All Blacks team winners and losers: ‘Devastating’ rookie to cause ‘carnage’ in ‘best position’, while ‘impressive servant’ misses out AGAIN
Wallace Sititi and TJ Perenara feature in our winners and losers from Razor's selection this weekend.
Following Scott Robertson’s All Blacks selection to face France this weekend in their third Autumn Nations Series Test, here are our winners and losers.
Winners
Wallace Sititi
Devastating rookie Wallace Sititi has excelled in the number six shirt during his early All Blacks career, but now we get a chance to see him deployed in his best position at eight. His abrasive carrying has worked wonders alongside Ardie Savea, but now slotting in at eight we could see him cause some serious carnage from the base of a scrum. This move has long been seen as the best possible All Blacks back-row, and it’ll certainly be interesting to see how it functions against France.
Samipeni Finau
Coming into the starting XV for the absent Sam Cane is Samipeni Finau. The Chiefs back-rower has only been afforded brief cameos so far this autumn, but he has a decent chance to prove himself in the number six jersey this weekend. You can also argue this could be a way to cement himself in Razor’s thoughts, given it’s a new-look combination in the back-row, and if it works with Finau in he could remain here for a while yet.
Cam Roigard
It’s been a long road to full recovery for Cam Roigard, but there’s no denying he is New Zealand’s best scrum-half at the moment and is fully deserving of a start. He has done a really good job off the bench so far this autumn and has added a lot of tempo and accuracy to their attack, but the challenge for him now will be if he can do this from the off against France. He also has a huge head-to-head with Antoine Dupont, but you think that should bring the best out of him.
France team v All Blacks: Bordeaux flyer handed debut as Fabien Galthie makes four changes
Returning duo
Codie Taylor and Beauden Barrett both retake their places in the starting XV after recovering from head knocks. Both players add so much quality to the team and have shone during the Razor era. Their experience will also be crucial if they want to beat a red-hot France side.
Sevu Reece
Drafted into the starting XV to replace the injured Mark Tele’a, but you know Sevu Reece will add heaps of fizz to their attack. The Crusaders man is such a dynamic, explosive winger, and has already shown in the Razor era he can nick a try or two – which will be so crucial against an exciting French side. This is also a chance for him to stake a claim for the shirt moving forward, seeing as he and Tele’a have swapped a fair bit this year in the black jersey.
Peter Lakai
21-year-old back-rower Peter Lakai is a really talented player, and this will be such a valuable experience for him. He did a decent job off the bench in their victory over Japan last month, but this will be a completely different environment for him to play in at a packed-out Stade de France.
Losers
Injured duo
Tele’a and Cane certainly would have featured in the starting XV if not for injuries. Tele’a seemed to be discovering his best form after a relatively quiet Rugby Championship and was on full song against England. Cane is also a real workhorse for his side, and it goes without saying the amount of leadership and experience he brings to the side. This would have also been a great opportunity for him to exercise a few demons, given what happened last time he played for the All Blacks in Paris.
Bench changes
Two more players who didn’t make the cut this time around were George Bell and Stephen Perofeta, who make way for the returning Taylor and Barrett respectively. This change was almost a given, considering their experience and quality, however, the injury to Tele’a could have given Perofeta a chance to stay in the squad given Jordan can also play on the wing, but Robertson has chosen to drop him completely for Reece.
Cortez Ratima
It’s not been the best autumn for Cortez Ratima, and he pays the price as he drops to the bench. He did a good job in this role against England in the July series, so this could be a decent way for him to recapture that form. Yet, if his struggles continue he might be out of the 23 altogether.
Damian McKenzie
Dropped yet again, as Robertson opts to deploy Barrett at fly-half. The McKenzie experiment at fly-half this year (as the starting 10 that is) hasn’t quite worked out yet, but if he comes on and has a good game against France it could be the spark he really needs to kick on and take the jersey back.
TJ Perenara
Despite this being touted as a farewell tour for the impressive servant, he is yet to feature in any of Robertson’s squads so far, and once again has been overlooked this weekend. Given Ratima’s struggles this Autumn, and the quality of the French squad, it would have been a sensible move to deploy Perenara from the bench this weekend, but Robertson has resisted the urge to play the Japan-bound back again. You hope, for his sake, he gets a go against Italy to end his All Blacks career on a high.
