Razor Watch: Will Jordan adds to All Blacks’ back-three ‘conundrum’ while Reiko Ioane’s spot is under threat and who ‘fixes’ the lineout mess
Split with All Blacks Billy Proctor, Will Jordan and Scott Robertson.
Three Tests and three wins to start the Scott ‘Razor’ Robertson era for the All Blacks after last weekend’s win over Fiji in a memorable San Diego clash.
Attention turns to the Rugby Championship now where the new coach will be tested even further and we take a look at some pressing questions on Razor’s mind.
Will Jordan is back, what now?
It was unfortunate to see the electric All Black being ruled out of the entire Super Rugby Pacific season before it even began but it is brilliant to hear he is back in the mix and no doubt will be straight in the national set-up. But what does it mean for the make-up of the back-three?
Jordan played at 15 predominantly during his time under Razor at the Crusaders and many have called for him to wear that number for the All Blacks, however, he has mainly played on the wing at Test level.
It will be interesting to see if that changes now that he has returned considering the limited number of specialist full-back selected with Beauden Barrett and Stephen Perofeta as the primary options. Barrett in particular was incredibly important in that role in all three games which may hinder Razor from making any dramatic changes anytime soon.
The conundrum thickens when considering the ridiculous talent on the wing with Sevu Reece and Mark Tele’a the incumbents as Caleb Clarke and Emoni Narara waiting for their chance.
All the mentioned players are quality but once Jordan is match fit and up to speed again there is absolutely no question he is the starting side. Razor could end up deciding to use Barrett as an impact sub giving him options to deploy the veteran at 10 or 15, this would open the door for Jordan at full-back which suits the two incumbent, try scoring wings.
If Barrett is kept on the park then one of the wings has to take the hit, Reece is a quality finisher who is always in and around the tries while Tele’a is the most slippery ball carrier in the game right now. It’s a tough call but there is little downside either way.
In all likelihood, Jordan will be slowly integrated through the bench and the picture will become more clear in time but if we had to pick right now the Crusader would replace Reece on the wing and Barrett would start at 15. The influence of the centurion in the start of the Razor era is simply too great not to have on the park.
Is it Proctor time?
The security of Rieko Ioane’s 13 shirt is certainly a point of debate at the moment. The All Black has put in some brilliant shifts since moving into the midfield but perhaps has not shown as much game-breaking ability on a consistent basis as we all expected.
That take is obviously very critical and takes nothing away from the star but with Billy Proctor on the rise questions must be asked.
Proctor took like a duck to water against Fiji in his Test debut. Unlike Ioane who primarily relies on his turn of pace, the Hurricane is a physical presence while also being quick enough and possessing a complete skill-set. We have seen him many a time in the yellow jersey running beautiful lines off strike plays or crucially straightening the line at the right time with great effect.
Ioane struggled against England’s rush defence and was flat throughout. We believe that it is now Proctor’s time especially considering he will partner with club teammate Jordie Barrett in the midfield.
How to fix the ball-carrying and line-out?
There were two primary issues in the forwards against England; ball-carrying and a dysfunctional line-out for All Blacks standards.
Patrick Tuipulotu was the best of the ball-carriers with Ardie Savea always chipping in but Samipeni Finau did not offer enough in this facet from blindside flank. However, Finau is a valuable asset in the line-out. So what are the options?
Razor’s old mate Ethan Blackadder is an obvious solution given his ability to carry hard and jump in the line-out while also being able to play across the back-row. Bringing him in on the blindside should – in theory – solve all the problems.
There may be concerns the Crusader is not quite at his best after being disrupted by injury so much over the last couple of seasons but his quality is obvious and selecting him would be the only solution that comes without dramatic switches in other positions.
Newly capped number eight Wallace Sititi is an absolute beast with ball in hand and is even better when finding post-contact metres. That means he would easily fix the carrying aspect but would not be able to contribute as much in the line-out as Blackadder or Finau. He is also strictly a number eight which means Savea would have to go to openside to accommodate him making Sititi an unlikely solution to the issue. That is only for now as the Chief looks like a player who could excel at the highest level for a long time so his time will come.
An unlikely but interesting enough option could be to throw skipper Scott Barrett at blindside and elevate Tupou Vaa’i or the impressive Sam Darry to the second-row. This has obvious benefits to the line-out but with the All Blacks thin at lock Razor would be expected to keep his general in the tight five.
READ MORE: All Blacks great makes surprise Beauden Barrett prediction after return of ‘specialist full-back’
