All Blacks team v England: Winners and losers as Damian McKenzie ‘plays his way out’ and Scott Robertson makes ‘brave call’ in the pack
Split image of All Blacks Damian McKenize and Tamaiti Williams.
Following the announcement of Scott Robertson’s All Blacks team to tackle England at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, we pick out our winners and losers.
Robertson has unsurprisingly made several changes to the side that hammered Japan 64-19 last week with many of his frontline players arriving in the United Kingdom ahead of schedule.
Those stars come right back into the starting XV with the All Blacks boss naming a team that closely resembles the one that defeated Australia in the final round of the Rugby Championship.
This will be the third clash of the year between the two sides after the All Blacks claimed a 16-15 and a 24-17 victory in New Zealand earlier this year.
Without further ado, here are our winners and losers from the All Blacks team to face England.
Winners
Beauden Barrett
After he was omitted from the team to face Eddie Jones’ Japan, it was almost a given that Beauden Barrett would be starting the Test match at Twickenham. The veteran playmaker produced a stunning display against Australia in the All Blacks’ final Rugby Championship match and deservedly nailed down the number 10 jumper for the first game of the Autumn Nations Series.
Barrett will be eager to silence his northern hemisphere critics this week and put in another standout performance against England, particularly after he did so well off the bench against the Red Rose in July.
He is well-equipped to shine as well with strike threats all across the backline and a pack that impressed during the Rugby Championship, many of which got the upper hand against England in July as well.
Cortez Ratima
What a year it has been for the Chiefs star who has taken to Test rugby like a pig to mud. The 23-year-old will earn his eighth All Blacks cap on Saturday having usurped TJ Perenara for the starting number nine jersey.
There were concerns as to how the All Blacks would replace Aaron Smith after his retirement after the Rugby World Cup last year but Robertson has found a real star in Ratima who was excellent throughout the Rugby Championship and particularly against the Springboks.
Cam Roigard enjoyed a stunning return to the All Blacks jumper last week but Ratima rightly gets to the starting role after making an incredibly strong start to his international career. With Roigard providing cover off the bench, Robertson should get a solid 80-minute performance from the scrum-half position.
Sam Cane
Robertson felt rather vindicated after naming Sam Cane in his squad for the November internationals despite the backlash it received, as the former captain brings his international career to an end in 2024.
This after Dalton Papali’i, Ethan Blackadder and Luke Jacobson all sustained injuries before the team departed north.
Robertson is still sticking to his guns as Cane is one of three players to retain a starting role from the team that ran out against Japan last week. He will earn his 101st cap on Saturday as he continues to be a key cog in the All Blacks’ pack but it still remains to be seen what the future of the iconic number seven jersey is beyond Cane.
The injuries in the squad mean that Cane retains the position but one has to wonder whether Robertson should be making a bolder decision with a rising star like Peter Lakai in his ranks and let Cane provide cover on the bench, but perhaps that will happen in the weeks to come. Eventually, the All Blacks boss is going to have to make a call at number seven but he has delayed that by at least another week.
Mark Tele’a
Mark Tele’a has slipped in and out of the team this year, much like he does through tackles. He started the first two games of the year on the left wing, was rested against Fiji and returned against Argentina, starting the first and benching the second.
He also started one and benched one against the Springboks but missed both Tests against Australia before returning against Japan and now retains a starting role to face England.
Last year, he was an out-and-out starter for the All Blacks under Ian Foster but it has been far more turbulent with Robertson at the helm. However, he now has the opportunity to shift the coaching staff’s perception of him against the English.
Will Jordan
Will Jordan will earn his 38th Test cap for the All Blacks on Saturday but it will be just the fifth time that he pulls on his preferred number 15 jumper.
The 26-year-old’s try-scoring record speaks to his quality, having crossed 35 times, but he has struggled to impose himself as a Test full-back in the way he has on the wing. His most recent start at full-back, against Australia, is probably his most convincing performance in the number 15 jersey and with Robertson still yet to decisively decide on his back three, this game against England provides him with the opportunity to stake a massive claim to be the first-choice at the back going forward.
A strong performance at full-back this week will more than likely result in him starting against Ireland and France in the games to come but if he doesn’t take his opportunity, then Robertson may consider moving Beauden Barrett back or even Damian McKenzie while Stephen Perofeta and Ruben Love are both pressing.
Pasilio Tosi
Tighthead prop Pasilio Tosi will earn his fifth Test cap on Saturday having seemingly usurped Fletcher Newell as Tyrel Lomax’s back-up.
The 140kg tighthead has impressed against Japan having done so against Fiji and Australia too and now fronts up to what is arguably his best challenge. It’s been a stunning breakout year for the big man.
Tamaiti Williams
Staying with the big men and it looks as if Tamaiti Williams has moved ahead of Ethan de Groot in the All Blacks’ pecking order, something that looked almost impossible 12 months ago.
Williams provides the coaching staff options on both sides of the scrum but has impressed at loosehead recently and gets the starting jumper at the home of English rugby.
It’s a brave decision from the coaching staff as De Groot has proven himself against some of the biggest and best scrums in the game. While Williams has impressed, the safe call would have been to back De Groot but the Crusaders star has been rewarded for his form.
Losers
Damian McKenzie
After starting the All Blacks’ first nine games of the year, McKenzie was dropped for the final Rugby Championship match against the Wallabies – where Beauden Barrett shone.
It’s clear that McKenzie had the backing of Robertson at the start of the year but a handful of underwhelming performances forced the All Blacks boss’ hand, who did give him another shot against Japan but he effectively played his way out of contention this week. That is also the view of former All Blacks pivot Shane Howarth.
“I think Damian McKenzie probably took himself out of the No. 10 spot,” Howarth told SENZ’s Scotty & Izzy.
“McKenzie has been very good for the Chiefs this year. But I think with these upcoming games, we can’t afford to be loose. There was a 20-minute period at the back end of that first half where the play was exceptional and then we should have, as good All Blacks sides do, put the foot on the throat and just be ruthless, and we lost that in that second half.
“Watching Damian McKenzie, we couldn’t get ourselves back on the track we were on, and that worries me a little bit, because your decision-makers have to be able to change their attack to the game and I just didn’t see it.”
Still, there is no way that Robertson will discard the Chiefs star that quickly and he does get a shot off the bench this week, a role he has excelled in during his international career.
Anton Lienert-Brown and Billy Proctor
The pair of All Blacks centre have taken their opportunities with both hands this season but are still unable to break up the Jordie Barrett-Rieko Ioane partnership.
Anton Lienert-Brown still makes the matchday 23 with a role off the bench and will look to help the All Blacks improve their woeful performances in the final quarter of matches this year.
However, both he and Billy Proctor will be itching to get more opportunities in the starting XV.
Sevu Reece
Being an All Blacks outside back is a tough business as Aotearoa continue to churn out quality speedsters in the wide positions and this week it is Sevu Reece who misses out – to Tommy Freeman’s dismay.
Reece set up one of the All Blacks tries against Japan last week but perhaps this time, it is the aerial abilities and size that Caleb Clarke and Tele’a offer that were the deciding factors.
Stephen Perofeta
After starting both of the All Blacks’ first two Tests of the year, Perofeta suffered an untimely injury that has hampered his involvement.
He returned to action against Japan and looked rather sharp but did not do enough to convince the All Blacks’ coaches that they should shift Jordan back to the wing. He may have to wait until the game against Italy to get another chance.
TJ Perenara
While Cane’s experience is needed upfront, Perenara’s expertise are not required at Twickenham. The All Blacks veteran wasn’t at his absolute best against the Wallabies but didn’t really provide the spark required against Japan last week.
Frankly, the All Blacks coaching team need to back the promising next-gen of number nines and Perenara is with the squad to pass on his IP which he will gladly do before heading to Japan.
Fletcher Newell and Ethan de Groot
After a spell last World Cup cycle where the All Blacks lacked quality in the front-row, they now have options and that is clearly indicated with Newell and De Groot missing out despite home fit.
De Groot’s omission is particularly telling as for a while he has been the All Blacks’ best loosehead prop.
Peter Lakai
After a bright cameo off the bench against Japan, Lakai would have fancied his chances of retaining his place amongst the replacements for the clash against England. However, Robertson has opted for the bigger frame of Samipeni Finau who offers an option at lock and flanker.
