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Picking an All Blacks squad at the halfway point of Super Rugby Aotearoa
By Alex McLeod
After five rounds of action, Super Rugby Aotearoa has reached the halfway point of its 10-week duration.
Whether it's been the continued dominance of the Crusaders, the resurgence of the Blues, the plight of the Chiefs, the 'comebacks' of Dan Carter and Nehe Milner-Skudder or the rise of young players nationwide, the Kiwi league has provided a plethora of talking points in the opening month and a bit.
The confirmation of the highly-anticipated North vs South clash in Auckland next month has also brought with it plenty of fanfare as one of New Zealand's oldest fixtures reclaims its place on the national sporting calendar.
Ultimately, though, the make-up of Ian Foster's first All Blacks squad remains integrated as one of the focal points of Super Rugby Aotearoa.
The competition has been and will continue to effectively be used as a series of All Blacks trials for Foster and his assistants as New Zealand's best go head-to-head for a spot in both the North vs South game and the national side.
That inter-island clash could go some way to finalising the last few places in Foster's squad, but there are more than a few men who have already stated their cases for international selection.
No player can pull together a string of decent performances without their name being mentioned as a potential All Blacks candidate - just ask the likes of Will Jordan, Caleb Clarke and Hoskins Sotutu.
If the All Blacks play at all this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic remains to be seen, but hopes are high for a four-test Bledisloe Cup series against the Wallabies, while SANZAAR refuse to rule out the Rugby Championship from taking place.
Regardless if either one of those events go ahead, now seems a fair time to assess who stands where in the national pecking order with each franchise across the board having now played each other once.
Beginning up front, perhaps one of the most noticeable facets of the Blues' remarkable challenge for the Super Rugby Aotearoa crown has been their forward pack's vastly improved tenacity and efficiency on defence.
All members from No. 1 to No. 8 have posted big tackle counts on their stat sheets since they embarked on their campaign against the Hurricanes last month.
An overwhelming commitment to fronting up on the opposite side of the ball has led Leon MacDonald's side to concede just 82 points this season, meaning they boast the second-tightest defence in the league behind the Crusaders.
While the Blues' loose forwards and second rowers have been lauding most of the plaudits since their return from the COVID-19 lockdown, the defensive effort made by the franchise's two starting props have largely gone unnoticed.
In addition to leading the charge for the second-best scrum success rate in the competition (96 percent), Alex Hodgman and Ofa Tu'ungafasi's off the ball work rate has seemingly been overshadowed by the performances of their standout teammates.
Hodgman, in particular, has been impressive with his defensive output, sitting sixth-equal with Sotutu for most tackles (42).
Only Dalton Papalii (48) has posted better figures for the Auckland side, while no other front rower registers in Super Rugby Aotearoa's top 10 tackle count.
Given that he has led the charge in a defensive mindset shift that has rocketed the Blues from cellar-dwellers to genuine title threats, it's fair to say, then, that loosehead prop Hodgman could be a dark horse contender for a place in the All Blacks set-up.
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