All Blacks coach Ian Foster has named the squad to take on Uruguay with regular captain Sam Cane and tighthead prop Tyrel Lomax also set to return to the starting side. Video / NZ Herald
By Liam Napier in Lyon
Now is not the time for World Cup experimentation. Not for the All Blacks, anyway.
Every test presents contrasting push-and-pull selection parameters.
In this World Cup, the All Blacks were always going to field their best available team against France and Italy anduse Namibia to include fringe squad prospects.
While changes to the starting team are certain for the All Blacks’ final pool match against Uruguay in Lyon, mass rotation would be counterproductive and contradictory.
Jordie Barrett runs through drills during an All Blacks training session in Lyon, France. Photo / Getty Images
As a result of their opening defeat to France, the All Blacks have made it clear they are yet to qualify for the quarter-finals. Sending out a second-string team this week would fly in the face of that messaging.
With nine days to recover for their likely quarter-final in Paris, managing workloads is hardly a pressing concern either.
The risk of losing influential figures – underlined by French talisman Antoine Dupont’s facial fracture against Namibia – is ever-present. Yet keeping starters on ice for two weeks risks evoking rust and proving disruptive. At this stage of the tournament, cohesion and continuity are priorities.
The wheels don’t need changing. Multiple, important cogs must keep moving.
Shannon Frizell and Jordie Barrett need game time after their starting returns last week. Sam Cane will return to regain the captaincy in a starting capacity after completing 23 minutes off the bench. Likewise, Tyrel Lomax, the first-choice tighthead prop before his thigh laceration, required 30 stitches.
Lomax injected notable scrummaging impact off the bench against Italy but after missing France and Namibia, All Blacks assistant Scott McLeod challenged him from a dominant tackling perspective.
“Defensively Ofa [Tu’ungafasi] and Nepo [Laulala] have raised their games in terms of execution so that’s shown Tyrel what he needs to do as well.
“Movement and getting their big frames in front of people and then having an execution that’s within the law and very accurate but very punishing at the same time.
“There’s an opportunity there for Tyrel to lift his game.”
Scrum coach Greg Feek offered a contrasting assessment of Lomax’s 31-minute comeback.
“I thought he was outstanding after the time he had off and the fact he couldn’t bend his leg,” Feek said. “His performance was great for what he’s been through. I know after the game his chassis was still out on the field. He was absolutely gone but in a good way.”
Promoting Cane and Lomax, and injecting Sam Whitelock to start his 150th test milestone, makes sense.
There could be room for the odd tweak elsewhere to build squad competition and depth but as the All Blacks attempt to drive further improvement for the knockouts, selection sentiment must be left at the door.
Samisoni Taukei’aho shone for the All Blacks' against South Africa last year. Photo / Photosport
Dispatch Uruguay in a ruthless manner and the game time of central starting figures can be managed from the bench contingent.
Of those on the fringe of the established first-choice team, Samisoni Taukei’aho, Leicester Fainga’anuku and Ethan Blackadder are pushing for consideration.
Dynamic Chiefs hooker Taukei’aho started seven tests in a breakout 2022 season. This year, though, he’s rapidly fallen out of favour which culminated in missing selection for the romp over Italy.
Set piece is a foundation on which the World Cup will be won and lost. This is perhaps where the All Blacks don’t fully trust Taukei’aho compared with reliable veterans Codie Taylor and Dane Coles.
Taukei’aho offers a destructive presence with ball in hand but from a breakdown and defensive work-rate perspective, Taylor set the bar against Italy.
“You look at the props, the hookers, the locks, it’s so tight,” Feek said. “There was an old saying a few years ago that the All Blacks jersey is yours to give away if you’re not performing in it. And if you’re not there, it’s hard to get in if the guy is playing well. It’s about taking their chances.
“Soni has played well and he’s training the house down. He’s working hard on all the specific areas that he needs to. For him, it’s knowing what he’s really good at and not forgetting that as a young man.”
Inclusion for Uruguay would give Taukei’aho the chance to reinstate his case.
“Colesy and Codie are playing really well. We’re pushing each other,” Taukei’aho said. “Whoever gets the nod to be in the 23 we’re right behind. For me, I play differently to the way they play so it’s about contributing my strengths.”
Fainga’anuku was unfortunate to miss the selection cut for Italy, with Damian McKenzie preferred on the bench.
While Mark Telea has the leftwing role locked down for the knockouts, Fainga’anuku deserves a chance either from the start or off the bench after showcasing his power against Namibia.
Blackadder is an intriguing prospect, too, having joined the squad late as an injury replacement for Chiefs wing Emoni Narawa after the opening match.
Luke Jacobson started ahead of Blackadder in the loose forward pecking order but as the only member of the All Blacks squad yet to feature in the World Cup, this could be the ideal time to unleash Blackadder’s combative 118-kg frame.
Otherwise, though, this is the time for the All Blacks to shift gears – not park in neutral.
Liam Napier has been a sports journalist since 2010, and his work has taken him to World Cups in rugby, netball and cricket, boxing world title fights and Commonwealth Games.
