Gregor Paul: The hunt for an All Blacks calibre halfback goes on

Aaron Smith passes during the 2012 test against Ireland at Eden Park. Photo / Photosport

COMMENT:

It was eight years ago today that the All Blacks crushed Ireland 60-0 and received confirmation they had found the game-changing player at halfback they were looking for.

At the top of Steve Hansen's list when he took over as head coach of the All Blacks in early 2012, was the need to find a genuine passing number nine, with the speed and accuracy of delivery to enable the team to play wider and faster.

Between 2008 and 2011 the All Blacks muddled through with the combative Jimmy Cowan and the supremely talented but painfully inconsistent Piri Weepu.

Both had their qualities and in their idiosyncratic ways, they gave the All Blacks enough attacking style to win the 2011 World Cup.

But while the All Blacks made it work with Cowan and Weepu, there was a pedestrian element to their attack at times.

Weepu, in particular, turned up at rucks with the punctuality and regularity of an Auckland bus and needed a committee meeting to decide his next play.

Slow-motion halfbacks hadn't hindered the All Blacks, but come 2012 there was a desire for someone new to emerge and play with pace and awareness.

Hansen wanted a number nine who didn't hesitate and who understood that they were there to pass the ball.

It wasn't so different to legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly saying to his highly paid striker Ian St John that if he wasn't sure what to do, he should just bang the ball in the back of the net and they could discuss what the other options were after the game.

Aaron Smith presented himself as the answer. He scurried around the field, never stopping to deliberate and instead put his hands on the ball and whisked it away with quite stunning precision.

It was in that third test of the June series in 2012 that it became apparent just how devastating the All Blacks could be with a passing halfback of Smith's calibre.

Here we are now in June 2020 and top of the priority list for All Blacks coach Ian Foster is the need to find another game-changing halfback.

It might not seem like that because Smith is still New Zealand's best number nine – still the dynamic, pass first, think later halfback that enables every team he plays for to consider trying to run the opposition off their feet.

In the last eight years he has also developed a strong kicking game and if there is one thing that has become glaring this year, it is that Smith is miles ahead of the competition.

TJ Perenara and Brad Weber are the nearest to him in the pecking order and while both are tremendous characters, great athletes and capable of influencing games in a variety of ways, neither has the all-round skill-set or polish of Smith.

Brad Weber passes the ball to TJ Perenara during the Rugby World Cup pool game against Namibia. Photo / Photosport

So at the moment there is Smith way out on his own, then Perenara and Weber and a long drop to the next best halfback, who is probably Bryn Hall.

What makes this a concern is that Smith will be 32 in a few months and Weber and Perenara are in their late 20s and Foster would ideally like to see a young, passing halfback emerge in the next 12 months to mitigate the risk of having three veterans in the squad.

But right now, there isn't any young number nine obviously pushing their case. The country is devoid of genuine, emerging test prospects and while the picture can often change quickly and unexpectedly, right now there isn't a young number nine who appeals as a future, long-term All Black.

Sam Nock has secured a regular start at the Blues, but he's a long way from being ready for test football and possibly never will be.

Jamie Booth comes on to finish for the Hurricanes but there's nothing about him at the moment that is grabbing the imagination and even though Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi has had a few caps, he doesn't scream potential successor to Smith.

There's excitement in Dunedin about 20-year-old Folau Fakatava but he's barely featured for the Highlanders, while Mitchell Drummond seems destined to never quite push beyond being a good Super Rugby player.

It's an incredible achievement that eight years since he announced his arrival on the world stage, Smith remains the country's best halfback.

But it will start to be a worry if he celebrates 10 years in the role without a successor having been identified.