There have been times throughout this World Cup cycle when the All Blacks were locked in an unsolvable selection riddle, but here they are now on the eve of the tournament with absolute clarity about the make-up of their best side.
The journey to this pointhas been long and at times torturous. A few coaches lost their jobs along the way and a few, unwelcome historic firsts were collected, too.
But what epic journey is ever made without encountering pain and adversity? No one climbs Everest and comes back down saying it was a doddle and all that matters now is that the All Blacks have the certainty they were searching for.
They know their two best props and best lock. They know their best back-row when they are all fit and they have settled on a preferred starting backline now that Mark Telea has done enough to convince he’s the best choice for the left wing.
The All Blacks know what they need to know and so everything they have endured since 2020 – the bad, the good, the wins, the losses – has proven invaluable.
The names must rattle off now in a way they previously didn’t. Ethan de Groot and Tyrel Lomax. Aaron Smith and Richie Mo’unga. Jordie Barrett and Rieko Ioane. Telea, Will Jordan and Beauden Barrett – this is a team with established combinations.
Once Shannon Frizell and Brodie Retallick have recovered from injury there will be familiarity about the second and back row too, and the three selectors unanimous that they have their best people and best combinations, the only pause for thought coming when they work through the possibilities of who to have on the bench.
Beauden Barrett of New Zealand celebrates with teammates. Photo / Getty Images.
There is an undeniable sense they have found themselves at precisely the right time: that selection is a five-minute job these days, if that, and it’s only to double-check rather than to deliberate.
This is the promised ;and – a treasured place for a coaching group to be as looking around at the other World Cup contenders, this last weekend of games before the tournament is being treated as a final chance to get answers about certain players and combinations.
And so too have there been previous World Cups when the All Blacks came into the tournament with selection questions still hanging over them. And uncertainty has often been a killer of dreams.
In 2007, the All Blacks were still guessing about their best midfield and reached the quarter-final in such an angst-ridden state, that they panicked and picked a fullback to play centre.
That selection was symbolically rather than practically damaging, as it showed that after four years of playing around with selections, the coaching group had failed to realise that the time for playing around was over.
The World Cup is not the place to try to find selection answers, which is why former head coach Steve Hansen admits it was a mistake to play Scott Barrett at blindside in the 2019 World Cup semifinal.
The intent was to surprise England, but really it just spooked his own players to see Barrett picked in a position in which he had previously never started a test.
It’s not realistic to imagine Foster and his coaching team won’t make mistakes at this World Cup, but it’s unlikely that they are going to be guilty of second guessing themselves when it comes to selection or trying something unorthodox.
And as well as this coaching group knows who they want, so too do they know what they want.
What’s become more apparent as this season has played out is that there has been a clear and detailed game-by-game plan in operation.
There was never any doubt that this final pre-World Cup test was going to be used as a dress rehearsal for the top side.
Most of the big guns missed the previous fixture in Dunedin, with Foster knowing that they would all be given the Twickenham encounter to get a critical last 80 minutes under their belts.
All Blacks coach Ian Foster. Photo / Photosport
He’s been at two previous World Cups and he knows that players coming into the opening game having not played for six weeks is dangerous.
Equally, he knows that coming in having walloped an understrength Pacific Island side two weeks earlier is just as ineffective at readying the team.
And as a further signal of the depth of thinking, the bench contains six rather than the usual five forwards.
This is a player management strategy designed to limit the game time of locks Barrett and Sam Whitelock, who will likely start against France, as Brodie Retallick, while ahead of schedule in his recovery from a knee injury, is not expected to be available to play in the opening game.
All Blacks v Springboks: Follow the match at nzherald.co.nz
Elliott Smith’s live commentary on GoldSport, Newstalk ZB and iHeartradio
Alternative Commentary Collective: iHeart Radio, Radio Hauraki and SKY Sport 9
