All Blacks selection winners and losers as Scott Robertson starts ‘classy’ Barrett in Rugby Championship hint
Our winners and losers from Scott Robertson's team to face Fiji.
Following the announcement of Scott Robertson’s All Blacks team to tackle Fiji in San Diego, we pick out our winners and losers.
After defeating England 2-0 in the series in New Zealand, Robertson now turns his attention to the Flying Fijians, and the new All Blacks boss will get a good look at his depth.
There are 11 changes to the starting XV in total, while six players are set to make their Test debuts for the All Blacks in what is just the 11th meeting between New Zealand and Fiji.
So without further ado, here are our winners and losers from Razor’s selections.
Winners
Billy Proctor
The only debutant who will earn a first cap in the starting XV, Billy Proctor follows in his brother Matt’s footsteps as he makes his Test debut for the All Blacks at outside centre.
Proctor enjoyed a stunning season in Super Rugby Pacific for the Hurricanes, helping the side reach the semi-finals and has consistently been pressing for higher honours in recent seasons.
The 25-year-old finally gets his opportunity in the black jersey and will hope that he is able to better his older brother’s cap tally of one.
It’s a massive chance for the rookie as cracks in the Jordie Barrett-Rieko Ioane partnership began to show, with Proctor primed to apply pressure on the latter with the Rugby Championship fast approaching.
Robertson has not gone too far away from the matchday 23s that we would have seen under Ian Foster and a strong showing from Proctor could see him become a regular under the new boss, particularly if he takes his next chance in the Rugby Championship.
Caleb Clarke
The hat-trick hero in the Super Rugby Pacific final gets his shot against Fiji and will be looking to make a similar impact.
Caleb Clarke has been a regular squad member in the All Blacks team but hasn’t quite kicked on from his rampaging breakthrough into Test rugby.
Many pundits and fans lamented the lack of a big, abrasive winger against England over the two-Test series, and now Clarke has the chance to fill the void and perhaps lock down a more regular starting role.
It is somewhat of a pivotal Test for the flyer, with Sevu Reece and Mark Tele’a clearly the preferred wingers, while Will Jordan may well feature out wide once he returns from injury. This is not forgetting the brilliant Chiefs winger, Emoni Narawa, whose World Cup dream last year was crushed by injury.
Cortez Ratima
A bright cameo on Test debut in the second game against England has earned Cortez Ratima his first start in the All Blacks jumper as he comes into the number nine jersey in place of Finlay Christie.
The Chiefs man hardly put a foot wrong on debut and fittingly gets another crack at Test level, but this time from minute one. The All Blacks were always going to go through a change at scrum-half this year following Aaron Smith’s retirement, and Ratima looks to be making the most of his opportunities mostly afforded to him following the injuries to Cam Roigard and TJ Perenara. But that’s all part of the game and another solid outing could nail down his place in the squad for the Rugby Championship too.
Fletcher Newell
Crusaders tighthead prop Fletcher Newell finally gets his first start in the All Blacks jersey after 15 previous appearances from the bench, most recently a destructive cameo in the scrums against England.
The 24-year-old had his struggles in his debut Test season but has really come into his own, and that’s not only a testament to him but also to scrum coach Jason Ryan.
Tyrel Lomax is clearly the first choice number three for the All Blacks but a strong showing against Fiji could earn Newell more minutes off the bench going forward.
Five debutants from the bench
The clash against Fiji will be particularly special for the five men on the bench who are bound to earn their first Test caps.
Crusaders hooker George Bell and Hurricanes prop Pasilio Tosi were two shock inclusions in Robertson’s squad, and while they didn’t debut against England, they now get the honour of pulling on the black jersey.
Bell’s inclusion is clearly a nod to the fact that the All Blacks need some youth and succession planning in the hooker role, and while the 22-year-old’s call-up caught many by surprise, perhaps his performance will too.
Meanwhile, Tosi is a mountain of a man who has seemingly caught the eye of Ryan and could be a real force in the years to come. The set-pieces continue to play a massive role in the outcome of international matches and adding another heavyweight tighthead to the ranks will do the All Blacks no harm.
