All Blacks team: Five takeaways as Dave Rennie’s ‘bizarre’ selections could be a ‘masterstroke’ for Springboks series
Five takeaways from Dave Rennie's selections for the final All Blacks' tour match before the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry Tests against the Springboks.
Following the announcement of Dave Rennie’s All Blacks team to face the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld, here are our five takeaways.
The top line
It’s a last-chance saloon for many Test hopefuls as the All Blacks head coach makes 19 changes from the hammering of the Sharks for the final tour match before tackling the Springboks in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Series.
Beauden Barrett is back after an underwhelming showing against the Stormers, but the most capped player on the tour has been stripped of the number 10 jersey and pushed to full-back. There he is joined by Leroy Carter and Josh Moorby, who both started in Cape Town. Anton Lienert-Brown and Rieko Ioane take over from Jordie Barrett and Quinn Tupaea in the centres while Rennie has backed the Chiefs half-back pairing of Cortez Ratima and Josh Jacomb at nine and ten, respectively.
Peter Lakai, Anton Segner and Simon Parker will all have a point to prove in the new loose forward trio and the same could be true for locks Patrick Tuipulotu and Fabian Holland.
Codie Taylor makes a timely return from injury to captain the team from the hooker position, and he is flanked by Hurricanes props Xavier Numia and Tyrel Lomax. Whilst it’s an entirely new All Blacks starting XV, there are four survivors from the victory in Durban: Josh Lord, Wallace Sititi, Kyle Preston, Timoci Tavatavanawai and Emoni Narawa. They all feature on the bench along with returnees Samisoni Taukei’aho, George Bower and Siale Lauaki.
The team that tackled the Sharks last time out looked close to the Test side one would expect to tackle the Springboks at Ellis Park on 22 August, while this feels like an opportunity for many to stake one final claim for a spot in that matchday 23, while certain players are getting some much-needed match minutes.
Bizarre planning or a masterstroke?
The Stormers and Bulls were comfortably the best-performing South African United Rugby Championship clubs from last season and posed the biggest threat to the All Blacks. Despite that, Rennie has now selected a ‘weakened’ team against both of the top dog sides.
It’s an intriguing decision made by the head coach and his coaching team, with Rennie admitting prior to leaving New Zealand that the matchday squads for the first four matches – including the Ellis Park Test – had already been selected. Injuries, illness and fatigue would have altered those plans since, but not so drastically that the clear frontrunners for the showdown with the Springboks would sidestep the Stormers and Bulls. No, that decision is deliberate. A masterstroke or a mistake? We will only truly know the answer to that at full-time in Johannesburg after the first Test.
Playing a nigh-on first-choice team against a Springboks-shorn and injury-ravaged Sharks side meant that the All Blacks barely had to get out of first gear to pick up a victory in Durban while still ensuring that the top talents were match-ready. The side didn’t need to reach into their box of tricks at all to beat JP Pietersen’s men and could protect those ploys for the Springboks – perhaps following a similar line to Rassie Erasmus, whose charges produced an incredibly risk-averse and dull performance against Argentina. The Buenos Aires Test essentially was used to get minutes into the legs of Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth and others without showing too much of their hand.
Furthermore, playing the fringe players against the two stronger URC teams would have also given Rennie and his staff a better barometer of the form of players pressing for a place in the Test 23. The Stormers and Bulls not only have more stable playing structures in place but have better depth at the moment and provide a closer challenge to the demands of an international fixture.
While Rennie stated that the 23 for Ellis Park has already been selected, he would be foolish not to allow for some leeway, and Loftus is the final opportunity for many players to change his mind.
Arriving cold at Ellis Park
Three of the All Blacks’ best will go into the showdown at the iconic stadium in Johannesburg with zero minutes in South Africa this tour; they are: Ardie Savea, Will Jordan and Cam Roigard.
The decision on Savea was made before the squad even left New Zealand shores, with the All Blacks captain afforded some off time to recover and rest up for the Test series, having played non-stop since January last year. A controversial call in many eyes, but ultimately it was a necessary decision as Savea needed a break. There is no doubt that players of his calibre can hit the ground sprinting after a spell out – whether that’s through injury or rest – just look at Pieter-Steph du Toit.
