Gregor Paul: Why this All Blacks backline is excitingly different

OPINION:

It has been a week where much time has been spent delving into what the All Blacks supposedly can't do so well.

But given the team that has been picked to play the second test against Fiji, the focus could dramatically change next week to what they can do spectacularly well.

That's because head coach Ian Foster has picked a backline that has a colossal range of attacking talents stuffed into it.

As much as it often feels like All Blacks backlines generally tend to have an abundance of talent, that's not always been the case in the last few years. Usually there is a mix of power athletes and ball players – a few bigger sorts to add weight to the defence or play a more basic game of taking the ball over the gainline.

Sevu Reece of the All Blacks makes a break during the International Test Match between the New Zealand All Blacks. Photo / Getty Images.

This backline sets up differently to many of the recent past, because it is one that has such a heavy emphasis on speed, agility and ball-playing.

There is no power wing to add ballast to the back three; the midfield combination of David Havili and Anton Lienert-Brown is one of the more skilled and unorthodox seen in an age and in Aaron Smith and Richie Mo'unga there are two relatively tiny playmakers whose games are built entirely on their speed of thought and movement, strategic vision and uncanny ability to buzz through heavy traffic.

Head coach Ian Foster has picked a backline rich in attacking weaponry, and one that creates serious intrigue about how they can utilise all they have at their disposal.

There is no doubt all seven have been picked to use the ball. It's a backline of try-scorers rather than try-stoppers and a backline that isn't likely to lack the confidence to execute their micro skills with the precision required to justify their natural instincts to take risks.

The balance looks good, feels right. Now that Havili has got his head around the fact he's in the All Blacks as a second-five rather than a talented utility, it's a backline that has everyone in their specialist role.

There are no wings at centre or first-fives at fullback. There are round pegs in round holes and that's not something that's happened as much as it probably should in the last few years.

The added attraction, though, is that while there are specialists in every jersey – men picked to play in the positions in which they were initially brought into the squad to play – many come with extended skillsets derived through time in other roles.

Damian McKenzie, for instance, has evolved from a first-five who could cover fullback, to a fullback who is happy to operate as a second playmaker.

All Blacks Damian McKenzie. Photo / Photosport.co.nz

Lienert-Brown has flipped around the two midfield berths for both club and country and has always given the impression he's happiest and best used at centre.

And Will Jordan brings a Ben Smith-esque feel to the back three, where he is so well equipped that equally compelling arguments can be made to say he's both a specialist wing and a specialist fullback.

But what strikes most about this particular backline is the speed contained within it.
Jordan has shown for the past two seasons that he is lightning quick. He said the other day that Rieko Ioane has a higher top speed, but Jordan, time and again in Super Rugby, has shown that he only needs a few steps to reach his top speed.

McKenzie is not only stunningly agile and tricky, he's also desperately quick and equally capable of outstripping defenders as he is bamboozling them.

Reece probably wouldn't do so well in a 100m challenge against other members of the back three, but his footwork acceleration and weight to power ratio makes him deadly in the first few metres in which he takes possession.

Clearly, none of McKenzie, Reece or Jordan have been picked to bring pragmatism and conservatism. They are there to back their speed, their innate sense of where to attack and their abilities to beat defenders quickly and easily and create and then convert attacking opportunities.

Nor are Smith and Mo'unga the sorts of players who will hold back and look to grind down the opposition.

They will balance their game with astute tactical decision-making but their natural inclination is to force the attacking agenda and Mo'unga, in particular, is another blessed with frightening pace.

No doubt Fiji will again expose a few weaknesses, but this feels like a game destined to showcase the All Blacks' strengths.