Liam Squire celebrates with Aaron Smith. Photo / Photosport
Liam Squire celebrates with Aaron Smith. Photo / Photosport
COMMENT:
If Liam Squire has indeed made himself available, he'll be named in the All Blacks' World Cup squad.
Including him won't be a tough decision for the selectors. They have seen him as the best blindside in the country since late 2016 and nothing has happened in the last12 months for them to change their minds.
They may have wobbled a little at the end of last year when injury and fatigue were restricting Squire and he didn't play with much impact against either England or Ireland – managing barely a half in both tests before his body gave up.
But the coaching group knew, or at least were confident, it was injury and fatigue that were the problem and with a summer to rest and recuperate, he'd come back to Super Rugby in 2019 as the old Squire – dynamic, forceful, bruising and with the right sort of combative edge they demand in a No 6.
It took Squire considerably longer than expected to recover from shoulder and hip injuries and while he only made it back to action in early June, he did enough in just three games for the Highlanders to re-establish that he's the best blindside in the country.
Once Squire had proven his match fitness in Super Rugby, the All Blacks had four of their loose forwards locked in, with a plan to build two distinct ways of using them.
They would have the traditional or more orthodox option of starting with Squire, Sam Cane and Kieran Read with Ardie Savea on the bench; and they could have the alternative double-openside plan of starting with Savea and Cane and bringing Squire and or Matt Todd into the game later.
World Cups are about having options – about having different set-ups for different opponents and the ability to change the tempo or style if a defence is proving too hard to break down.
The pre-World Cup tests were going to be the time for the All Blacks to experiment with their distinct combinations but of course, they had to ditch the orthodox option when Squire made himself available.
Liam Squire grabs a lineout for the All Blacks. Photo / Photosport
Well, technically, they ditched it when neither Vaea Fifita nor Shannon Frizell convinced they were capable of providing the orthodox skills of a test blindside to the extent they could justify keeping Savea on the bench.
If Squire has indicated he's ready to return then the All Blacks can head to Japan with the two distinct loose trio combinations they always wanted.
Inevitably picking Squire for the World Cup having not played a test this year will be deemed by some as a risk, but it's not really.
He's a seasoned test performer and he's match fit. He'll slot back in without a problem if he's picked and will most likely start against Tonga next week.
His presence will expand not restrict what the All Blacks can do. And if this is how things transpire, then there are two obvious questions, one of which will be answered tomorrow when the squad is named.
Someone will have to be jettisoned to accommodate Squire and if one of Jackson Hemopo, Luke Jacobson or Fifita were pencilled in last week, as the fifth loose forward, they have probably now been rubbed out.
Hemopo may have a lifeline as he'll likely come into consideration as a fourth lock.
But given the injury to Brodie Retallick is making him doubtful to be available for the first game, the All Blacks will likely want three specialists for that critical opening encounter against the Springboks and Patrick Tuipulotu should secure the fourth locking berth.
The second question that will be posed if Squire returns, is what to do with him in that same opening game which is going to have such a major impact on the rest of the tournament?
The Savea-Cane-Read combination has worked well in regard to securing breakdown possession, but the All Blacks' lineout has been compromised by the lack of height.
Starting with Squire would fix that problem while providing a heavy piece of artillery to be deployed in the collision zones.
The Boks, as the world knows, have legions of big men who are direct and confrontational and need to be stopped.
But as tempting as it would be to start with Squire to provide the necessary resistance, the prospect of using Savea and Cane in tandem to poach for turnover ball and up the tempo in the sweltering heat of Yokohama might carry more allure.
The All Blacks may not want to get sucked into an arm wrestle with the Boks, but instead try to run them for 80 minutes and force the game into an unstructured contest as opposed to a methodical plod between set-piece engagements.
They have time yet to strategise, but what will excite them, is that if Squire is in their mix, then they will now have an option they had all but given up on having.
