Will the next All Blacks blindside flanker please stand up?
While the evidence isn’t necessarily conclusive, Shannon Frizell’s three-game run against South Africa and Argentina in the All Blacks No 6 jersey this year suggests that he’s viewed by the selectors as the nation’s first-choice blindside flanker.
It’s effectively a race between him and Scott Barrett to wear the jersey that’s never been satisfactorily filled since Jerome Kaino left it vacant following the 2017 British and Irish Lions tour, with Akira Ioane’s chances few and far between in 2022.
And with 28-year-old Frizell set to depart New Zealand’s shores after next year’s flagship event, the men in charge of the All Blacks in 2024 will have to find a new man to don the No 6 – with England currently set to be their first opposition of the new season.
The state of Ioane’s contract is currently unknown but it’s possible he joined his brother last year in signing an extension until the end of 2023. At 27 years of age, he could easily still push for a starting spot at the 2027 World Cup in Australia.
Barrett, meanwhile, is also off-contract following next year’s tournament but with both Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick set to depart, he will likely be eyeing up a permanent spot in the second row for the next World Cup cycle.
That leaves Dalton Papali’i, Ethan Blackadder and Luke Jacobson as the other recent All Blacks who have been tasked with playing on the blindside flank.
The former sees himself as a specialist No 7 and with both Sam Cane and Ardie Savea on long-term contracts with New Zealand Rugby, might struggle for opportunities in the first-choice loose forward trio.
The latter, meanwhile, fell out of favour with the selectors this year after jumping between three positions for the Chiefs throughout 2022 and will likely focus firmly on the number 8 role in 2023.
Although a major injury prevented Blackadder from suiting up for NZ this year, his regular selections in 2021 – regardless of which flank he occupied – illustrates his high standing with the current regime and a return to the national fold could be on the cards for 2023. Whether it’s Ian Foster or Scott Robertson in charge of the All Blacks following the World Cup, Blackadder will have his backers and he likely could find himself in pole position to occupy the No 6 jersey for many years to come.
Tom Robinson at the Blues has always been a fan favourite but has never cracked the national squad and his time has probably come and gone.
In Chiefs territory, youngsters Naitoa Ah Kuoi, Samipeni Finau and Tupou Vaa’i will likely share the blindside flanker role in 2023 and, thanks to spending many of their formative years in the second row, would add an extra lineout option to the All Blacks pack.
Frizell’s Highlanders teammate Marino Mikaele-Tu’u is another option – although he will likely spend the better part of the coming season at the back of the scrum.
In fact, it could be that Blackadder’s greatest challenge comes from within his own franchise.
Cullen Grace, a man who earned one fleeting appearance off the bench for the All Blacks in 2020, started the 2022 season slowly after spending much of the previous year sidelined through injury. Come the Super Rugby Pacific finals, however, Grace was arguably the most in-form loose forward in the country and played a massive part in the Crusaders’ title-winning performance against the Blues at Eden Park.
Grace missed out on selection in the NZ squad for July and then injury once again curtailed his year but with former Crusaders assistant Jason Ryan now in charge of the All Blacks forwards, you suspect that Grace would have been quickly brought back into the mix had he been fit and able.
Grace, like Mikaele-Tu’u and Jacobson, ostensibly prefers the No 8 role over blindside flanker but the differences between the two positions are fading by the season. Should the All Blacks loose their two most experienced lineout operators following 2023, as is expected, Grace’s expertise in that role could give him the upper hand over someone like Blackadder, who is better on the floor but can’t compete with Grace in the air.
There’s another young flanker at the Crusaders who will have also well and truly forced his way onto the selectors’ radars. 21-year-old Dominic Gardiner was a relative unknown at the beginning of the year but two breakout performances for the All Blacks XV on their inaugural northern tour certainly raised his profile.
So while there’s no obvious successor on the blindside flank for the All Blacks come 2024, the cupboard is hardly bare. As the two more experienced options, Ethan Blackadder and Akira Ioane could have the advantage over some of their competitors for the position but a couple of big Super Rugby Pacific season between now and then could quickly upset the apple cart.
Comments on RugbyPass
Anna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo 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
6 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.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 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.
61 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.
8 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
61 Go to comments