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'Might be a better 13': All Blacks' new centre gem uncovered against Fiji
By Ben Smith
The All Blacks had six new debutants against Fiji but just one new starter in centre Billy Proctor, who wore the No 13 jersey for the first time.
The 25-year-old had a memorable night, producing multiple line breaks, creating two tries and scoring one on debut in stellar performance.
His showing was so impressive that many believe he "might be better" than incumbent centre Rieko Ioane.
Since 2022, Ioane has been the first choice No 13 taking over from the experienced pair Jack Goodhue and Anton Lienert-Brown.
Proctor's ability to free up the wingers with brilliant distribution caught the eye of many All Blacks fans.
One wrote that the All Blacks have missed "physicality and distribution at centre" while another said that Proctor is the "best 13 since Goodhue".
10/10 - Billy Proctor
How about that for a debut. The best 13 I've seen for the All Blacks since Goodhue. His passing is so far clear of any other 13 in NZ and this changing the dynamic of our backline entirely. Made 95 metres, 7 tackles and 11 carries. And a debut test try.— BenM (@benmsports) July 20, 2024
Proctor was the first midfielder debutant to wear the No 13 jersey in his first Test since his brother Matt in 2018, while they became the 28th set of brothers to wear the black jersey.
The centre logged 96 run metres with four line breaks, eight defenders beaten, two try assists and one try which some believe might create a "genuine conundrum" for the All Blacks coaches.
Proctor described his debut as "surreal" on a special night in unique circumstances playing in the United States, a different experience to what most debutants have.
"Yeah it was pretty surreal. I guess it's still settling in that, you know, just becoming an All Black," he told media after his debut.
"I guess That's every kiwi rugby players dream. It was an awesome occasion, cool stadium, you know, 30,000-odd there, fireworks, music.
As for work-ons after an almost perfect night, Proctor said he would have to come up with a better try celebration for next time.
"I got nothing up my sleeve i need to work on that I think, I got nothing," he laughed.
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Latest Comments
About 500K of those are schoolboys 90% of which will not go on to play club rugby.
Go to commentsDon't think you've watched enough. I'll take him over anything I's seen so far. But let's see how the future pans out. I'm quietly confident we have a row of 10's lined uo who would each start in many really good teams.
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