15 July 2021 | Damien McKenzie chats sideline as All Blacks prepare for second test against Fiji.
Two tests into the All Blacks season and Richie Mo'unga officially has his nose ahead of Beauden Barrett in their duel for the No 10 jersey.
With Ardie Savea and Anton Lienert-Brown returning from injury for their 50th tests among nine starting changes from the patchy win in Dunedin, All Blacks coach Ian Foster has assembled the closest squad yet to his first-choice side for the second test against Fiji in Hamilton on Saturday.
Further tinkering will come before the opening Bledisloe Cup test on August 7, with Blues prop Karl Tu'inukuafe, Crusaders loose forward Ethan Blackadder and Hurricanes fullback Jordie Barrett among those absent and Brodie Retallick reverting to the bench this week, but in many roles Foster has selected his best available options.
That includes the midfield, where David Havili and Lienert-Brown are paired for the first time in the All Blacks' third combination this month, while Akira Ioane, Will Jordan and George Bower have plenty to play for.
Likewise Mo'unga after getting the nod for his second start first five-eighth this test season, with Foster conceding Barrett struggled to assert his influence on return from Japan in a rare start at No 10 in Dunedin.
"It's shaping up just nicely," Foster said of the battle between his two playmakers. "It's not like we're trying to design a big boxing match with one against the other – we're trying to grow our 10s in terms of understanding how we play.
"I'd give Richie the points based on the first two games but, to be fair, we always expected that. Beauden made a lot of really good decisions - his instincts were probably a fraction off and that's why we're keen to keep playing him and give him more time. I was really impressed with a lot of his game management and to me he's not far off where we need him to be.
"He took a couple of pretty big face knocks and I thought it probably dampened his desire to go to the line quite as hard as what we know he can, so this is a chance for him to have a little bit of a breather in that space but come on and show us in the second half."
Richie Mo'unga starts at No 10 ahead of Beauden Barrett this weekend. Photo / Getty
Mo'unga's combination with Damian McKenzie from fullback – in an All Blacks backline seriously light on size – will shape the attack and go a long way to influencing selection preferences.
Foster confirmed All Blacks captain Sam Cane is unlikely to return from his pectoral surgery until the end of year tour. With Dalton Papalii sidelined by a calf injury, the decision to hand Savea the seven jersey and start Luke Jacobson at eight was straightforward.
"At the moment I can't see him being around for the Rugby Championship," Foster said of Cane. "If he is available near the end there's probably a chance we'll put him into the NPC for a game or two."
Lienert-Brown, in his comeback from minor elbow surgery, is relishing the chance to notch his 50th test at home alongside Havili, who he last played with in the New Zealand under-20s.
"This region is the reason I'm here," Lienert-Brown said. "It's given a lot to me so to do it at FMG Waikato is special. I'm very grateful.
"I've been super impressed with David as a player; always thought he was unlucky. Last week he was one of the standout players, he really proved he deserved to be here and I'm looking forward to partnering up with him.
"In the midfield combinations are important – look at Ma'a [Nonu] and Conrad [Smith] they stayed together for a long time and did some special things so to build combinations and relationships is really important in the midfield. At the moment we've changed it up quite a bit. That's not a bad thing because finding that right combination is important as well."
Anton Lienert-Brown returns from injury. Photo / Photosport
Sevu Reece's switch from the right to left wing reflects George Bridge's battle to impress there in the last two starts as he continues his return from appendix surgery. Chiefs lock Tupou Vaa'i is the only player not to see game time, with Foster indicating an earlier Achillies issue robbed him of his opportunity.
From a team performance perspective, Foster is demanding significant improvements at the breakdown and in the counterattack running lines from the back three, which he felt were too lateral last week.
"We have to improve a number of aspects from last week, there's no doubt about that," Foster said. "Often the breakdown looks like you get exposed from a physical side but some of it is strategy about the contact point and if it surprises people we get a bit short, but that's all part of us growing our game.
"We got some nice lessons there and we won lots of turnovers as well so it went both ways but the main focus is on our ball carrier. If you get hesitant in that space and the ball carrier doesn't do his job then next role is quite hard.
"They were very low at the breakdown last week and we put a lot of questions about how they could be that low and holding their weight, but we've got to make sure we're in there quick and we dominate that territory."
All Blacks: Damian McKenzie, Will Jordan, Anton Lienert-Brown, David Havili, Sevu Reece, Richie Mo'unga, Aaron Smith, Luke Jacobson, Ardie Savea, Akira Ioane, Sam Whitelock (c), Scott Barrett, Nepo Laulala, Codie Taylor, George Bower.
Reserves: Dane Coles, Ethan de Groot, Angus Ta'avao, Brodie Retallick, Shannon Frizell, Brad Weber, Beauden Barrett, Rieko Ioane.
