Rugby: Newbies step up to plug the gaps

Nepo Laulala, George Moala and Charlie Ngatai. Photos / NZ Herald

Change looms, but All Blacks have players ready and eager to take over from the legends.

The All Black machine looks set to keep rolling through even the toughest terrain next year, barely noticing that a handful of senior players will have retired and a few more key men could be playing Sevens.

Next year will be tough for the All Blacks. They will be without Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith. They could also, for the first half of the test season, be denied access to Sonny Bill Williams, Liam Messam, Beauden Barrett, Ben Smith and Julian Savea should they all commit to having a crack at the Olympics with the Sevens.

But the All Blacks might not be knocked off their stride. Certainly not for long.

One of the big positives to come out of the Samoan test was the performances of the new caps, particularly Nepo Laulala, George Moala and Charlie Ngatai.

All three impressed management, not only with the way they played, but with the way they trained and conducted themselves throughout the week.

Head coach Steve Hansen has had 12 years with the All Blacks, and is usually able to make fairly accurate assessments about the readiness and temperament of new All Blacks.

Some can be overwhelmed by the demands and pressures, others thrive and settle quickly. Laulala, Moala and Ngatai are shaping up as successes, and look destined to cement places in the squad from next year.

Laulala, whose pending move to the Chiefs is likely to give him more game time, helping him to develop strongly in the early part of next year, will stay with the squad until at least the first test with Australia, in Sydney.

He's staying on as cover for the injured Charlie Faumuina - a player with whom he shares many traits.

"He was good," said Hansen of Laulala's debut. "He scrummed well - we didn't lose anything when he came into the scrum. He's a mobile athlete and he carries well. He did his core roles well and I thought he provided a lot of energy when we needed some."

Moala, after a tough start when he insisted on twice running directly into the enormous Alesana Tuilagi, showed plenty of composure, awareness and strength to score his try.

He also defended Tuilagi well, and with his ability to play second-five, centre and wing, his versatility will be valuable next year when the All Blacks will be short of midfielders and outside backs.

Ngatai was equally polished in his 20 minutes and seems to now have the confidence to use his full array of skills. He's a player with an awareness of space. He's also got the acceleration and power to exploit what he sees, as well as a huge kicking game that is a more than handy asset.

He was straight on a plane from Apia to Suva so as he could captain the Maori against Fiji.

"I think George has made a great fist of his week as has Charlie Ngatai," said Hansen. "Both those guys have had outstanding weeks. They have given us a lot to think about.

"But unfortunately we can only get so many in the team and some good players are going to miss out."