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Dozens of talented New Zealand players headed overseas after the Rugby World Cup. Jamie Wall looks at whether the ex-Kiwi squad would be good enough to compete against top-tier teams in the Rugby Championship.
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Last year saw the largest exodus of All Black talent overseas at any one time in the professional era. A host of big names took their talents to France in exchange for fat pay days and a chance to get away from the hyper-attentive NZ media (apart from Dan Carter).
So you’d think there must be a decent former All Black team floating around in the ranks of the Top 14, English Premiership, Japanese Top League and even Super Rugby. One that could still compete in The Rugby Championship?
Well, sort of.
Here’s a First XV of overseas-based former All Blacks:
Fullback: Charles Piutau
Wing: Zac Guildford
Centre: Conrad Smith
Second five: Ma’a Nonu
Wing: Colin Slade
First five: Dan Carter
Halfback: Alby Mathewson
Number Eight: Victor Vito*
Flanker: Adam Thomson
Flanker: Daniel Braid
Lock: Jeremy Thrush
Lock: Jarrad Hoeata
Prop: Ben Franks
Hooker: Aled de Malmanche
Prop: Jamie Mackintosh
*OK, Vito hasn’t actually left yet, but he’s not going to be playing for the All Blacks anymore.
Great looking backline, solid loosies and a lightish tight five. But definitely good enough to have a decent run against the current Rugby Championship teams?
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It’s important to note that this motley group of all-time greats (Carter, Nonu, Smith), honest toilers (Thrush, Thomson) and veritable pub-quiz answers (de Melmanche) will possess the motivation they once had when pulling on the All Black jersey. Because we all know ‘Nonu’ and ‘motivation’ don’t always go in the same sentence.
But that probably wouldn’t help them against the real All Blacks, because with that tight five, they’d never get any ball. It is, however, conceivable to see them scraping in against the Wallabies, Boks and Pumas at home due to their counter-attacking ability. Another thing that will work in their favour is that fact that those teams have long since forgotten how to win in New Zealand. Slade can provide a very capable backup goal kicking option and can slot into first five if needed, while Mathewson and Thomson are still familiar with Southern Hemisphere rugby as they’re still slogging it out in Super Rugby.
Overseas though, it’s a different story. The front row is second rate and would probably even get shown up by the Wallabies. Ben Franks was (and presumably still is) a penalty dispensing machine in open play, so the deficit in threes would build up pretty quickly. In fact, set piece would be a major problem anyway and Braid’s aging legs probably would leave the other two loosies to have to do even more work. So even the Pumas would be able to overcome their historical performance anxiety against New Zealand teams.
OE Blacks Record
W vs Boks in NZ, Wallabies in NZ, at Eden Park for good measure, Pumas in NZ
L vs All Blacks (both games), Wallabies in Australia, Boks in SA, Pumas in Argentina
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Projected Rugby Championship Placing: 4th, behind the All Blacks, Boks and Wallabies, but ahead of the Pumas
So maybe the player drain on the All Blacks post-RWC wasn’t actually as bad as we thought. Especially in the tight forwards, it says a lot to that the most recent ex-All Black hooker plying their trade overseas is from seven seasons ago. Out of that whole team, it’d be nice to have Piutau back, but given what we’ve seen in Super Rugby so far, there is more than enough talent to cover what has been lost lately.
Still though, I’d back the OE Blacks to beat the Lions next year.
Of course, instead of theorising about a team that’ll never play, it’d be great if the SANZAAR powers-that-be put in a side from the Pacific Islands in The Rugby Championship. But of course, we all know that’ll never happen.
Comments on RugbyPass
What was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
27 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
83 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
83 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
4 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
27 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
4 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
4 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
27 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to comments