You must have two halfbacks and two hookers, so these two must be considered as third-choice options for the All Blacks
My friends in the front-rowers club – many and learned as they are – tell me you should always choose your tighthead prop first and then your reserve tighthead prop when selecting your match-day 22 or 23.
They may be right, but there are also two selectorial non-negotiables: you must choose two halfbacks and two hookers in your squad. They are, props aside, the most specialised positions on the field. You can get away with non-specialists on the bench and versatility is indeed encouraged, especially in the backline and among those who can suit up in the loose forwards and locks.
So when the All Blacks selectors sit down to name their 31-man Rugby World Cup squad, they will need a No 3 No 2 and a No 3 No 9, if you follow me.
Unless there is a massive shift in thinking or an injury crisis, the halfbacks will be Aaron Smith, TJ Perenara and Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi. The first two speak for themselves. Tahuriorangi, however, has this week been thrust into the limelight by virtue of the fact that Brad Weber, a one-test All Black in 2015, has played so well for the Chiefs, for whom he is also stand-in skipper.
Colin Cooper clearly backs Weber’s leadership and form, despite the fact that he promoted ‘Triple T’ at Taranaki as far back as 2015. The numbers are stark. Weber has scored four tries in 10 outings and racked up 689 Super Rugby minutes. Only five Chiefs have more minutes and yet Weber is in a job-sharing position. Tahuriorangi, by contrast, has made two starts, scored two tries and compiled just 242 minutes. That should not be enough to be a prime RWC contender. But the selectors have decided he is the future and has more upside than Weber, and the Crusaders duo of Bryn Hall and Mitch Drummond, both of whom have been fringe All Blacks.
Tahuriorangi’s plight is not caused by poor form, but rather the dynamism of Weber behind a pack that has missed Sam Cane, Brodie Retallick and front-row stability for large tracts of the season.
There may be some direct phone calls between Steve Hansen and Cooper in the coming weeks if the Chiefs drop out of playoffs contention and perhaps even if they do not drop out of playoffs contention.
The hooker situation is rather cloudier. Codie Taylor is clearly the best hooker in the land, and Dane Coles should be his back-up, but is labouring with injury and has made just five appearances for the Hurricanes. Nathan Harris is the top rake at the Chiefs, but, despite showing some silky touches around the field in 2019, has yet to command an All Blacks position, though he has 20 tests’ worth of experience to call on.
Falling off the pace are Ricky Riccitelli and James Parsons, while the admirable Ash Dixon has never got a look-in other than at Maori All Blacks level.
Step forward Liam Coltman, four tests since 2016, but always the third or fourth choice at best. The 29-year-old is playing his way into the All Blacks squad. Coltman has been the benefactor of the Highlanders’ lineout drive but, more importantly, he is leading the pack from the front along with Tom Franklin.
There was a time when Coltman was the Aled de Malmanche of New Zealand rugby – good rugby player, but struggling to hit his lineout targets, having switched from prop. But Coltman has tidied that up and is making a solid case that he is All Blacks material. Furthermore, dependent on how Coles bounces back, he might well be wearing the No 16 jersey in black on a far more permanent basis.
Third-string hookers and halfbacks at a Rugby World Cup are more than just bit-part players. They will start at least one match and have to train the house down, knowing injury could swiftly thrust them back into the spotlight. Taylor was the third wheel in 2015, and Corey Flynn was in that slot back in 2011.
Perenara found himself in that unfamiliar role as Tawera Kerr-Barlow leapfrogged him in 2015, while Jimmy Cowan, despite his yeoman service in 2008-10, was overtaken by Andy Ellis in 2011.
We are four months out from Japan 2019, so there is time for a change of thinking, but those specialist roles should never be taken lightly.
Ryan Crotty ahead of Stormers’ clash:
Comments on RugbyPass
The RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
1 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
2 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
2 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
2 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
21 Go to commentsJake 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
21 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.
4 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to comments