‘Like Will Jordan’: Ex-Wallaby on Sam Cane’s return to All Blacks

Nick Phipps has tipped former All Blacks captain Sam Cane to challenge for the starting job at openside flanker during The Rugby Championship after returning to the Test arena during last weekend’s big win over Los Pumas.

Cane was back in black on Saturday evening for the first time since last year’s heartbreaking loss to South Africa in the Rugby World Cup Final. The 32-year-old came off the bench with 30 minutes to play and didn’t look out of place at Eden Park.

In that moment, the final chapter in Cane's All Blacks career began. It was exactly 100 days ago, at the time of writing, that Cane announced his decorated international career was coming to an end.

The 2015 Rugby World Cup winner penned a long-term deal in Japan which makes him ineligible for the All Blacks beyond 2024. The now 96-Test veteran wanted to put his family first by committing to the multi-year deal in the Land of the Rising Sun.

However, with the opportunity to potentially become the All Blacks’ 13^th Test centurion within reach, Cane didn’t retire from international duty with immediate effect. It’s the swansong season that Cane deserves but the backrower isn’t just there to make up the numbers, either.

“He’s still a very good player,” Nick Phipps said on Stan Sports’ Between Two Posts.

“He’s a bit like Will Jordan, he didn’t play any footy over in Japan through the season so he’s coming off the back of a lot of downtime as well.

“But, God, he’s quality, right? You can’t discount that quality coming into, not just the squad, but then for him to earn his seven spot as well.

“He showed his form on the weekend again. He can’t be out of the conversation to be back in there.”

Cane finished in the top eight for tackles made by an All Blacks player during the team’s 42-10 win over Los Pumas. That stat is made all the more impressive when you consider Cane played significantly less minutes than the players ranked above him.

The flanker is a world-class talent and he should rightly go down in history as a celebrated champion of the All Blacks’ jersey. It’s unfortunate that Cane was sent off during last year’s World Cup Final, but the former skipper is hoping to help the All Blacks move forward.

With Cane coming off the pine and performing quite well, the loose forward certainly made an impact as New Zealand bounced back from their shock loss to Argentina in Wellington. It was a one-sided annihilation from start to finish as the hosts returned to winning ways in style.

Right winger Will Jordan stood out with an impressive double, while Damian McKenzie, Beauden Barrett, Caleb Clarke and Ardie Savea were other starters who got on the scoresheet. But Phipps couldn’t look past the halves duo when selecting a player to highlight.

McKenzie linked up with halfback TJ Perenara once again on Saturday and the two were largely quite impressive. ‘D Mac’ was reliable both around the park and off the goal-kicking tee, while Perenara also proved to be a lethal threat with the ball in hand.

“I saw they named TJ (Perenara) and (Damian) McKenzie in the halves again for the second week in a row. They’re under a lot of pressure,” Phipps explained.

“I find that really interesting between Super Rugby form and international form – I don’t always think that Super Rugby form translates to international form.

“Watching them play in that game, it was a real coming (of age) for them, the nine and 10, sort of forging their relationship as the dominant halves in the country. It was good to see them really run the show but also have their flash of brilliance that they can bring in Super Rugby.

“I found that (was) a really good battle throughout the game.”