Sonny Bill Williams jokes with All Blacks teammates during a training session ahead of the first round of The Rugby Championship. Photo / Getty Images
Sonny Bill Williams jokes with All Blacks teammates during a training session ahead of the first round of The Rugby Championship. Photo / Getty Images
COMMENT:
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first round of All Blacks World Cup auditions - with your host Stephen W. Hansen.
The theme of the week is fresh blood, with the Pumas looking to feed on the young potential within the All Blacks squad.
It's a tale of experience,or lack thereof, for the world champions with Hansen wasting no time in giving the rookies their first taste of test football and, in turn, the first chance to stake their claim for a spot in September's big dance.
Every step will be scrutinised, every decision dissected and every play perused. This is potentially the only opportunity the All Blacks will have to see certain combinations and players in action as they solidify their options.
Ofa Tuungafasi has the opportunity to play his way into the All Blacks World Cup squad. Photo / Getty Images
Hansen must be commended for taking the gamble he has with the experience in his side. Just over half of the 23-man squad has 10 or more test caps to their names, while nine others combine for just 11 caps between them.
"The team is a mixture of experience and raw enthusiasm," Hansen said of the team – with Sevu Reece personifying the latter. Reece's selection in the All Blacks squad alone was enough to ruffle some feathers, and the confirmation that he will indeed don the black jersey at test level will only draw more eyes and opinions to him. Reece falls into a group within the squad who could be getting their only opportunity with the All Blacks this year.
Off the bench, Josh Ioane is playing to confirm his spot as the No 3 first five-eight in the squad. Braydon Ennor is in direct competition with Reece for an outside backs role, and Luke Jacobson can attempt to quickly climb through the loose forward ranks.
Late American writer William Arthur Ward wrote: "Opportunities are like sunrises – if you wait too long, you miss them." Injuries and unavailability within the squad have opened doors; it's now on the players to make sure the selection team can't slam those doors in their faces later in the year. Just look at the mystery in the midfield.
Ngani Laumape has played 10 tests for the All Blacks. Photo / Getty Images
Arguably the single most damaging midfielder at Super Rugby level over the past two years, Ngani Laumape, has been constantly overlooked as Hansen has remained loyal to the oft-injured Sonny Bill Williams, while Anton Lienert-Brown has been the fourth-choice midfielder.
Where's Williams this weekend, you ask? He's in Argentina, part of the 30-man travelling squad, but wrapped in cotton wool somewhere with, you got it, another injury. He was limited to just six games for the Blues this season, averaging 53 minutes per appearance. Released to play two club games for Ponsonby before the All Blacks season got under way, he had to withdraw from the second due to a hamstring injury.
Williams, Laumape, Lienert-Brown, along with Crusaders Ryan Crotty and Jack Goodhue, are fighting for a maximum of four midfield spots in the World Cup squad – and Jordie Barrett's ability to cover the midfield adds another element of uncertainty.
The midfield will undoubtedly remain a puzzle until the World Cup squad is announced, as will the front row where – outside Owen Franks and Joe Moody – any of the five remaining props in the squad could fill the available spots.
For many players, this is the trip of opportunity – but only some of them will make it count.