However, one has to wonder whether Rennie is running the risk of too many crucial All Blacks being undercooked when they tackle Erasmus’ charges at the venue of the 1995 Rugby World Cup final. Jordan and Roigard are world-class operators too, and one wouldn’t bet against them being on form from the get-go, but the former has been sorely lacking match fitness this season.
This, paired with the decision to play what is almost the first-choice team against the Sharks, could have dire consequences against the Springboks.
Dave Rennie retrials predecessors’ controversial selections
The starting XV versus the Bulls features two notable selection calls that proved controversial for Rennie’s predecessors, Ian Foster and Scott Robertson. The first is that of Beauden Barrett at full-back after his struggles in the number 10 jersey against the Stormers and, in fact, with the Blues during Super Rugby Pacific.
It’s been a running debate over the past few seasons whether the eldest Barrett was best suited for the number 10 or 15 jersey, and Rennie has re-sparked it with his selection at the back for the clash against the Bulls.
It also comes as no surprise that this has occurred on the same day that the head coach called up Richie Mo’unga as a replacement for the injured Billy Proctor. The Mo’unga-Barrett axis played a pivotal role in the All Blacks reaching the 2023 Rugby World Cup final, but it remained a contentious ploy throughout. Robertson also deployed Barrett at the back and Damian McKenzie in the 10 during his first year in charge and got mixed results. The question is, is this a needs-must selection because of the demands of the tour, or is Rennie seriously considering Barrett at full-back for Test matches?
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.
Perhaps another consequence of Proctor’s injury is evident in the second continuous backline call with Ioane named at outside centre despite Rennie previously admitting that the now-ex-Leinster back was viewed mainly as a winger in his system. Tupaea’s form has him as the clear frontrunner to partner Jordie Barrett, while Lienert-Brown is ahead of Ioane in the pecking order based on Rennie’s selections since taking over the job.
Like Barrett at full-back, is this a serious consideration for Rennie or just a needs-must call?
Ex-Springboks forward: Greatest Rivalry could ‘get nasty’ with referees
Answers needed at Loftus
While this has a hint of a second-string team, Rennie will still be out for answers at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday as preparations ramp up for the Springboks. Discipline improved against the Sharks as did the aerial game, but the scrum remains a question mark. Sure, they fronted up better in Durban, but that performance did come with the caveat of the Sharks starting a tighthead prop at loosehead, having an underpowered back-five behind them, and having a replacement front-row filled with U20s.
The Bulls are without their first-choice front-rowers, who are away with the Springboks, but starting loosehead Alu Tshakweni is no slouch, while Francois Klopper started all of their knockout matches ahead of Wilco Louw. Simply, the Pretoria club’s forward pack is more equipped than that of the Sharks to compete with the All Blacks.
If Rennie is going to change his mind on his selections for the Test match, it could be on the wing, where he is currently spoilt for choice. Caleb Clarke and Fehi Fineanganofo impressed against the Sharks; Carter was a standout against the Stormers, while Moorby has risen to the occasion with every opportunity he has received. Jordan is likely to fill one spot if fit, but if not, Rennie can’t really go wrong. Moorby and Carter have the opportunity to stake their claim on the highveld.
Rennie will also need to decide whether a 6-2 split is needed. He hinted that the All Blacks would trial the tactic against one of the URC teams, but that hasn’t happened yet. Will five forward replacements be needed at Ellis Park? Loftus could provide the answer to that.
But that could also be reliant on which of the back-rowers put their hand up for selection against Johan Ackermann’s men. As it stands, Savea and Luke Jacobson look nailed-on starters in the loose trio but will they be joined by Ethan Blackadder, Tupou Vaa’i, Parker, Sititi, Lakai or Segner? The latter quartet feature on Saturday and force Rennie’s hand.
Finally, in the event that Roigard is fit for the Ellis Park showdown, Pretoria could well be the venue where the answer as to who will be his back-up on the bench will become clear. Ratima and Preston both impressed in their starts against the Stormers and Sharks, respectively with the latter arguably having the edge.
READ MORE: All Blacks great: Springboks have got 150 Test-ready players