Razor Watch: All Blacks selection decisions from Will Jordan to Sam Cane ahead of Argentina Rugby Championship opener
Split with All Blacks will Jordan, Sam Cane and Scott Robertson.
It is match week in the Rugby Championship for the first time in the Scott ‘Razor’ Robertson era and there is much to discuss ahead of the action.
Whispers out of the All Blacks camp suggest there may be some tweaks in selection and this week’s Razor Watch looks at what could change.
Will Jordan
The talented outside back made his return for Tasman Mako in the NPC last weekend where he scored a try in his hour on the park. Jordan’s return to the black shirt was always going to cause a shuffle, especially considering Razor sees him as a full-back and not a wing where he has largely been deployed at Test level.
It was a positive sign to get through 60 minutes without concern but Test level is obviously a different game completely, but Argentina serves as a perfect opportunity to give him some minutes. That point of view comes with respect to Los Pumas, who have fairly recently beaten the All Blacks in New Zealand, but one feels Jordan has too much quality to cost his team drastically regardless of match fitness. The benefits of getting Test minutes in his legs far outweigh the risks.
Odds are Jordan will start at 15 probably with Sevu Reece and Mark Tele’a. There is always a chance Caleb Clarke gets a run as well in the 11 shirt. This would likely see Razor’s Mr Fix it, Beauden Barrett, start from the bench where he would offer his coach problem-solving in the second half.
🗣️ "The game was pretty open, so there was more running for the legs than contact for the shoulder, but I’m feeling really good."
🇳🇿 Will Jordan comes through comeback match unscathed. #RugbyChampionship https://t.co/T13JgmpvK1
— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) August 4, 2024
Ardie Savea gets ‘obvious’ new role as All Blacks coach teases at more changes for Argentina Tests
Rieko Ioane or Billy Proctor
For the record we expect the experienced Ioane to be given another start in the 13 shirt but we also believe it would be the ideal opportunity to trial how the backline gets on with Proctor in the midfield alongside his Hurricanes centre partner Jordie Barrett.
Proctor has had a great season and his debut showed that against Fiji where he pulled a lot of the strings in a glittering performance. Granted it was a developing team but that makes the prospect of Proctor getting another run against Los Pumas so much more interesting.
Either way, there are two Tests against the Argentines and surely Proctor will have some role to play in either.
Sam Cane
The 95-Test All Black is in his final year of Test rugby and on the surface it looks like he is there to secure a century of caps, which would be well deserved for the veteran. However, is it the best move for the team?
There are plenty of talented younger players waiting for the go-ahead from the busy Dalton Papali’i to the consistent Luke Jacobson or even the hulking Ethan Blackadder, but we still see the possibility of Cane getting a run this weekend which would have obvious benefits at the breakdown and defence but would not help the All Blacks’ poor line-out.
In fact, playing Blackadder and Samipeni Finau alongside stand-in skipper Ardie Savea would be the best combination for the line-out against a Los Pumas side that has a lot of jumping options across their pack.
Sam Darry
Sticking with the line-out, someone needs to replace Scott Barrett in the second-row and logic says it will be Tupou Vaa’i, which it most probably will be, but we feel a bit more bold of solution could be to give Darry another run.
Darry is a strong carrier of the ball and a master in the line-out as well as being the partner to Patrick Tuipulotu at club level. It is a great chance to hand him a run against Argentina, building his experience and fattening the All Blacks’ stock in the second-row.
There are two Tests without Barrett and it would not be the worst idea to split them between the duo. Vaa’i certainly would have something to say about it and in all likelihood starts on Saturday.
