'You've got to see him': The two desperate All Blacks who need to play this week
After another impressive performance against the Wallabies in Melbourne the All Blacks back three combination of Mark Telea, Will Jordan and Beauden Barrett went a step closer to locking down the starting roles.
With time of the essence before the Rugby World Cup, it remains to be seen whether any changes will be made to the side for the final Bledisloe fixture in Dunedin this weekend.
Ex-All Black winger John Kirwan said it would be 'pretty hard' to disrupt the in-form trio while the debate around Beauden Barrett's suitability at No 15 has been silenced.
"When they are playing like that, Will Jordan against the Springboks and Mark Telea this week, for me it's pretty hard to change," Kirwan said.
"I think we are not talking about Beauden anymore, we are talking about him just being the fullback."
The former All Black still wanted to see Crusader Leicester Fainga'anuku with time running out for him to make a World Cup push.
If the back three is to be maintained, Fainga'anuku remains an option on the bench with his versatility at centre.
"We need to see Fainga'anuku, I know he's been injured. Narawa, apparently he's got a bit of a niggle injury so," he said.
"I think Damian McKenzie goes [to the World Cup], but I think it is between those two and possibly Caleb [Clarke]. That's why I'm asking are we actually going to play some of these guys?
"If you think about it, Caleb's had an opportunity, the other two wingers have had an opportunity, at least one of them needs to be out there this week.
Caleb Clarke has been selected as the bench option for the last Tests which Kirwan described as 'strange' as he only covers the left wing.
"I thought it was a strange person to have on the bench and maybe no one else is available, just because like Sekope said, covering different positions, for me that as interesting," Kirwan said.
"But I don't expect to see him this week. He's done everything he can to be selected. He got out there [in Melbourne] and did really well, he's a different body type, he's big, he's strong."
Sky Sport commentator Tony Johnson expected Leicester Fainga'anuku to be available this weekend with a calf injury due to come right, which could end up being a straight swap with Clarke for the No 23 jersey.
"He could do with a game, he really needs it. I wouldn't mind seeing Shaun Stevenson out there either," Johnson said.
"If someone does get injured, he might be one of the first cabs off the rank."
After tipping a debut for Stevenson last week, Kirwan believed that the Chiefs fullback has to be seen this weekend to be a chance at a World Cup spot.
If he is not able to get on the field then he will stay home for the World Cup.
"I think with Shaun, the interesting thing and the best thing for him is he will be in front of the coaches every day," Kirwan said.
"There was a discussion about his defence, that's what I sort of heard they were worried about.
"So he gets into the All Blacks team, he goes and plays well for the Bs, was another good season [with the Chiefs].
"If he's working on that and he's in front of their eyes and they've got confidence that he is getting better at the stuff they want him to get better at.
"Then, you've got to see him. Off the bench or start him, you've got to see him otherwise he stays home."
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All of these media pundits always miss the obvious whenever they analyse what is ailing or assisting the game. Rugby always has contentious points for debate when picking apart individual games and finding fault with itself. All this focus and scrutiny on “speeding up the game”, “high ball in play” etc is all contextual to the fan. As a tv viewer, if you’re absorbed into a game, regardless if your team is playing or not, more ball in play time and action are all byproducts of the contest. A good contest subliminally affects your memory in selectively remembering all the good aspects. A poor contest and your brain has switched off because its a blowout and the result is never in doubt or it’s a real chore to watch and remain engaged throughout. The URC, Top 14 and English premiership are all competitions that feel like there’s real jeopardy each week. The dominance of Super rugby by NZ teams was unhealthy from a sustainable interest perspective. You can’t fault those teams or the players, but the lack of competitions won by SA and Australian teams long term was always going to test the faith and patience of die-hard and casual fans from those regions. SANZAR took their eye off the fans and fans voted with their feet and subscriptions. They were so concerned about expanding their product they forgot the golden rule about broadcasting live sport. Viewers tune in more when there’s an atmosphere and a true contest. You need to fill stadiums to create one, host unions need to do more to service ticket buyers, and this year proves the other, there’s more interest in Super rugby this year only because more games are competitive with less foregone conclusions. All these micro statistics bandied about, only interest the bean counters and trainspotters.
Go to commentsIt’s a good, timely wake up call for NZ Rugby (seem to be a few of them lately!) - sort out the bureaucratic nonsense at board level. We can’t expect to stay the number one option without keeping fans/players engaged. We’ve obviously been bleeding players to league for years but can’t let the floodgates open (although I think this headline is hyperbolic as it’s a result of a recent Warriors pathways system where they are tracking things more closely) Understand the need to focus boys on rugby if they’re at a proud rugby school too, don’t think it’s harsh at all re Barakat in Hamilton. Reward the committed players with squad positions. An elite 1st XV system in NZ has done more for league than they even realise, think it’s good to protect our game further.
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