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One easy fix to ignite the All Blacks' attack
The All Blacks have always possessed brilliant individuals who are capable of producing something from nothing – and the current crop of players is no exception.
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Smattered amongst the squad selected for the July tests with Ireland are the likes of Will Jordan, Sevu Reece, Beauden Barrett, Rieko Ioane, Akira Ioane and Ardie Savea – players who, when given the right amount of time and space, can generate exceptional one-off plays that can turn a test.
In the series decider with Ireland on Saturday, it was an in-pass from Savea to Jordan inside the All Blacks 22 in the 60th minute to set the latter away on a run that ended in one of the greatest individual tries of the last 12 months.
Jordan is perhaps one of the best players in the world at pulling a rabbit out of a hat – his highlights from the 2021 season are numerous, whether wearing No 15 for the Crusaders or No 14 for the All Blacks.
It’s in the former jersey, however, that the 24-year-old could perhaps best be utilised by the New Zealand national side moving forward.
In 15 tests to date, Jordan has not yet been given the opportunity to take on fullback responsibilities for the All Blacks, despite that being his position of choice, and the one where he first made a name for himself with Tasman and the Crusaders.
Like his predecessor, Ben Smith, Jordan has spent the formative years of his test career camped out on the wing and although you couldn’t fault his performances in the role – 19 tries from 15 appearances is not a bad return, after all – his opportunities to make an impact are being blunted by being pushed towards the sidelines.
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Jordan’s greatest strength is his wide skill set: he’s quick, powerful, has a smart short-range kicking game, and has developed his nous when it comes to determining whether to give the ball to the men around him, or to make a run himself – although there’s probably still more work to do in that facet of the game.
Opposition know what Jordan is capable of and that can often leave them in two minds when defending against him but by positioning him on the wing, some of his options are stripped away, creating a buffer against his attacking abilities.
In the All Blacks’ past five tests, current fullback Jordie Barrett has had almost 50 per cent more touches than whoever has been stationed on the right wing (either Jordan or Sevu Reece), and while Barrett has been a key playmaking figure for the Hurricanes in recent years, he hasn’t been able to generate the same positive plays from the back for NZ.
Jordan, on the other hand, might be better placed to take advantage of the open space he’ll be handed on the counter-attack thanks to his incredible pace – one of the few things Barrett somewhat lacks for compared to his contemporaries.
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Especially with the way the All Blacks are currently operating, the majority of their tries are being generated through something-out-of-nothing plays – and Jordan is the man best placed to take advantage of that.
Where Jordan certainly can’t measure up to Barrett, however, is his kicking game. Barrett’s long, raking boot has been a key strength of the 25-year-old’s throughout his time in the fullback jumper but the All Blacks only really take advantage of it when clearing from within their own 22.
If Jordan takes over the fullback responsibilities, that doesn’t necessarily mean Barrett has to be left out of the equation altogether, given there’s still a vacancy in the No 12 jersey for the All Blacks.
Head coach Ian Foster expressed earlier in the year that he doesn’t see Barrett moving into the midfield for the national side anytime soon, despite doing exactly that for the Hurricanes, because it would mean the lanky utility back couldn’t make the most of his height under the high balls.
“Particularly when you get to the Northern Hemisphere style you have to have the ability to deal with that high ball and make sure you’ve got a strong kicking game in your back three,” Foster told the NZ Herald.
“He ticked those boxes. He wasn’t at his best against France but the rest of the tour I thought he was one of our success stories.”
Jordan, at 6 foot 2, is hardly a small player, however, and his high-ball work certainly wouldn’t be put down as a weakness – even if he’s not quite up to Barrett’s standards.
Moving Barrett away from fullback might prevent him from utilising one of his greatest strengths, but that doesn’t mean it will create a weakness for the All Blacks.
Closer to the action, Barrett would have greater opportunities to make use of his sizeable frame – as he put to such good use to score NZ’s opening try of the series in Auckland, while it would free up the No 15 jersey for the more dynamic Jordan to really get his explosive attacking game going.
