Ex-All Black suggests positional switch for Jordie Barrett in bid to solve Scott Robertson’s ‘conundrum’
All Blacks utility back Jordie Barrett and ex-New Zealand scrum-half Ant Strachan (inset).
Former New Zealand scrum-half Ant Strachan believes shifting Jordie Barrett from inside centre to full-back will help the All Blacks to improve their struggles with their aerial game.
New Zealand are currently sitting in third place in the Rugby Championship standings, level on points (10) with South Africa, with Australia setting the pace at the top of the table with 11 points amassed, while Argentina occupy fourth position just a point adrift of the All Blacks and Springboks.
All the sides in the tournament have won two and lost two of their four matches played so far, and the All Blacks‘ inability to deal with high balls was one of the main reasons why they suffered defeats to Los Pumas in round two and the Boks in round four.
Strachan, who played 11 Tests for New Zealand between 1992 and 1995, believes that head coach Scott Robertson could solve the team’s aerial issues by selecting bigger and taller players in the back three.
He believes Barrett, who is comfortable at full-back, inside centre and on the wing, and who made his debut for the All Blacks and the Hurricanes in the former position, is the right man to wear the number 15 jersey for the three-time world champions.
‘Jordie Barrett was very effective in the backfield’
“The conundrum and I don’t know what happens inside the camp, but Jordie Barrett was very effective in the backfield,” he told DSPN with Lachlan Waugh.
“10s and 15s play in the backfield now. You know, he’s tall.
“He’s six foot plus. He’s pretty good above the body, above the head, and he’s got a great kicking game as well.
“I mean, we manufactured him into the midfield because we were just slightly different there and it’s worked.
“He’s played pretty well at 12, but is that the best position for him moving forward?”
Shifting Barrett to the back would mean he would replace incumbent full-back Will Jordan but Strachan feels there is place for both players in the All Blacks’ back three.
“He’s (Barrett) got a few more years left in him, obviously, in terms of international rugby. Will Jordan was really effective and another tall player that sits on that edge, probably not catching and contesting those kicks as well as he could.
“But Jordan, Barrett, and then you can have a power winger on that left edge or someone with a bit of X-factor.
‘Not a bad back three all of a sudden’
“So it could be a Caleb Clarke. It could be a Leroy Carter, who needs a bit of defensive tidy-up with him. But that’s not a bad back three all of a sudden.”
If Barrett shifts to full-back, it leaves a spot open in midfield, and Strachan believes Quinn Tupaea is the right player to fill that slot.
“I think you can really drill down on our midfield, which also I think we’re not quite sure what profile we want,” he said.
“What are we trying to achieve with our 12 and 13? I’m guessing, but I’ve always sort of said that Quinn Tupaea was probably playing the best rugby he could at 12.
“(Similar to) Laumape, Ma’a Nonu, look at the profile of those boys that just got gain line, got post contact metres, really hard to defend and also pretty effective defenders themselves.
“We probably could get back to that. And then, of course, the challenge is to find a centre partner for someone like Quinn. But are they stuck with Jordie? I’m not sure.
“I’d like to see him at full-back. Personally, I think he’d be really effective back there.”
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