NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport

Rugby: Last chance to find a back-up No9

Gregor Paul
By Gregor Paul
Rugby analyst·NZ Herald·
26 May, 2016 05:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Aaron Smith is the first choice No9 but the pecking order after that is hard to determine. Photo / Getty Images

Aaron Smith is the first choice No9 but the pecking order after that is hard to determine. Photo / Getty Images

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
TJ Perenara or Brad Weber in the running to support Smith at halfback in test series.

If there is a decision for the All Blacks selectors still to make ahead of their squad announcement on Sunday, it is whether to include TJ Perenara or Brad Weber.

The situation at halfback is relatively unclear compared with other positions. Aaron Smith is the first choice No9 but the pecking order after that is hard to determine. Tawera Kerr-Barlow, who last year established himself as the preferred second choice halfback, hasn't played since late April due to a broken thumb. He's expected to be passed fit at some stage during the three-test series against Wales, but because of the uncertainty regarding his fitness and form, the selectors may decide Kerr-Barlow is not a playing option for at least the first test.

That will leave them mulling a straight choice between Perenara and Weber. There is a chance they may include both if they rule out Kerr-Barlow.

Typically, the All Blacks have picked three specialist halfbacks but not always. They didn't for the June series in 2012 when they felt they could run with Smith and Piri Weepu and call up the experienced Andy Ellis if they had an injury to cover. The luxury of a domestic series is that they can call up a replacement at short notice.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Picking three halfbacks will come at a cost - the most likely consequence would be having to omit one of either Lima Sopoaga or Damian McKenzie.

So, if it is indeed just two halfbacks to be included, then theoretically both Perenara and Weber have one last chance to state their case this weekend. The door may be slightly ajar - the decision not quite made yet.

Arguably it is Weber who has the most to prove. The onus is on him to force his way into the equation.

Since Steve Hansen took over in 2012, he's tended to stick with the devil he knows when it comes to marginal decisions. The benefit of the doubt - if that's the right way to look at it - goes to the incumbent until there is compelling evidence, one way or another, to make a change.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Perenara has not necessarily advanced his cause in the past few months, but nor has he regressed. His component parts all work and he's a supreme athlete, all of which the selectors already knew. What they haven't yet been able to determine is whether Perenara has improved his ability to package his game into an effective mix.

Decision-making, or at least consistently accurate and decisive decision-making, has been the flaw in his game and it hasn't been obvious in Super Rugby so far that he's on top of that specific fault.

Weber has enjoyed prominent moments and been an effective weapon in the Chiefs' continuity, high-pace game. He's made plenty of casual observers take notice of his running, but some of the detail of his game will have troubled the All Blacks selectors. His passing from the ground can be loose and that matters to the All Blacks where the No1 priority for the halfback is to clear the ball fast and accurately.

If there has been a conclusion to make in regard to Weber and Perenara, it is that the gap between them and Smith continues to look sizeable and may even be increasing.

Discover more

All Blacks

Which June test series offers the most?

25 May 11:47 PM
Opinion

Andrew Mulligan: Chiefs provide blueprint

26 May 09:30 PM
Sport|rugby

Marshall: James Lowe destined for big things

26 May 09:59 PM
Super Rugby

As it happened: Hurricanes win thriller

27 May 09:36 AM

But Smith can't play 80 minutes of every game. The All Blacks, while they will lean heavily on Smith, need to be confident in the choices they have behind him and on the evidence of this season and his greater experience, Perenara is probably the man whose name will be read out on Sunday.

That could, possibly, change if Weber delivers something sensational in Sydney against the Waratahs, but in all probability the door to the last chance saloon is already half shut.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

New Zealand

All Blacks assistant coach Jason Ryan and winger Sevu Reece ahead of the third test

Watch
New Zealand

Kea Kids News: The small rugby player making big moves

Watch
Super Rugby

‘A few tears’: Crusaders hooker on reasons behind move to Waratahs


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

All Blacks assistant coach Jason Ryan and winger Sevu Reece ahead of the third test
New Zealand

All Blacks assistant coach Jason Ryan and winger Sevu Reece ahead of the third test

Jason Ryan and Sevu Reece front for the press ahead of their third test with France in Hamilton this Saturday. Video \ Jason Dorday

Watch
15 Jul 12:32 AM
Kea Kids News: The small rugby player making big moves
New Zealand

Kea Kids News: The small rugby player making big moves

Watch
14 Jul 11:26 PM
‘A few tears’: Crusaders hooker on reasons behind move to Waratahs
Super Rugby

‘A few tears’: Crusaders hooker on reasons behind move to Waratahs

14 Jul 10:30 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP