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'You can't take too many risks': Pundits project areas of concern for All Blacks XV
Pundits on The Breakdown pinpointed the Halfback selections for the All Blacks XV as an area where selection will determine the true purpose of the newly instated New Zealand secondary team.
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With veteran halfbacks TJ Perenara and Brad Weber missing out on All Black selection so far this season, their inclusion in the XV side could bring critical leadership to the development team.
On the other hand, promoting those players to the All Blacks while relegating the likes of Folau Fakatava could give the young halfback more playing time, after only seeing 10 minutes of action so far this international season.
The direction that selectors will take when recruiting the All Blacks XV remains somewhat of a mystery, so to put some context to the situation, ex-All Black halfback Justin Marshall shared his overview of the situation:
“Importantly,” Marshall said. “What we need to make sure that people are aware of, is this is basically an All Blacks selection, so the All Blacks selectors are selecting it.
“Leon (McDonald)’s coaching it, he said that he’ll sit in on (selection) and he might have a little bit of input into some players but that’s a side that they (Ian Foster and co) are selecting so they will be looking for players that they want to see more of, some players that they’ve seen enough of might be unlucky, and then it’s how far do they go development and youth-wise?”
Sir John Kirwan was adamant the selections should favour playing time for fringe All Blacks who would likely be injury cover for next year’s World Cup.
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“Do you send some of your All Blacks, numbers 30 to 36 that have been in and around the squad and haven’t played?” Kirwan said. “(Stephen) Perofeta comes to mind straight away, Fakatava…
“There’s two games, do you play them at nine and ten because you need them to actually play some footy at the highest level or are you going to take them on the Northern tour and they’re going to sit on the bench or not play?
“Otherwise, do you take some experience and a whole lot of young guys? I think they’ll be thinking of the World Cup so we might see some of the guys that’ll be disappointed not to make the All Blacks squad.”
Kirwan also shared a little “whisper” he’d heard regarding selection:
“(I) don’t know a lot about this young man but Levi Aumua, I’ve heard that he got the envelope under the door; ‘don’t name yourself available for Samoa or Fiji because we’ve got some sights on you’.”
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“You could also take someone like TJ Perenara just to be the great leader that he is and make sure that they understand the importance and the responsibility of winning in that jersey, because it won’t be easy.”
While Kirwan expressed excitement for the opportunity created by an extra travelling team, he wasn’t convinced naming it the All Blacks XV was the right direction to take as far as maximising the development potential for the squad.
“I would rather they went away as the Baabaa’s (Barbarians) because you do have that All Black brand on their chest which means you can’t take too many risks.”
Mils Muliaina agreed the midfield was an area of concern for the All Blacks that the coaches should look to address in the All Blacks XV.
“I think if you look at it from an All Black point of view, where are the positions they want to see?
“For me, it’s guys in the midfield, because we’ve been hurt a lot, we still haven’t realised who’s going to cover the centre position should Rieko Ioane go down so that’s an area where they gotta bolster up in some sort of way and say ‘well we’ll pick someone that we think we want to go and see them before the Rugby World Cup’.
“Halfback’s probably another one, you know that third spot, who gets that because there’s so much competition so if you’re picking a (Finlay) Christie and an Aaron Smith for the All Blacks and Fakatava is obviously the third halfback, do you send Fakatava and someone totally different as opposed to sending a Brad Weber?
“I think you leave the likes of Brad Weber and TJ Perenara behind.
“Those guys don’t necessarily need to play themselves into the All Blacks, I think you give them that time off to then really energise for next year.
“They’ve seen enough of them, they know their experience so let’s see these (younger) guys.
“Then, I think there’s a mixture, of the future and that for me really is key.
“I think in terms of a Rugby World Cup, the All Black coaches will be thinking particularly centre is going to be our biggest issue and we’ve had to try and find a couple of pairs.”
Justin Marshall then shifted focus to beyond the World Cup, knowing that there will inevitably be a number of current All Blacks retiring or taking contracts overseas.
“I’m thinking of players that can play at Rugby World Cup should we need them or are going to be All Blacks post World Cup, because we’re going to have an exodus, there’s no doubt about it, always happens and quite a lot of these All Blacks are well into their 30’s.
“So, I totally agree with what Mils said, I would go down the pathway of putting TJ (Perenara) or Brad Weber in the All Blacks on the end-of-year tour and I would put Fakatava and Perofeta into that 15.
“They still – because they’re in the UK, should there be injuries – (can) slot into the All Blacks should they be needed.
“You know what Brad Weber’s going to give you but we haven’t seen enough of Fakatava, we haven’t seen enough of Perofeta, they need game time in big stadiums like in Tottenham Hot Spur Stadium against good opposition like the Barbarians and Irish 15.
“So, I would go down that pathway but I’d also take someone like Fabian Holland, this guy was monumental last night and he’s been developing brilliantly, he’s in the system, he’s a big man and we need big, strong ball carriers and I think he’s the type of player that could be one of those bolters they take along.
“The other one I just want to speak about is – along the Perofeta, Fakatava line -is Damian McKenzie, he’s suffering a little bit from that Japan syndrome, he’s not quite back to where he was in my mind.
“He’s probably better to go into that All Blacks XV and get game time, I don’t know whether it’s at 10 or 15 but we need to find out where he sits for the All Blacks come next year and that might not be anywhere but it might be ‘man we forgot how good this guy is’.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Jake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
13 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
1 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
3 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
13 Go to commentsThe Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
13 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
39 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
11 Go to commentsWhat 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.
39 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.
86 Go to comments