Newstalk ZB rugby commentator Elliott Smith analyses the latest from the world of rugby.
An observation...
Stephen Perofeta taking the All Blacks’ 15 jersey rather than 10 tomorrow against Japan is an intriguing twist for next year’s World Cup. This would have been the perfect chance to see himrun out at 10, although the absence of the Barrett brothers from selection consideration in the backline may have given the All Blacks selectors no other options.
It’s hard to see – barring a 2011-like run with injuries – Perofeta getting a start at first-five between now and France, leaving an interesting dynamic as to whether he would be capable of steering the side in a knockout game if it came to that. He’s likely to get some game time there perhaps in the second half, but it’s not the same as a start.
It also leaves the question as to whether he’s done enough to supplant Damian McKenzie from a spot in the World Cup squad if the group had to be submitted tomorrow.
Stephen Perofeta and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck. Photo / Getty
An explanation...
The All Blacks have done their bit to sell the remaining tickets for Saturday’s test in Tokyo. After their plane was three hours late arriving on Saturday evening, the squad were up into promotions on the Sunday and have provided a translator at each of their media commitments this week, while all three of the players who spoke to media this week – with around 20 Japanese-based journalists plus only yours truly on site from New Zealand – have played sabbaticals in Japan. Easy fodder for the local scribes.
Japan on the other hand have remained up at their training base - a 90 minute flight away - until just before game day.
Will the ‘banning’ of broadcasting 1A First XV rugby games make a difference at all? I am not sure I entirely get the decision behind pulling the plug.
There’s the argument of kids being kids and wanting to protect them from the microscope that comes with attention - but let’s be honest, this isn’t really about that. This is a social media problem, not a streaming/broadcast problem.
Sky and subsequently streaming platforms have shown first XV games for more than a decade, but the likes of the defunct CTV were showing ‘games of the round’ in Canterbury from around 2000. The difference then to now is social media and the sharing of footage that has turned kids into legends in their own lunchtimes, with highlight reels of plays easily accessible on TikTok.
A prediction...
This will not do a lot to change anything. The star players of first XVs have always had a big profile around their school, nothing will change there. Stopping professional broadcasters might have some impact but you can guarantee kids will just fill the void by filming their mates scoring tries or making big hits and uploading them online. The cynic in me also suggests that if there was money to be made from selling off broadcast rights, these schools would not have an issue.
Taha Kemara in action for Hamilton Boys' High School in 2021. Photo / Photosport
A suggestion...
Surely there would have to be a better quarter-final format for the Rugby World Cup than playing sides from your own pool again a week or two weeks later. The competition probably should have gone straight to semifinals in a three-pool format, which would have meant much more was on the line in pool play.
Something innovative like allowing the top seeds to select their opponent and then the second chooses from the remainder and so on, even if they plumped for sides they’d met before, would have added some suspense and excitement.
