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Israel Dagg predicts the All Blacks XV side to face Japan
By Ned Lester
June 18 will bring both delight and dismay as New Zealand's top rugby talent will listen for their name in the first All Blacks squad of the year. What will be a silver lining for some, will be a step closer to a dream for others as the All Blacks XV side will also be named that day.
In a World Cup year, players will have their positional hierarchies revealed to them and also have an opportunity to prove their worth in the international arena.
New Zealand Rugby's new initiative debuted in 2022 and in 2023 we could already see players graduate from the secondary side to Ian Foster's squad.
The team will again be coached by Leon MacDonald but this year travel to Japan to face the Brave Blossoms as well as their equivalent team, the Japan XV. The matches will take place on July 8 and 15.
66-cap All Black Israel Dagg this week revealed his predicted All Blacks XV side. The selections include players ascending into the fringe All Black conversation as well as capped All Blacks who have failed to secure their position in 2023.
“Many of them have still got an opportunity to make that squad," Dagg admitted while announcing his prediction on SENZ Breakfast.
Here's Dagg's XV:
- Aidan Ross
- Brodie McAlister
- Nepo Laulala
- Quinten Strange
- Tupou Vaa’i
- Luke Jacobson (c)
- Tom Christie/Du’Plessis Kirifi
- Brayden Iose
- Cortez Ratima/Noah Hotham
- Stephen Perofeta
- Caleb Clarke
- Bryce Heem/Levi Aumua
- Braydon Ennor
- Emoni Narawa
- Shaun Stevenson/Josh Moorby
There were a number of players who prompted further explanation as Dagg read through his list. Luke Jacobson is one name that many feel deserves to be in the All Blacks and Dagg stated "I hope I get proved wrong there".
At No 7, Tom Christie and Du'plessis Kirifi share the honours but Highlanders captain Billy Harmon was also considered, it was unclear whether Harmon was promoted from his spot in the team last year or demoted.
"The hard one, that's potentially going to lose his spot in the All Blacks, he's injured at the moment and I don't know if he's done enough. There's too many quality players playing well, is Caleb Clarke to start on the left wing."
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I’ve seen an improvement in both.
Go to commentsFrance using the 7-1, England using the 6-2, Ireland and Scotland have used it a few times as well and many nations are starting to adopt it. The reality is the game is changing. Administrators have made it faster and that is leading to more significant drop offs in the forwards. You have 2 options. Load your bench with forwards or alter your player conditioning which might mean more intense conditioning for forwards and a drop off in bulk. The game can still be played many ways. Every nation needs to adapt in their own way to suit their strengths. France have followed the Springbok model of tight forwards being preferred because it suits them. They have huge hunks of meat and the bench is as good as the starters so why not go for it? The Springboks have also used hybrids like Kwagga Smith, Schalk Britz, Deon Fourie, Franco Mostert and others. England are following that model instead and by putting 3 loosies there who can do damage in defence and make the breakdown a mess in the final quarter. It worked well against Wales but will be interested to see how it goes going forward against better opposition who can threaten their lineout and scrum. All the talk around bench limitations to stop the 7-1 and 6-2 for me is nonsense. Coaches who refuse to innovate want to keep the game the same and make it uniform and sameness is bad for fans. The bench composition adds jeopardy and is a huge debate point for fans who love it. Bench innovations have not made the game worse, they have made it better and more watchable. They challenge coaches and teams and that’s what fans want. What we need now is more coaches to innovate. There is still space for the 5-3 or even a 4-4 if a coach is willing to take it on and play expansive high tempo possession-based rugby with forwards who are lean and mean and backs who are good over the ball. The laws favour that style more than ever before. Ireland are too old to do it now. Every team needs to innovate to best suit their style and players so I hope coaches and pundits stop moaning about forwards and benches and start to find different ways to win.
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