Razor Watch: Unpacking Sam Cane’s return, a possible backline shuffle and the second-row stocks

Another week and another Razor Watch, but this time we have the All Blacks’ Rugby Championship squad to look over.

While Planet Rugby has already picked the winners and losers, this week we look more in-depth at the intricacies of the squad and what Scott Robertson might be thinking.

Sam Cane’s return

The former skipper was always going to be named in the squad having missed out on the initial playing group through injury. Cane has 95 caps to his name and has certainly earned his place on the Test scene but it does beg the question, why would a player who is going to retire at the end of the year be selected?

The simple answer is leadership. Whatever you might think of Cane he is still a leader of men and when he was spearheading the All Blacks all the noise came from outside the camp, with his teammates often vouching for their skipper. He is clearly respected and has a wealth of IP to pass on to the emerging generation. His leadership could play a bigger role if Scott Barrett misses the start of the Rugby Championship and Cane is selected.

All of that is good and well but it also does feel like the All Blacks are just looking to reward the veteran with a century of caps. Of course, that narrative will be batted to the side by the management but it certainly is worth a thought.

TJ and the rookies

Perhaps the biggest omission was Finlay Christie who lost out to rising stars Noah Hotham and Cortez Ratima, who will deputise for TJ Perenara. On the surface, it may seem bold but it’s fairly calculated.

Perenara returning from injury is gold dust for the All Blacks. The veteran has been there and done it several times during his career and looks rejuvenated after his long injury lay-off last year. The scrum-half was at his prolific best during Super Rugby Pacific and is the perfect man to power New Zealand forward.

Learning from him is the promising duo with Ratima having shone in his first moments in black. His pace of play and sniping ability is outstanding and he will only learn how to score even more tries under Perenara’s tutelage, while his partnership with Damian McKenzie certainly adds to his value.

Hotham is an interesting one as he offers even more running ability than the other two and Razor knows him extremely well, having given him his Super Rugby debut during the Crusaders days. He looks classy in everything he does and it will be interesting to see how he goes.

While these two learn from a great, Christie will experience a shock to the system by being omitted and will be working hard to get back in the side. The Blues man will be back in black at some point.

What now with Will Jordan?

Razor clearly wants to play Jordan at full-back having already said that is how he sees him. The return of the superstar from injury makes for an interesting conversation around the make-up of the backline.

If Jordan has a positive hit out in the NPC he could well get a shot against Argentina to build Test minutes in his legs. There is every chance that could be at 15 which means the make-up of the backline could be quite different.

A lot boils down to what happens with Beauden Barrett. Is Razor tempted to start him possibly even at 10 or is he going to be Mr Fix It off the bench? The centurion has been arguably the most influential player in the Razor era thus far and has to be part of the picture.

It would be pretty brutal to drop DMac, who has held his own in the 10 jersey, but equally could offer a big injection of quality off the bench. We aren’t sure if that makes sense for the long-term outlook of the team as McKenzie would benefit massively from continuity at pivot.

There is always the chance Razor could pick all three with Jordan replacing either Sevu Reece or Mark Tele’a on the wing, but given the coach’s comments on the Crusaders speedster, it is unlikely.

If we were to pick it would be DMac at 10 because he deserves to remain the incumbent, Jordan at 15 because everyone is itching to see him in that role at Test level and Barrett off the bench because he is a proven game changer and his sheer quality means he makes an impact from either fly-half or full-back if required.

All Blacks: Scott Robertson reveals where he will play ‘world-class’ Will Jordan

Second-row a work in progress

Captain Barrett’s injury has forced development in an area where it is required as Sam Darry gets a full call-up in the second-row. The rookie was very solid for the All Blacks against Fiji and deserves more caps. Josh Lord also comes in as injury cover.

Fortunately for the All Blacks, they had cleverly rested Patrick Tuipulotu for the Fiji Test which means he will have nearly a month’s rest so he will be primed and ready. Tupou Vaa’i could do with some time in a starting role to break through his ceiling. It is a perfect opportunity to really stamp his authority on the side.

Darry will be sapping all the information and learning what he can in the meantime, and any minutes he gets will be extremely valuable.

Ultimately the second-row situation is being worked on and time in the saddle for all parties is what is required.

READ MORE: The invaluable ‘quality’ that ‘class’ Beauden Barrett offers the All Blacks coaches