The All Blacks have struggled to replace Jerome Kaino at No 6. Photo / Photosport
The All Blacks have struggled to replace Jerome Kaino at No 6. Photo / Photosport
OPINION:
Ethan Blackadder’s supposedly imminent return to the Crusaders has been much anticipated — but what will the All Blacks selectors do if the big No 6 doesn’t make the grade or suffers yet another injury in the truncated amount of top rugby he will play ahead of the WorldCup?
A fit Blackadder is everybody’s first choice for the position where the All Blacks have struggled to replace Jerome Kaino. They did for a while with Liam Squire — 1.96m and about 113kg of blindside flanker who could move at genuine pace and who seemed to be all knees and elbows when he did.
But while Blackadder has undeniable energy and a disregard for his own safety as he hurtles at defences, he hasn’t always convinced in his nine test matches so far — and his style of play is high risk when it comes to injuries.
Plan B seems to be to move Scott Barrett from lock to blindside, but there must be something wrong with me because I don’t see the advantage this gives the All Blacks outside of an extra lineout option — important though that is.
Barrett has started a test for the All Blacks at No 6 four times. The first was against England in the 2019 World Cup semifinal where he was hooked at halftime. Three years later, he was tried there again — in the only test the All Blacks won against Ireland in that historic, lost home series. Barrett played well, too; setting up a drive that led to an Ardie Savea try.
Third time: also against Ireland in that series, lost 23-12 — that weird test where prop Angus Ta’avao was sent off for a head clash with Ireland’s Garry Ringrose, a match also remarkable for the All Blacks blooper that forced Savea out of the game when they got the replacement rules wrong.
There’s no doubt Barrett has grit, one of those always-revving engines and no small amount of athleticism — but not the attacking flair we might look for in a No 6. His fourth time there was against the Wallabies in Melbourne last year — won 39-37 in the last minute in that controversial decision by French referee Mathieu Raynal to penalise Australia for time-wasting, leading to a match-winning Jordie Barrett try.
In a column after that match, I wrote that Barrett had been “largely ineffectual” in a test the All Blacks could have, and maybe should have, lost after leading 31-18 at one stage. So Barrett has had one good test match out of four as a No 6, or maybe two if we’re being benevolent. Even a 50 per cent success rate is no ringing endorsement for Barrett to be anything other than a sometime 6, moved there to counter (or pressure) an opposition lineout.
There’s also the nagging doubt about putting locks on the blindside of scrums and expecting them to defend effectively. That little deficit in speed and defensive nous can be costly, particularly in the intensity of World Cup knockout rugby and especially defending a scrum near your own goal line. Campaigns can turn on such set piece precision.
So if not Barrett, who? What about the forgotten man of New Zealand rugby, Pita Gus Sowakula, or his teammate and rival Samipeni Finau? The latter set the pace early in the season but has been quieter lately — while Sowakula seems to be approaching his best form.
Pita Gus Sowakula of the Chiefs in action against Moana Pasifika. Photo / Photosport
Yes, he is best known as a No 8 and, yes, the All Blacks spat him out faster than a mouthful of sand after scoring a try on debut off the bench but then turning in a poor game in the Ireland series. It’s not known if there were any off-field considerations but no doubt that his form faded away.
He is off to play club rugby in France after this year but that should be no obstacle. A whole heap of current All Blacks and others are off to Europe and Japan, including Brodie Retallick, Savea, Leicester Fainga’anuku and Richie Mo’unga; most armchair selectors would not countenance leaving any of those out at present.
Sowakula has had nine starts this campaign, six of them at blindside flanker. He was comparatively subdued last weekend against the Brumbies — they used him a lot as a dummy carrier — and the Chiefs’ third loose forward in contention for the All Blacks, Luke Jacobson, overshadowed all others with a top performance.
However, Sowakula’s appearances at 6 have been interesting. His style appears far more languid than Blackadder or Barrett, but he can turn on real power when the All Blacks have the ball and need to puncture determined defences. Fine player though he is, Barrett does not possess that and, if Barrett and Sam Cane play together, that’s two loose forwards who don’t offer opposing defences too many headaches.
Sowakula does. His form has been building; against a lower-strength Hurricanes in the wind and rain, he had a hand in both Tupou Vaa’i’s tries (one with a power drive near the line; the other with a lineout steal that gave the Chiefs the possession to fashion the second). He also showed what he brings on attack with one clattering run that brought an end to tackler Devan Flanders’ night.
