Former Puma Augustin Pichot vents his ideas to the Breakdown team on which direction rugby should go.
COMMENT:
It's a new era for New Zealand, with Steve Hansen having left his role as head coach following the All Blacks' first defeat in a Rugby World Cup match since 2007.
Ian Foster, the former assistant, is now in the hot seat, flanked on the selectors' committee by regular Grant Fox and newcomer John Plumtree.
After 2015, the squad required an extensive rebuild, with so many established veterans moving on. The post-2019 renovations are not as major, but key figures have moved on, some temporarily (as explained below) and others for good, either into retirement or abroad.
The Super Rugby season was only a few rounds old before being postponed, but even that small sample has given Foster and company enough to assess in these testing times.
This is a hugely intriguing time for the All Blacks, because while the number of players who have left the squad might not be enormous, the quantity of caps and experience lost is still significant.
Starting with the obvious, Kieran Read (34, Toyota Verblitz) has stepped down as captain after making 127 appearances with an 85.8 per cent win rate, ending an impressively long run in the No 8 shirt which featured two Rugby World Cup final victories. How do you really replace that output?
Kieran Read has said goodbye to the All Blacks. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Ben Smith (33, Pau) was the best back in the world for a spell, yet he could not even make the match-day squad for New Zealand's run into the knockout stages in Japan, left out in favour of George Bridge and Sevu Reece. Smith won 84 caps.
Then you have the two midfielders, Sonny Bill Williams (34, Toronto Wolfpack in rugby league) and Ryan Crotty (31, Kubota Spears). The All Blacks seem well set at centre - more on that below - and Crotty is still young enough to make a return, although maximising his earning potential with a move to Japan makes sense for a player who suffered a concerning run of concussions between 2017 and 2018. Williams has come back beforehand, but this feels like the end now.
It's hard to not feel sorry for Matt Todd (32, Panasonic Wild Knights), such a superb openside but stuck behind first Richie McCaw and then Sam Cane for so much of his career.
One player who will eventually return is Brodie Retallick (28, Kobelco Steelers), the world-class lock whose new contract with New Zealand Rugby was designed to give him a sabbatical this year, before playing in next season's Top League in Japan and then returning to the All Blacks in the summer of 2021. Having him back will be invaluable.
Brodie Retallick's eventual return will be important for the All Blacks. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Veterans
Sticking with the second row, Retallick's lock partner Sam Whitelock (31, Panasonic Wild Knights) was poised to become the team's new captain this summer before the coronavirus disruption, with NZR making a special dispensation for Whitelock to be selected by the All Blacks despite playing overseas in Japan.
That presumably remains the plan, which means that, providing he stays healthy, Whitelock is on track to surpass Richie McCaw as the most-capped player of all time, with McCaw having won 148 and Whitelock currently on 117.
Dane Coles (33, Hurricanes) might have also looked to move abroad but the hooker lost the last couple of years due to injury, returning in time for the World Cup, and is understandably eager to make up for lost time. Foster will certainly appreciate having another senior player in camp.
Codie Taylor (29, Crusaders) has been the front-runner at hooker dating back to the 2017 series with the British and Irish Lions, with Liam Coltman (30, Highlanders) ably deputising when possible. But there's room here for a younger option to break through.
Loosehead prop Joe Moody (31, Crusaders) is another front-rower in his thirties who has opted to stick in New Zealand, along with tighthead Angus Ta'avao (30, Chiefs). Does Aaron Smith (31, Highlanders) have another World Cup campaign in him? TJ Perenara (28, Hurricanes) isn't going anywhere, and the high level of competition between the two nines gunning for the same starting spot can only benefit New Zealand as it has done for years.
Options inside the World Cup squad
The next four years will be career-defining for the group of players in their late 20s - Taylor, Perenara, Retallick and perhaps most importantly of all, Beauden Barrett (28, Blues).
Barrett's a fascinating selection - does Foster keep him at fullback after the significant progress made by Richie Mo'unga (25, Crusaders)? Or choose one over the other at first-five?
There are two more key players in that late-20s bracket - Nepo Laulala (28, Chiefs) at tighthead, who started in each of the All Blacks' big games in Japan against the Springboks, Ireland and England.
Sam Cane (28, Chiefs) must have been close to the captaincy but will serve as an excellent lieutenant for Whitelock. The fact that Cane is playing at all after such a serious neck injury feels like a blessing and he's a huge asset. Both Laulala and Cane are now working with Warren Gatland in Waikato and stand to benefit from that.
