Barret has been a yellow/red card risk in test rugby, and has had an injury-plagued season.
Who will take over if he is not there? Savea or fellow vice-captain Jordie Barrett?
Savea probably, an interesting situation given the above. The firebrand loosie and new test coach will, perhaps, reach a greater understanding over time if they indeed they need to.
WINNER/LOSER: Scott Robertson’s coaching
Selections are always important. Of course they are.
But the impact of Scott Robertson’s coaching and man management is what most people are itching to see.
LOSER: Real fullbacks
The All Blacks have been mucking about with hybrid first five-eighths and fullbacks for too long.
The five outside backs include four dedicated wings and a hybrid in Stephen Perofeta, who is more of a No 10 than a No 15.
It is a strange mix.
Perofeta runs with great balance and is a lovely passer in the way he creates space for the receiver. It’s wonderful to see him in the squad.
But nobody could look at his work for the Blues at the end of the season and say “there’s a terrific test fullback”.
Maybe Will Jordan – often injured – is the big hope. There is the ol’ Beauden Barrett/Damian McKenzie double act of course.
It’s still hard to fathom this part of New Zealand rugby, particularly for anyone fortunate enough to have watched Christian Cullen.
WINNER: Patrick Tuipulotu, the captain
He should be seen as a candidate to lead the All Blacks at some point. There is something about the big man... when he speaks you are glued to every word.
There is depth, and intelligent humility. He led, and his Super Rugby Pacific team followed him into the promised land.
New coach Vern Cotter must get the main plaudits for what the Blues achieved in winning the Super title.
But Tuipulotu emerged as a leader of exceptional quality.
WINNER/LOSER: Courage at halfback/ the curse of the Chiefs
Halfback has turned into a problem position, with Cam Roigard not fit enough yet to keep building on his massive potential and reputation.
As good as he is, Finlay Christie will never be a top-drawer test halfback. T.J. Perenara was a surprisingly inconsistent performer over a long test career living in Aaron Smith’s shadow.
That leaves the Chiefs’ Cortez Ratima, who looks the goods as Roigard’s long-term understudy.
Ratima has standout physical strength and gamebreaking instincts.
But he will have to beat the curse of the Chiefs.
The franchise has had a string of halfbacks who couldn’t make the test leap in the past decade – Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi and Brad Weber.
Ratima will prove to be an exceptional exception to this.
Test coaches dream of having their version of Antoine Dupont, the all-action French star who has redefined the position.
The CRs, Cam Roigard and Cortez Ratima, are great candidates.
WINNER: X-factor props.
First, there was Tamaiti Williams. Now there is Pasilio Tosi.
Both men weigh in at around 140kg. Both are dynamic around the field.
Love it.
WINNER: Blues coach Vern Cotter
Re-wrote the Blues’ DNA to brilliant effect, as they stormed to the franchise’s first genuine Super Rugby title in over 20 years.
LOSERS: The Chiefs
They didn’t fire a worthwhile shot in the Super Rugby Pacific final at Eden Park.
Hey, people – you are in a major final at a packed national stadium. Play like you mean it. Do something to turn the flow around. The Chiefs were soft.
WINNER: Akira Ioane
I’ve been among the big loose forward’s naysayers for his inconsistencies. But he was often a colossus for the Blues, playing the best rugby of his career under Vern Cotter. Ioane is off to Japan – but he has ball-in-hand potential beyond the ordinary that could give the All Blacks major X-factor.
LOSER: Andrew Webster’s aura is dead
Coach Andrew Webster was walking on water after the Warriors’ 2023 season. Now he’s treading the stuff.
The Warriors were so lifeless in the inexplicable 66-6 loss to the Titans that it raises the spectre of Webster being a coach who is no longer connecting with all of his players.
There have been warning signs. They include fast starts gone to waste this year at Mt Smart.
The lack of energy, effort and cohesion against a superb Titans performance is hard to explain, coming from a team that built the club’s 2023 renaissance on outstanding spirit.
Of huge concern is the deteriorating form of prop Addin Fonua-Blake, the central figure in the 2023 heroics. Webster’s questionable man management of Fonua-Blake, dropping him for a fairly flimsy reason, may be backfiring.
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Mitch Barnett, two magnificently committed players who set the tone, return on Saturday against the Broncos. They will make a huge difference.
But another dud and Webster will suddenly be a coach under extreme pressure for his job. The disgraceful performance against the Titans was that bad.
Warriors players recover during their 66-6 loss to the Titans. Photo / Photosport
WINNER: Kiwi football
Yes, it’s true. Marko Stamenic’s move from Red Star Belgrade to Nottingham Forest means three Kiwis are with English Premier League clubs. Stamenic, who will go on loan to a Greek club next season, has signed a whopping five-year contract.
Veteran striker Chris Wood is also at Forest, while former Wellington Phoenix goalkeeper Alex Paulsen has joined Bournemouth on a long-term deal that may also involve him going out on loan initially.
LOSER: New Zealand cricket
It’s hard to work out what Kane Williamson’s new contract status means. There are different interpretations.
But New Zealand cricket is becoming a virtual reality, a sort of fantasy sport with not much actual action to watch.
LOSER: Cricket’s T20 World Cup
Yawn.
WINNERS: American sports icons
Baseball lost the great Willie Mays last week, aged 93, and the world certainly heard about his passing. American sport is superb at keeping memories alive.
LOSER: Charlie Ewels
The English rugby lock set new standards in the red card department, being sent off for a second consecutive test (even if they were two years apart). His latest transgression against Japan cost him a place in the squad to New Zealand.
WINNERS: French football stars Kylian Mbappe and Marcus Thuram...
... for speaking out at Euro 2024 against far-right extremism. Mbappe said he wanted to play for a country he was proud of.
WINNERS/LOSER: Football tournaments
The highly anticipated Euro 2024 match-ups Italy v Spain and France v Netherlands produced a total of just one goal. Stuff like this is football’s great weakness. Yet an under-the-radar match Belgium v Romania was unexpectedly superb.
Football also needs to protect players better, after selfie hunters had almost free access to Portugal’s superstar Ronaldo during a match at the tournament in Germany.
WINNERS: Boston Celtics
Set a new NBA title benchmark, after defeating the Dallas Mavericks in the finals. The Celtics have been the best team all year.
LOSERS: This year’s Olympic athletes...
... if a report entitled Rings of Fire is on the mark.
Compiled by British heat physiologists and climate change scientists, and involving interviews with world and Olympic medallists, it said athletes could be in danger of collapsing or dying because of the heat in France.
A British sevens rugby player said the heat also meant athletes could not give their best, and were left in survival mode.