In attritional matches where kicks at goal are expected to settle the result, perhaps the safe-as-house Jordie Barrett is the best man to be camped at the back for the All Blacks, but if Ian Foster and co want to quickly ignite their attack then they need to look no further than tasking Will Jordan with fullback responsibilities.
Until our pack is sorted the issue of Jordan v Barret at 15 is moot. Our pack is weak and dysfunctional as a unit. Loose forward combination's are ineffective..front row useless....
The All Blacks have two good fullbacks and no good 12s. It makes sense to move J Barrett to 12 to give Jordan a chance to shine at fullback.
J Barrett can: Hit it up, offload, tackle, kick and pass. All the other options at 12 don't have a full range of skills. If B Barrett persists at 10, he needs a 12 to help him with the punting role. Havili can kick and pass, but is too small to hit it up. The other options at 12 can't kick; ALB is the only real option at 13, so can't play 12. Goodhue is too slow and injury prone. Ennor's injuries have resulted in him never getting a chance to gain experience, and he has lost too much pace.
Moving towards RWC 2023 the mid field should be J Barrett 12, ALB 13.
While I agree that Will Jordon should be at full back (and actually, jack Goodhue should be at centre pushing Rico Ioane back on the left wing, with both Barretts on the bench), the main issue is getting it right up front.
Firstly, there should be a complete overhaul of props. Fletcher Newall, Ethan De Groot, Tamaiti Williams should all definitely be brought in. Possibly Oli Jager too (although he is a bit older). This would energize the pack a lot, with a lot more effective ball carrying ability. Scott Barrett is fine at lock alongside Sam Whitelock, and Tupou Vaai’i a good back up.
In the loose forwards, shift Savea to the open side and bring in Hoskins Sotutu who combines well with Akira Ioane at the Blues, with Dalton Papali’i on the bench as back up. Build on the combinations more, and the structure of the team’s attack will improve.
ALB is the long term option at 13. Goodhue is too slow and injury prone. But as there are no other options it makes sense to play Goodhue at 13 until ALB is fit again. R Ioane to 11 (and possible injury cover for 13).
De Groot should be in. He's not going to get fitter by not playing.
I would drop Cane, but play Papalii at 7 and keep Savea at 8; Savea's power makes up for lacking the size a 8 normally has. Papalii, at 7, will improve the lineout; he is also a hard worker, so can cover Cane's role. Whitelock as captain. Savea can cover the 7 role at the lineout if Papalii is used as a jumper. A Ioane stepped up in the second half at Wellington. If he keeps working hard it will complement his awesome running game. Cullen Grace to the bench; with Savea and Papalii and A Ioane, they can rejig the loose trio if one is injured.
I 100% think Jordan needs to have all of the width to score from and he's lethal with Canterbury. Also if we put Richie in at 10 and Beauden on the bench conversions are better covered. Richie hasn't really been given full license to step up and lead like he does with the Crusaders and Beauden isn't as good at sparking something against a dominant pack. Jordan at 15 and give Richie some time to make 10 his own.
B Barrett could be one heck of a 14. J Barrett to 12.
Hugo Keenan is 6’ 1” and outstanding in the air for the high ball in fact probably better than Jordie Barrett.
Agree you don't have to be 6' 4" (J Barrett) to be good under the high ball. Ben Smith was also 6’ 1” and was also outstanding under the high ball.
Interesting article. As am objective observer though, I think that the AB's main problem is what you have highlighted in this article.
They create most of their tries out of broken play. It used to work back in the day, but the world has come to the party. Defenses are so solid and structured that those broken play opportunities are not there anymore.
What has happened lately, is that the AB's weak forwards are shown up. They just don't have the forwards to match the likes of France, Ireland, Springboks or even Wales. They cannot create opportunities for their magical backs from structured play.
They need to change their mindset from touch rugby to real, hard grind rugby.
Unquestionably. There seems to be a massive overreliance on unstructured tries. In a perfect world, the coaches would be able to fix that but for whatever reason, that's just not the position they are in right now...