All Blacks: Unpacking New Zealand’s second-row crisis and who replaces injured captain Scott Barrett

If there was any area of the squad All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson would not have liked an injury it would have been in the second-row and, to make matters worse, it is his right-hand man Scott Barrett who has gone under the knife.

Captain of the side, Barrett, injured his finger against Fiji last time out and has had surgery meaning there is a strong chance he will miss the beginning of the Rugby Championship. The All Blacks claim to be “assessing” the injury with no timeline confirmed as of yet.

This puts massive pressure on the lock stocks that were heavily relying on the skipper and veteran Patrick Tuipulotu, whose body is battered all on its own, to fill the void left by legendary duo Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick.

We explored the options Robertson can turn to in the event Barrett cannot take part in the first Test against Argentina on August 10.

Likely situation

Fortunately for the All Blacks, they had rested Tuipulotu last time out anyway after the veteran miraculously recovered from a knee injury to return for the Super Rugby Pacific final before playing two Tests against England. This should mean he is ready to go for the start of the tournament.

Logic says that Robertson simply elevates Tupou Vaa’i from the bench into Barrett’s role alongside Tuipulotu until the skipper returns. That would mean freshly capped and highly-rated second-row Sam Darry comes onto the bench.

The All Blacks would have to call up another lock in the squad set to be announced tomorrow with injury-hampered star Josh Lord believed to be in the mix as he returns to fitness.

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Other options

The New Zealand coaching team may be concerned with Lord’s lack of game time this season and may prefer to let the second-row get some minutes into the legs in the National Provincial Championship (NPC) if he is ready before he gets back into Test rugby.

In that case, Isaia Walker-Leawere could be a good option with the monstrous lock coming off a strong season in Super Rugby and also representing the Maori All Blacks against Japan. We feel that in any case he should be included in the squad to build depth in the position.

His locking partner Laghlan McWhannell for the Maori is also an option, particularly with his ability in the line-out.

There is always the outside chance that Samipeni Finau could be deployed in the second-row but in many ways that is simply treating a symptom and not the solution with the depth at lock the core concern.

Blessing in disguise

It is certainly not ideal to potentially lose their captain to injury just before the start of the Rugby Championship but it is vital that the All Blacks address the depth in the second-row anyway.

As mentioned, to lose the greats in Whitelock and Retallick is massive and the All Blacks’ line-out has struggled as a result. Having just three locks in a Test squad is not sustainable and they have to explore new options at some point.

Ultimately, the door could be open for a rising star to seize the day and with any luck Barrett will at least return for the tour to South Africa where two Tests against the Springboks await.

READ MORE: All Blacks suffer untimely injury blow that will test squad depth in the Rugby Championship