All Blacks will have to be at their best against England
By Jeremy Guscott – Outspoken and unmissable, every week…
In some ways the New Zealand system means that they are not at full strength between World Cups. You can see it in the way fly-half Richie Mo’unga, blindside Shannon Frizell, and veteran lock Brodie Retallick, who are all in Japan, are ruled out by taking up overseas contracts, despite being number one picks before they went.
It’s a bit confusing because other All Blacks who are also playing club rugby in Japan, like Beauden Barrett, Ardie Savea, and Sam Cane, are available to New Zealand head coach Scott Robertson because they are on overseas sabbaticals awarded to key players by NZ Rugby.
However, if players like Mo’unga take up overseas contracts it gives them time to have a respite in a less demanding rugby environment, and it also gives New Zealand the opportunity to discover new talent and build the overall strength of their squad.
Fly-Half Options
There are still so many players in some positions in New Zealand with the same quality of skill-set that it is not a player drain, but in some positions – like fly-half at the moment – it is difficult to replace Mo’unga because of the inconsistency of Damian McKenzie and Beauden Barrett at 10.
Every side suffers when players are inconsistent, and New Zealand are no different. McKenzie is a classic Barbarians/Harlem Globetrotters style of fly-half, and everything is sexy about the rugby he produces.
Damian McKenzie
What you’ve got in McKenzie is a bit of a Carlos Spencer, or Freddie Michalak, who just wants to go out and play, and be a free spirit.
The only issue with these guys is that they are not tactical bosses on the field, or commander-in-chief strategic kickers – i.e. the sort of game-manager 10s that Northampton’s Fin Smith promises to be.
I love watching McKenzie, and at Bath they still talk about his majestic performance for the Barbarians a couple of years ago at The Rec.
However, while he’s the player everyone wants to see, the great entertainer stuff is not always what his Test team-mates want to see. He’s brilliant – but it’s also the ying and yang of rugby union.
Beauden Barrett’s fault-line at 10 is that he is not the most convincing goal-kicker, and he got away with it because he was so brilliant everywhere else when he first broke through.
The difference is that he was playing in a brilliant All Black team, and now they are more of a work in progress, and he has more responsibility on his shoulders.
New Zealand have discovered that if they have a 9-10 combination which is inconsistent – turning the ball over with speculative chip kicks, or not box-kicking accurately – then you are not locked-in to the game you want to play.
TJ Perenara
They also have a bit of an issue at scrum-half with TJ Perenara, who with the experience of being an All Black for a decade, with 87 caps, seems to think that he can come on the field and get chopsy with referees.
Recently he’s been told in no uncertain terms that they don’t want him reffing the game – so we’ll see if he’s got the message.
At his best, Perenara is very good, keeping the team on the front foot with clever kicking and sharp breaks around the edges – but if he ends up arguing with match officials the danger is that he will mess up New Zealand’s rhythm, lose his concentration, and become a liability.
Robertson will need his experienced players to be at their best, because the All Blacks face a pretty difficult tour of the northern hemisphere, with three Tests in a row against England, Ireland and France.
In 2015 we would have expected New Zealand to win all of those games with something to spare.
They would have been able to mix and match their starting 23, or even put a second team out, and still win comfortably – whereas this time out they will absolutely have to be at their best.
A big element with New Zealand is that for a long time they appeared to other teams to be invincible, but now all the top six teams in the world think they have a good chance to win against them – so that barrier is well and truly removed.
Still have the aura
However, even with players who are not so dominant in their positions on the international stage, and with a new coaching team which is still finding its way, I see enough in New Zealand to believe that at their best they can beat anyone in the world in any given match.
To do that the All Blacks will have to put their mixed Rugby Championship form behind them, after suffering a home loss to Argentina, and two away losses to South Africa.
Robertson will need his leading players to stand up and show why they are the best in their position. In the pack, while Savea and hooker Codie Taylor have continued to play well, it seems like their forwards can be dominated for longer periods in a game than used to be the case.
It’s possible that Retallick, at 33, may come back from Japan refreshed – and rejuvenated he could be like having two players on the pitch.
At the moment, new captain Scott Barrett isn’t a Retallick, but we will see whether he, and a lot of the established players, can rise to the occasion on this tour.
While former captain Cane is unlucky because he’s always been measured against Richie McCaw – and who wants that? – Robertson has the makings of a potent back row with Savea and powerful newcomer Wallace Sititi in the mix.
The Backs
If the forwards get parity then New Zealand have backs with the ability to carve out wins, with the world class Will Jordan, who is an awesome finisher, leading the way.
Elsewhere in the backline a player who needs to raise his game is Rieko Ioane. He’s undoubtedly gifted, but he makes basic unforced errors because he’s not tuned-in a lot of the time.
It appears Ioane drifts in and out of games now he’s at outside-centre, whereas when he was on the wing he scored tries for fun.
In his shoes I would want more of the ball, and would be making it clear to those inside me.
The big plus for New Zealand is that Jordie Barrett is still one of the best centres in the world, if not the best.
He’s had a bit of a dip and recently suffered a knee injury, but he can do it all – run, pass, tackle, kick, goal-kick, as well as be an aerial ace – and with a complete rugby player with size and speed like that in their ranks, as always, they will be well worth watching.
