All Blacks coach Ian Foster went looking for World Cup solutions in Edinburgh and mostly found them.
Mark Telea did enough to suggest he’s worth another cap and could even become a genuine top team contender on the right wing.
Beauden Barrett highlighted he’sbetter suited to fullback. David Havili, by lacking influence and accuracy in the midfield, confirmed that Jordie Barrett is the best second-five option in the squad.
TJ Perenara played with enough speed, clarity and simplicity to believe that 10 months in the international wilderness has taught him a few things, and Akira Ioane’s low-impact offering strengthened concerns he might not have either the mind-set or work-rate to merit a World Cup place once Ethan Blackadder returns from injury.
The test against Scotland, however, also delivered Foster a problem, one that he will say he gladly accepts and one that he will say is a good one to have.
Dalton Papali’i produced another dominant performance in the No 7 jersey. He was a bruising presence in Edinburgh, making strong ball carries, solid tackles and most critically, he made a couple of critical turnovers that turned the game.
He played well in Wales the week before, seemingly relishing his assigned bash-and-smash role in a direct gameplan.
The body of evidence is now significant that Papali’i is an openside with the physical gifts and mental starch to play his best football against the rough and tumble teams of the Six Nations.
Dalton Papalii has shown openside in the best position for him. Photosport
Prior to his man-of-the-match showing at Murrayfield, his best test performance was against Ireland in Dublin last year.
“He’s carried on how he’s played for us last year and he’s grown an arm and leg since then,” Foster acknowledged.
“He’s tough, and up here he’s well-suited to the close-quarter type games played. We’re delighted with his form — he’s a hungry man, he wants to play and he’s playing really well.”
There is no harm in collecting world class loose forwards, but Papali’i is competing for a starting spot with Foster’s preferred captain, Sam Cane, who is back in New Zealand recovering from a broken cheekbone, and the case to restore the skipper to the No 7 short once he returns is not as compelling as it previously was.
The argument to persevere with Papali’i once Cane is available again, is not based on respectively evaluating their individual skill-sets and declaring one man better equipped than the other, but rather, looking at the total impact of the All Blacks back-row in recent weeks.
Papali’i’s ball carrying has given the All Blacks a greater threat away from the ruck.
He’s quick enough to play that bit wider than Cane and strong enough to break tackles in areas that hurt defences, and if the All Blacks are going to win the World Cup next year, they are going to need to have a bit more than pick and drive, a rolling maul and a clever cross-kicking game.
What has changed the equation in relation to starting Papali’i ahead of Cane, is that the former has shown on this tour that his speed and mobility can also be a defensive attribute.
That’s significant because Cane’s close-quarter defensive crush where he’s notoriously good at stopping big men on the gainline, was considered too much to sacrifice to introduce Papapli’i’s greater attacking portfolio.
Sam Cane was ruled out of the European tour due to injury. Photosport
But while Cane would still rank as the better tackler, Papali’i has brought enough nuisance factor to his work at the breakdown to suggest that he can play a strong defensive role, just in a slightly different way.
And that’s what’s key to this whole debate: Papali’i is not being hailed as the better player, but a different player — one whose skill-set better balances that of No 8 Ardie Savea, and perhaps most critically, mitigates against some of the risk of playing Scott Barrett at blindside which may well be on the cards for the clash against England.
When he plays at six, Barrett adds presence to the pack. He’s another big body to carry and cleanout, and a genuine jumper at the lineout.
But the trade-off is that he’s not as quick or as dynamic as most of his loose forward peers.
Having Savea and Papali’i in tandem to compensate for Barrett’s relative lack of speed and mobility, feels like it would provide a better balance than Cane and Savea.
Cane’s game is built on his physicality, and he effectively operates as a six-and-a-half.
Barrett plays more like a five-and-a-half and Savea is really a seven, and that combination hasn’t got a high enough accumulative total.
The greater speed of Papali’i and his ability to attack wider as a genuine seven enables Savea to operate more as an eight and leaves Barrett less exposed if the game opens up.
Certainly the discussion about who to play at No 7 is changing and this weekend’s clash at Twickenham should provide the strongest evidence yet as to how ready Papali’i is to become a regular starter at openside.