As for replacing Read, the solution might be to move Ardie Savea (26, Hurricanes) permanently to No 8, creating a back row featuring Savea at eight, Cane at seven and then to pick from a whole host of candidates at six.
Ardie Savea could be an option across all three loose forward positions. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The answer long-term could potentially be Luke Jacobson (23, Chiefs), who was the only real bolter in New Zealand's squad for Japan. His tournament was over before it began due to concussion. Hansen, however, had been impressed.
Scott Barrett (26, Crusaders) would be an obvious contender, but Foster may want him to keep him at lock to partner Whitelock with Retallick away in Japan, unless Foster decides this is the time to give Patrick Tuipulotu (27, Blues) an extended run in the side after only 11 starts in 30 caps. Shannon Frizell (26, Highlanders) was Jacobson's replacement in Japan and has potential.
George Bridge (25, Crusaders) and Sevu Reece (23, Crusaders) face a unique challenge in trying to nail down the wing spots for the next Rugby World Cup cycle, a position where the All Blacks have churned through talents over the past 20 years. Julian Savea's reign feels like a lifetime ago. Don't forget how young Rieko Ioane (23, Blues) is either.
Jordie Barrett should remain a versatile option for the All Blacks. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Bridge, Reece, Ioane, plus Jordie Barrett (23, Hurricanes), Atu Moli (24, Chiefs) and Jack Goodhue (24, Crusaders), are all young players we should be getting excited about if we weren't already.
Goodhue in particular has the potential to be world-class and would benefit from spending most of the next four years playing alongside the superb Anton Lienert-Brown (25, Chiefs) in New Zealand's midfield, with the two continuing to develop their partnership.
Jack Goodhue will be looking to get over the disappointment of the 2019 World Cup. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Options outside the World Cup squad
Perhaps the answer at No 8 lies outside the group that went to Japan. Across the short opening to Super Rugby, no forward made more carries, metres or beaten more defenders than Hoskins Sotutu (21, Blues). That's striking. He seems like an automatic gain-line breaker.
An alternative fetcher could be Lachlan Boshier (25, Chiefs), who boasts a remarkable 17 turnovers in Super Rugby this year but has not yet been capped. And how about two names out of Christchurch in Tom Christie (22, Crusaders) and Cullen Grace (20, Crusaders). Christie led Super Rugby with 106 tackles, the only player in three figures, while Grace is the top lineout winner in the country and can cover lock and six.
Otherwise it's hard to see who breaks up the front row, second row and halfback units from Japan, although hopes are high for prop Tyrel Lomax (24, Hurricanes) and hooker Asafo Aumua (22, Hurricanes). Scrum-half Bryn Hall (28, Crusaders) is a fine player and still uncapped.
Midfield with Crotty and Williams gone could lead to a call-up for Braydon Ennor (22, Crusaders), who was a standout at under-20 level and has shone at 13 when used by the Crusaders. It shows how much depth New Zealand have that Ngani Laumape (26, Hurricanes) didn't make the Japan squad.
Will there be major changes to the All Blacks when they make their test rugby return? Photo / Mark Mitchell
One wing who has made a huge impact is Mark Telea (23, Blues), leading the defenders beaten category by an absurd margin, beating 54 so far in 2020 as well as scoring five tries. Would that be enough to make the squad? Will Jordan (22, Crusaders) is another treat to watch.
And finally, who can forget the very welcome return to fitness of Damian McKenzie (24, Chiefs), who undoubtedly would have gone to Japan had he not missed most of last year with a torn ACL. Now he's back, and an option either at first-five or fullback.
Best XV moving forward
There are in fact only two starters that technically need to be replaced from New Zealand's loss to England in Yokohama - Kieran Read and Brodie Retallick.
While moving Savea over to No 8 feels straightforward, Sotutu deserves a look, and it allows New Zealand to give the Crusaders' combination of Scott Barrett and Whitelock a long run at test level. Boshier and McKenzie may all have to impress from the bench.
New Zealand: Beauden Barrett, Sevu Reece, Jack Goodhue, Anton Lienert-Brown, George Bridge, Richie Mo'unga, Aaron Smith, Hoskins Sotutu, Sam Cane, Ardie Savea, Sam Whitelock (c), Scott Barrett, Nepo Laulala, Codie Taylor, Joe Moody.
Replacements: Dane Coles, Ofa Tuungafasi, Atu Moli, Patrick Tuipulotu, Lachlan Boshier, TJ Perenara, Damian McKenzie, Jordie Barrett.
