All Blacks Sam Darry, Will Jordan and Cortez Ratima speak about their shortcomings against Argentina and their preparation for this weekend's game. Video / Dean Purcell
THREE KEY FACTS:
Ardie Savea was the only loose forward to make ground against Argentina, despite not performing at his best.
Ethan Blackadder and Samipeni Finau failed to impress, while Dalton Papalii’s energy was drained by defensive efforts.
The All Blacks need to rethink their loose forward selection, with Hoskins Sotutu and Wallace Sititi as potential options.
While many barbs have been aimed at the likes of TJ Perenara, Damian McKenzie, Ardie Savea and Sevu Reece, thebig question from the All Blacks’ loss to Argentina is: why is our loose forward unit looking so uninspiring?
Savea can be exempted, even though he got in the way of the halfback to make the first of two wonky passes that effectively lost the test. He was the only one of the loose forward trio who made ground against the Pumas’ defence, even if it wasn’t one of his top-drawer performances.
It’s about now that the decision to leave Hoskins Sotutu out of the Rugby Championship squad looks odd. Ethan Blackadder always impresses with his energy and courage but he simply hasn’t yet brought the defence-stretching crunch and punch the All Blacks want from a No 6 and he fell off a tackle in the direct build-up to the matchwinning try.
Blackadder, to be fair, was good in the lineout, accentuating the need for a tall No 6 or No 8 as an extra target. However, he hasn’t convinced in general play – and neither did Samipeni Finau against England when he had a quiet test, most unlike his Super Rugby Pacific form and what was expected of him in an “enforcer” role.
Ethan Blackadder and Samipeni Finau have failed to impress, while Dalton Papalii’s energy was drained by defensive efforts, writes Paul Lewis. Photo / Photosport
Dalton Papalii played well enough – he makes a ton of tackles and was one of the few to challenge the Pumas’ superiority in the breakdowns – but that work costs him in terms of energy and direction; he was ineffective going forward, a criticism previously also levelled at the man he has succeeded, Sam Cane.
So there we are – years later and the All Blacks have still not adequately replaced Jerome Kaino and Liam Squire at 6. There are some super prospects – like the exciting Wallace Sititi, even if he did give away the penalty that wrapped the game up for the Pumas.
The squad contains much-decorated loose forwards like Luke Jacobson, who possesses rock-hard shoulders, a clattering tackle and a good nose for grubbing possession from the breakdowns. Again, however, he doesn’t bring as much as Savea on attack and, by any objective measure, you’d have to say our loose forwards are on the short side in international terms.
And, please, can anyone tell me... why is Sam Cane there again?
Yes, 95 test matches, one of the bravest souls to pull on a black jersey and undoubtedly adding value to this All Blacks transition – but surely that spot is better used, at this stage in a four-year World Cup cycle, to find new members of the loose forward fraternity who can do the job Kaino and Squire did.
Much of what went wrong against the Pumas can be fixed with a bit of focus, time and practice: receiving kickoffs, exits from the 22, kicking from hand, throwing to the lineout – but the make-up of the loose forwards and the starting halfback are structural choices that affect the running of the machine.
Perenara’s selection – after all the praise heaped on Cortez Ratima and Noah Hotham in this year’s first three tests – smelled strongly of the old warrior given a home test.
That decision, and the sentimentality which seemed to underpin it, played a major role in that defeat, in my view. And what’s this business about the legions of assistant coaches being the ones who do the selecting from their various areas of influence – Jason Ryan (forwards), Scott Hansen (defence), Jason Holland (backs) and Leon McDonald (attack)?
Former All Black and TV pundit Jeff Wilson alluded to this on The Breakdown this week, suggesting they were allocated certain positions to select each week: “the one thing that’s clearly different about what the All Blacks are doing... they’ve got a huge number of coaches who have got huge responsibilities in terms of selection and... I’m not sure we’ve seen that from another team where they’ve been assigned positions”.
“There’s a huge number of coaches, and they’ve got an area they have to focus on, and is the danger there?” Wilson asked.
It’s a fair question – it’s the All Blacks, not a jigsaw puzzle.
As far as the loose forwards go, Sotutu might not be the answer either, though we’ll never know if they don’t select him. Defence and mental strength were held up as the reasons for missing the squad, yet the All Blacks’ defence was ordinary last Saturday (four tries scored against them, two directly from defensive mistakes).
As for mental strength, I’d say nothing benefits that as much as running through a few Pumas and Springboks and making good lineout takes.
Head coach Scott Robertson, an All Blacks loose forward himself, must assume priority in this one. He’ll need to sort out whether Blackadder and/or Finau are the men for the job at blindside flanker or whether a reshuffle is needed – like switching Savea to 7 and bringing in a power runner (whether Sotutu or Sititi) at No 8 and hoping they can develop a gnarly, penetrative No 6 with an eye for the turnover and lineout ball.
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