All Blacks v England: The positional switch allowing England flexibility on their bench – Phil Gifford

THREE KEY FACTS:

• The All Blacks open their season against England in Dunedin on Saturday night.
• England No 8 Ben Earl spent time at second five-eighths during their recent win over Japan.
• Saturday’s test will be Scott Robertson’s first in charge of the All Blacks.

Over a lifetime of covering rugby, Phil Gifford has seen many of the greatest players to don the black jersey – and the biggest change in that time has been the arrival of professionalism in 1996.

OPINION

In the battle for more brutal force on the field, expect England to have No 8 Ben Earl in the backline for a fair chunk of Saturday’s test in Dunedin.

When England beat Japan 52-17 in Tokyo on the way to New Zealand, most Kiwi attention was on the attacking flair Marcus Smith brought to first five-eighths, or the brutal clean-out by Charlie Ewels on Japan captain Michael Leitch that saw the England lock red-carded and out of the rest of the tour.

But just as interesting was the fact the 107kg Earl – 8kg heavier than Ardie Savea – was used for much of the second half in Tokyo at second five-eighths.

Earl packed in the scrums when England were down to 14 men after Smith was yellow-carded for an early tackle but didn’t feature in lineouts.

The positional switch, taking advantage of Earl’s speed and handling abilities, won’t have the All Blacks’ midfield trembling. Rieko Ioane, just 4kg lighter than Earl, and Jordie Barrett are as big as most test loose forwards and don’t shirk defensive duties.

No 8 Ben Earl shapes up as a key member of the English squad. Photo / Getty Images

But shifting Earl to the backs in the second spell makes it much easier for England coach Steve Borthwick to stack his bench with forwards.

Borthwick knows first-hand that power can win against the All Blacks. He was England’s forward coach at the 2019 World Cup in Japan, where a steamrolling first 40 minutes in Yokohama put England 10-0 ahead and set up a 19-7 victory over the All Blacks in their semifinal.

The steely answer to the Earl manoeuvre will need to come from the All Blacks forwards. You can bet the farm on the fact they will have to deal with fresh-legged English forward replacements ready to belt into every breakdown and maul.

Family matters

Family has always been a feature of All Blacks rugby, and 2024 will see the remarkable sight of Scott Barrett leading the New Zealand men as captain, with brother Jordie a vice-captain.

The Barrett family became the first to have three brothers playing in the same All Blacks test team in 2017 at Eden Park against Manu Samoa.

Whitelock brothers George, Sam and Luke were also all All Blacks: George in 2009, Sam from 2010 to 2023 and Luke from 2013 to 2018.

They were also the grandsons of an All Black; their maternal grandfather was 1953-54 All Black Nelson Dalzell.

But the first set of three siblings to wear the All Blacks jersey were the Brownlie brothers from a Hawke’s Bay farming family a century ago: Laurie in 1921, Maurice from 1922 to 1928 and Cyril from 1924 to 1928.

Years ago, I watched in awe a film of the try that Maurice scored at Twickenham in 1925, as he smashed aside tacklers in a 30m charge to the England line. The All Blacks won 17-11.

(From left): The Barrett brothers Jordie, Scott and Beauden during the national anthems at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Photo / Mark Mitchell

What made the try even more electrifying was that it came after brother Cyril had been ordered from the field for alleged foul play.

The pain that brought the family was hammered home when in the 1990s, at a rugby dinner in Timaru, I discovered the woman I was talking to across the table was Maurice’s daughter.

Foolishly, after we chatted about her father’s legendary strength, I asked if he’d ever talked about his brother’s sending-off.

To my huge embarrassment, she struggled to hold back tears and said: “My father and our family never discussed what happened to Uncle Cyril.”

On a much happier family note, I’d be interested to hear if there’s ever been a family to match the international rugby record of the Ioanes.

Brothers Rieko and Akira have played 69 and 21 tests respectively for the All Blacks.

Father Eddie was a sturdy lock for the Samoan team at the 1991 World Cup, playing in their quarter-final against Scotland. And mother Sandra, a startlingly fast lock or loose forward, was a Black Fern in 1990.

Another great rugby bloodline traces back to the first Samoans to play for the All Blacks, brothers Frank and Dave Solomon, both hard-running forwards. Frank was an All Black in 1931-32 and Dave in 1935. Sixty years later, great-nephew Josh Kronfeld would be a star flanker at the 1995 World Cup.

Father-and-son All Blacks are rarer than brothers in the jersey. Gritty 1970s All Blacks fullback Fergie McCormick was the son of 1925 hooker Archie. The 1990s captain Sean Fitzpatrick’s father Brian was a powerful midfield All Black in the 1950s. The 1987 World Cup-winning centre Joe Stanley’s son Jeremy toured Britain in 1997.

And in 1994, when the New Zealand Barbarians played the Australian Barbarians at Mt Smart, Joe, then 37, and Jeremy, 19, became the first and only father-and-son All Blacks to play a first-class game together.