superb weekend, with four tries in his 150th Crusaders game. Is he the right man to captain the All Blacks? Watch the Aotearoa Rugby Pod on RugbyPass TV now.

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I hope they’re enjoying semi-retirement in Japan and I wish them well in all their future endeavours. I just think their time has come and gone. 

The Retallick situation is interesting. He and All Blacks coach Dave Rennie have a strong and longstanding relationship. Rennie also knows better than we do exactly how well Retallick’s travelling in Japan. 

It’s just that lock, unlike first five-eighth, isn’t a glaring area of weakness for the All Blacks. 

I think bringing Richie Mo’unga back from Japan is a bit of a Hail Mary, but unfortunately a necessary one. Unless Ruben Love develops at a rapid rate of knots, we’re stuck with guys who’ve been there and not really done that in recent years. 

Folk seem to finally accept that you can’t pin your hopes and dreams on Damian McKenzie, while Beauden Barrett – as much as I’ve always admired his ability – is arguably 10 years past his best. 

It’s some feat to remain such a fine footballer but, when we write Barrett’s rugby obituary, the deeds of 2016-19 will get more prominence than anything he’s done since. 

On that score, the All Blacks probably have to take a punt on Mo’unga. 

Lock’s different. Fabian Holland, Tupou Vaa’i, Josh Lord, Sam Darry and even young Jamie Hannah quickly come to mind. I haven’t even got to Patrick Tuipulotu and Scott Barrett. 

Retallick is about to turn 35 and has plenty of miles on the clock. No doubt Japanese rugby has left his body less battered than when he arrived, but signing there always signalled the end of his test career. 

There’s no doubt the man’s a leader and that New Zealand’s contingent of locks could learn a lot from him. He also captained Chiefs teams under Rennie and would be an ideal conduit between the new coach and the players. 

As far as Frizell goes, the idea of him hasn’t always been matched by the reality. Sure, we all remember him running roughshod over the Springboks at Mt Smart Stadium in 2023, but that was an exception rather than the norm. 

More broadly, I don’t want to be a hypocrite here. I didn’t like that Sam Cane and TJ Perenara got All Blacks swansongs, despite Japanese contracts. 

I felt it denied others the opportunity to stake 2027 Rugby World Cup claims and potentially contributed to Scott Robertson’s inability to make the All Blacks his team. 

Experience is fine, but relics from a previous regime can sometimes prove counterproductive.  

If Rennie can get Retallick back into the All Blacks, then it appears he will. Time will tell if New Zealand Rugby acquiesce to that request and if Retallick proves worthy of a place in the 23. 

I rate Rennie and regard Retallick as an absolute all-time great of the New Zealand game, but I have reservations nonetheless. 

If the All Blacks fail to fire a shot at next year’s world cup, I’d be astonished if it’s because they didn’t have enough good locks.