Blues and Counties Manukau star Hoskins Sotutu had been the most notable omission from the All Blacks’ first squad of the season. He had beencomfortably the best and most effective player of the Super Rugby Pacific season, and eyebrows were raised when his name was left out of the All Blacks while Wallace Sititi took his place among the loose forwards.
Eyebrows could similarly be raised at Sotutu’s return to the selection frame, after he was named on Tuesday in the All Blacks XV, a development squad. Since missing out on the All Blacks in June, the big No 8 has been playing with Counties Manukau – and while he dominated against the best rugby players in Australasia throughout Super Rugby, his output has been less prolific playing against the largely second-tier opposition of the NPC.
It’s tempting to imagine New Zealand Rugby would like to see Sotutu back in a black jersey to stave off the chances of him switching allegiances. He could be eligible to play for England or Fiji by the end of next year. Selection in the All Blacks XV does not make him ineligible to switch nations (he’d need a full All Blacks test for that to happen), but it could be enough to keep his interest on these shores.
There’s a less cynical view. The All Blacks have been consistently weak in the final quarter of their test matches this year – notably against the Springboks, when Rassie Erasmus’ formidable “Bomb Squad” of reserves has brought dynamic impact to the defining moments of test matches.
Impact, in the late stages of a tense rugby test, could simply be defined as a player who brings renewed vigour and pace to the match and has the ability to get themselves and their teammates behind the opposition’s first defenders. Sotutu has it in spades.
Robertson and his selectors will feel vindicated with the decision to put Sititi in a black jersey – the bolting loosie’s rise has been one of the highlights of a mixed season for the All Blacks. But he will envy Erasmus’ reserve-bench riches.
Wallace Sititi has impressed in his first season with the All Blacks. Photo / Photosport
There’s much at stake on the tour that rounds off Robertson’s first year in charge of the All Blacks – his men have won six matches, lost three and seldom looked truly convincing. Of the five matches on the tour, the two against Japan and Italy present chances to run new combinations. The other three – Ireland, England and France – could define Robertson’s first year in charge.
Win all three of those big tests and his side will go to second in World Rugby’s rankings – and force Ireland to third. If the Springboks trip up in one of their tour matches, the All Blacks could even end the year on top of the rankings.
World Rugby’s rankings count for less on these shores than in other countries. But an 11-win, three-loss record would give Robertson an easier summer, so it’s understandable he’s stuck with conservative selections for the squad.
It’s similarly understandable that he could see Sotutu as a long-term solution to the impact problem.
