Why the All Blacks should start Samipeni Finau ‘for the greater good’

Two-time Rugby World Cup winner Victor Vito has explained why the All Blacks may need to reshuffle their backrow to accommodate for Samipeni Finau. With Sam Cane unavailable for the upcoming clash with France, coach Scott Robertson has some big decisions to make.

On the back of headline-grabbing wins over England at Twickenham’s Stadium and Ireland in Dublin, the All Blacks are looking to maintain their unbeaten run up north. But what awaits is an almighty challenge, with the men in black also bracing for a shot at revenge.

In the opening Test of last year’s Rugby World Cup in France, the tournament hosts played New Zealand in a blockbuster showdown. Les Bleus won that match 27-13 at Stade de France, which is the same venue that will host another Test between the sides in the Autumn Nations Series.

The All Blacks are a fair bit different since that World Cup encounter, a no change is more significant or noteworthy than in the coaching department. Scott Robertson leads the charge as the team’s head coach, and there are some key changes to the playing pool as well.

Ardie Savea continues to perform at a world-class level at No. 8, but the rest of the backrow will likely look a lot different this time around. Wallace Sititi has been a breakout superstar in the Test arena, Finau starting to make his mark, and the other options are new to the environment.

Peter Lakai has only played one Test for the All Blacks and that was against Japan last month. All Blacks XV skipper Du’Plessis has also been called into the top squad as a replacement for Cane, which could see him debut. But as Vito explained, height at the set-piece is crucial.

“I think Sammy (Cane), obviously, he came back into that little bit of leadership strength that he has and he’s been playing some bloody good code latterly. It’s one of those things, just taking the pressure himself off as a leader… it’s a bit of a shame he’s not available,” Vito said on SENZ’s Scotty & Izzy.

“If he’s not available, you’ve got Samipeni last week and I just think… we could be looking at a combination with Wallace, Ardie and himself with Ardie maybe at seven and Wallace at eight and Samipeni at six.

“Experience-wise, it’s a huge game. This is a much bigger game than we would have expected, especially the way Ireland capitulated last week. But at the same time, you’ve got a guy like Peter Lakai who could provide a bit more of a threat over the ball.

“Obviously, we’ve got (Du’Plessis) who’s just come in who’s an absolute menace over the ball, but would it be too much to just chuck him straight in there? He could be someone that’s quite effective off the bench if that’s the way we want to go.

“If you look at those other two players in Peter Lakai and (Du’Plessis), the French are a very tall team, especially in the loose, so I think having one less lineout option is just going to make the job harder for Scotty (Barrett) to make calls.

“At the end of the day, having a little bit of extra height always helps. That’s where I go with… for the greater good of what they want to go, winning set-piece, that’s massive in the Northern Hemisphere.”

The All Blacks made a particularly unforgettable statement in last week’s clash with Ireland, where they emerged victorious 23-13 to end their losing run at the Aviva Stadium. They hadn’t beaten the Irish at that venue since 2016, having lost the last two Tests there.

Damian McKenzie received Player of the Match honours after finishing with an 18-point haul, and Will Jordan continued to score tries for fun against the Irish. But really, it was a team effort from the All Blacks who have continued to seek improvement under coach Robertson.

But as Vito discussed – a former All Black who has played 134 matches for French and European juggernauts La Rochelle – France will “definitely be a little bit worried” as they prepare to tackle a New Zealand outfit that’s growing in confidence.

“The way that they’ve been looking to be quite positive with ball in hand, I think that’s something that they’re going to have to keep the French guessing. If the French start thinking in defence that it’s quite easy to read when we’re going to attack… the French are quite solid at the set-piece as well,” Vito explained.

“We do have to keep them honest just on our counterattack and different things. But I think what they won’t be expecting as much is kind of the way we’ve been using our defence by just watching the ball and getting a bit better spaces.

“We used to man watch a little bit so some of their decoy runners affected us a little bit, but now because we’re watching the ball a bit more, they’re going to be worried that they have to keep some of their runners a bit tighter around their 10.

“They’ll definitely be a little bit worried but the French being the French, a little bit of backs to the wall, that’s something that they love.”