A look at the newly announced All Blacks squad for 2023.
OPINION:
Ian Foster’s first All Blacks squad of the year offers some hints of the style the All Blacks will adopt in the World Cup – but it remains to be seen how much of their hand they will show over the imminent Rugby Championship.
On the face of it,Foster’s squad is borderline exotic for a man whose selection philosophy is normally influenced by loyalty and conservatism; the five new caps (Tamaiti Williams, Samipeni Finau, Cameron Roigard, Dallas McLeod and Emoni Narawa) are leavened by the glaring omission of Shaun Stevenson.
Work rate and raw-boned aggression are the characteristics that spring out of this squad – and explain some selections. Luke Jacobson ahead of Akira Ioane and Hoskins Sotutu, for example. Jacobson is an acknowledged tackler; a busy, effective player in the collision phases – a man for the trenches.
Some time back, after Ioane had first come on the scene and before he’d become an All Black, I wrote a column saying I’d never seen a loose forward with Ioane’s basic raw material – and I was lucky enough to witness Michael Jones and Zinzan Brooke at their peak.
The All Blacks coached out some of the seagull tendencies, toning down the hanging round the fringes waiting for the ball so he could demonstrate his pace and running skills. He needed to be a tighter loose forward, doing more work in the collisions, the rucks and on defence.
He did what was asked – but missed out to Jacobson and Shannon Frizell, another No 6 or 8 who is not always convincing. Ioane has been, therefore, a coaching failure: a raw talent who lost his mojo when the coaches insisted he wear new clothes. Same with Sotutu, a bruising, defence-busting runner with fetching ball skills when he first arrived. He’s regressed since being given more of a coalface role – and simply hasn’t shown the work rate the All Blacks require.
Work rate is, I suspect, why Levi Aumua didn’t make it. There is no doubt about his power with the ball in hand – but likely still misgivings about how much he gets involved in the game, his defence and decision-making.
As for the other Aumua, Asafo, his errant lineout throwing in Super Rugby has been pinpointed but that, again, is surely a coaching job – and Aumua is far more of the style of incumbents Samisoni Taukei’aho and Codie Taylor should injuries intervene.
So how many of the new boys will get a start in the truncated Rugby Championship and how much of their World Cup hand will the All Blacks show?
There’s not much point in picking newcomers if they don’t get a decent trot, though Foster has form in this regard and has already said they want to win the series for the first time in a World Cup year since 2007. In addition, it seems three of the 36 will have to make way for the return of players like Joe Moody, Ethan Blackadder and David Havili so, with the World Cup squad at 33, six seem set to miss out on France.
Rumours suggest Barrett will be back in 15. Photo / Photosport
My guess is the All Blacks will play it basic – a fair bit of kicking and goal kicking; a lot of aggression and pressure defence, so they can counter-attack off turnovers. That doesn’t send too many signals to rivals at the World Cup. Some questions will be answered in the team to play Argentina, like whether Beauden Barrett will be at fullback, as the rumours suggest.
As to the new boys, I’d guess only Finau and maybe McLeod will get a start at first (how many will be risked against South Africa?). McLeod is all elbows and knees, big and fast, and shapes as an ideal offloader in the midfield. Jordie Barrett will be first choice at 12 but he has looked a bit jaded lately and might benefit from a rest as much as the coaches might profit from seeing whether McLeod could be Barrett’s back-up.
Narawa could get a start against the Pumas because of Mark Telea’s injury though that might depend on whether Will Jordan plays at fullback. Roigard will almost certainly be on the bench.
Stevenson, sadly, seems nowhere. His “work to do in defence” call seems harsh - there are others in this squad with flawed defensive records. When a selector gets a snitcher, it can be hard to beat.
However, this isn’t the first time the coaches have publicly outed a player for work to be done – like Ethan de Groot, who swiftly did the work and regained not only his place, but highest ranking as a loosehead.
Maybe Stevenson will have a similar rebirth. He seems the sort of player Scott Robertson would have selected and who, in a World Cup final, could find the flash of creativity and elusiveness to swing the match. But we may never know.