Lock Sam Darry will also be eager to take his chance with both hands after he was a late inclusion in the travelling squad to the USA as Patrick Tuipulotu remained in New Zealand to freshen up for the Rugby Championship. The Blues second-rower has been training with the squad, and like many of the rookies, he has a real shot at cementing a role within the new set-up, particularly after the departures of Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock from the squad.
The same applies to Crusaders scrum-half Noah Hotham, who like Ratima, finds himself in an All Blacks matchday squad through the injuries of others. The old adage of injuries create opportunities rings true in this case but that does not mean he is any less deserving of his opportunity.
Finally, Wallace Sititi gets his first crack at the All Blacks as he fills a spot on the bench. His inclusion proved controversial not because of his form with the Chiefs during the Super Rugby season but rather the form of snubbed Blues star Hoskins Sotutu. The powerhouse back-rower will be hellbent on laying down a marker and if he successfully does so, we could well see him claiming a starting jersey later this year.
Beauden Barrett
The notion that Beauden Barrett being out of form and ageing out of the squad were grossly exaggerated and inaccurate as the veteran playmaker once again proved his class and was one of the best All Blacks on the park for both of the Test wins over England.
The 33-year-old now marks his return to the starting XV against Fiji, a position he could hold for some time now, particularly with the Rugby Championship on the horizon.
Class is permanent, and so is Barrett and is his selection for this Test a hint of what is to come in the Rugby Championship?
Losers
Stephen Perofeta
After back-to-back starts at full-back, Stephen Perofeta makes way for Beauden Barrett in the starting XV for the clash against Fiji and falls out of the matchday 23 altogether.
It does feel like a rather harsh call from the All Blacks boss, but it’s unlikely that this will be the last time we see him in 2024.
Unfortunately for him, covering fly-half and full-back on the bench is less valuable this week, with Barrett and Damian McKenzie starting, with Jordie Barrett being the ultimate utility effectively covering 10 to 15.
Rieko Ioane
The All Blacks midfielder has come under the spotlight following the series against England where his playmaking attributes were criticised and this week, he will watch on as a rookie has a go in his starting role.
Ioane has formed a strong partnership with Jordie Barrett in the centres under the tutelage of Foster, but Robertson may well review the combination going forward.
It was a rather underwhelming series from the All Black regular and Robertson will surely look to make his mark on the team as the year goes on.
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Emoni Narawa
The Chiefs flyer will be thrilled that he finally earns his second Test cap for the All Blacks after a slipped disc ended his Rugby Championship last year and his hopes of representing New Zealand at the World Cup.
However, he features as a loser as he would have fancied his chances in the starting XV against Fiji. It’s a rather interesting selection call as Narawa could well have started ahead of Reece, who featured in both Tests against England, but instead will only get a chunk of minutes in the second half.
He is a real talent but as is always the case with the All Blacks, there is plenty of competition in the back-three, which will only increase once Jordan returns from injury.
Hoskins Sotutu
It’s hard not to look at the changed All Blacks team and wonder whether Robertson should have called Blues star Sotutu up to the squad and given him a chance against the Fijians.
Sotutu was simply superb during the Super Rugby season but as we highlighted after the squad announcement, there is certainly work-ons in his game that are keeping him out of the squad.
Perhaps having the All Blacks coaching working with him would have helped but Robertson is clearly taking a stand and only selecting those who are good enough.
Finlay Christie
With Perenara sidelined, it looked as if Finlay Christie would fit into the matchday 23 in some shape or form against Fiji but it is not to be with Robertson instead backing just 20 minutes worth of international experience between Ratima and Hotham.
The All Blacks are clear favourites for this match and there is plenty of experience around the squad to assist the two rookie half-backs, but it is still a massive call not include the red-headed number nine.
Christie did not have his finest game at Eden Park and maybe this is a clear message from the coaching staff that he needs to improve or a sign that Razor and co. are seriously considering their options.
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