Gregor Paul: Waisake Naholo inclusion adds to All Blacks' weapons

Rugby analyst·NZ Herald·

28 Jun, 2017 05:00 PM4 mins to read

Opinion by Gregor Paul

Rugby analyst and feature writer

The balance of the collective skills of the All Blacks back three in the first test was arguably tipped slightly in favour of their defensive attributes.

With the arrival of Waisake Naholo on the right wing, the balance of the back three is now tipped very much in favour of their collective attacking prowess.

It's not that a back three of Israel Dagg at fullback and Naholo and Rieko Ioane on the wings, is defensively frail. Far from it. But it is a back three which will be more potent with the ball than it will be without it.

It is a back three, or at least the two wings, are the sort of players that focus minds elsewhere in the team to ensure they are doing what they need to be doing. That's because it's hardly rocket science to work out that if Naholo and Ioane are given the ball going forward, they will keep going forward.

Exciting seems a fair enough description of the potential. Naholo simply doesn't do dull.

He's earned his recall on the back of a strong and memorable game for the Highlanders against the Lions. It was a reminder that when he's in the right head space, eager, urgent and active, he's a player with considerable abilities.

Naholo has that magical gift of making it look like he's ambling along with no real purpose, while good players - men with genuine pace - are left in his wake.

That deceptive pace of his is a genuine weapon for the All Blacks because so many teams have underestimated Naholo or failed to realise the true extent of the danger he poses. He's unpredictable, occasionally loose and casual but always fun to watch: always making things happen around him and if there is any space in this second test, Naholo will find it.

Ioane, on limited possession, gave clear and lasting evidence about what he can do at this level on one quarter of a chance. His second try at Eden Park looked a bit fortuitous and to some degree there was some luck that the ball, when not gathered by Liam Williams, jumped into Ioane's arms.

But the rest was not lucky. Not at all. There was only one player on the field who could have scored from there and it was Ioane and he was only able to to do so because he's blessed with incredible pace.

We'd heard about it, been told he was the quickest of the lot and he proved it by managing to burn off Lions wing Elliot Daly. Ioane didn't even need to fend Daly - he managed to get clear of tackle distance within three our four strides and that was the extraordinary part about that try: how easily Ioane found the space.

The fact there is a different set up and different skill emphasis in the back three will serve as a reminder to the All Blacks that they can't rely on anything in test two being a replica of what happened in test one.

This sounds awfully like a chapter out of the book of the bleeding obvious but if there is one critical thing the All Blacks have come to understand about backing up big performances, it is that they have realised that big performances never look the same.

Last week it was the excellence of their tight five and general physical dominance across the park that won the All Blacks the test.

That same picture is unlikely to emerge this week and the game could, almost certainly will, be of an entirely different nature.

And if anyone wants to hazard an early guess of where it may differ, the attacking contribution of the All Blacks back three may be the best place to start.

All Blacks team to play the British and Irish Lions in the second test:

15. Israel Dagg
14. Waisake Naholo
13. Anton Lienert-Brown
12. Sonny Bill Williams
11. Rieko Ioane
10. Beauden Barrett
9. Aaron Smith
8. Kieran Read (c)
7. Sam Cane
6. Jerome Kaino
5. Sam Whitelock
4. Brodie Retallick
3. Owen Franks
2. Codie Taylor
1. Joe Moody