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Why the North is tipped by fans to win the all-New Zealand bragging rights

By Josh Raisey
(Photo by Dianne Manson/Getty Images)

The announcement of the North and South squads for the upcoming all-New Zealand contest has left supporters giving their predictions of how the match – a game that will be for all intents and purposes a Test level encounter – will pan out. Few, if any, countries could rival the strength in depth across New Zealand. This will also be a major influence in who will start for the All Blacks when international rugby returns next November. 

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The selection process has raised a few eyebrows among fans, however, with players being selected on where they first played representative rugby. For instance, this sees Aaron Smith, who recently played his 150th game for the Highlanders, being selected for the North having started his career with Manawatu.

No matter what the criteria, there was always going to be controversy. If the selection was based on where the players were born, there would have also been complaints that a player such as Damian McKenzie has spent the entirety of his career in the North Island despite being born in the South. 

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The Aotearoa Rugby Pod teases out its form All Blacks side

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The Aotearoa Rugby Pod teases out its form All Blacks side

Although there are plenty that are backing each side, it is actually the presence of Smith that is helping make the North favourites in many people’s eyes. 

The scrum-half has just come off an excellent Super Rugby Aotearoa campaign, and his potential partnership with Beauden Barrett, as opposed to Richie Mo’unga for the South, could be definitive in deciding the result. 

With TJ Perenara in the squad as well, it appears the North will have the All Blacks’ favoured No9 combination. Smith joins Sevu Reece as some of the high profile names who play for South Island sides to represent the North, while the Hurricanes’ Jordie Barrett will go the other way. 

Elsewhere, the North’s back row is another area receiving a lot of attention in spite of the absence of All Blacks captain Sam Cane. The partnership of Ardie Savea and the in-form Lachlan Boshier on the flank is intriguing and could be complemented by Hoskins Sotutu at No8. 

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The South is of course well represented by the Crusaders, which is a recipe for success given their grip-hold of domestic rugby in New Zealand. They will be spearheaded by Mo’unga and a smattering of Highlanders stars also in this team means they will be a well-oiled side. Despite that, the North still seems to be the fans’ choice at this point. 

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Jon 7 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 10 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 12 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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