Sir John Kirwan backs ‘Sam Cane-type’ flanker to star following surprise All Blacks selection
Former All Blacks captain Sam Cane and an inset of Luke Jacobson.
Legendary winger Sir John Kirwan believes that All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie has got the balance of his back-five forwards for the clash against France right.
Rennie oversees his first Test since taking over from Scott Robertson and has rewarded Super Rugby Pacific form in his matchday 23 for the clash at One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch.
The new head coach has backed the youthful locking pairing of Josh Lord and Sam Darry in the absence of Scott Barrett, Fabian Holland and Tupou Vaa’i, with Patrick Tuipulotu included on the bench. Meanwhile, captain Ardie Savea will pack down at number eight with Peter Lakai in the number six jersey.
All Blacks find balance in their back-five
The most surprising call in the All Blacks forward pack, though, was the inclusion of Chiefs captain Luke Jacobson in the number seven jumper.
Speaking on the Rivals podcast, Kirwan hailed Rennie and his coaching staff for sticking to their promise of selecting on form and delved into the selections of the two locks and the loose trio.
“I think it’s well balanced and some risk has been taken. They said they were going to pick on form,” he said.
“Start with the locks, we’ve got a couple of big, tall locks. Josh Lord really matured last year on that northern hemisphere tour; obviously, Sam Darry has had a good season, and he’s been working really hard on his physicality.”
Sam Cane-esque selection
Turning his attention to the loose forwards, Kirwan praised the inclusion of Jacobson, who he likened to former Chiefs and All Blacks captain Sam Cane. According to the ex-winger, the 29-year-old flanker balances the loose trio, and whilst he isn’t the most popular pick amongst fans, Kirwan believes he is the right one.
“There’s another very important point, and that’s the loose forwards and the balance of the loose forwards,” he continued.
“I understand the Luke Jacobson selection because if you’re going to play Peter Lakai and Ardie, you’ve got two really great ball carriers and quite loose, but you’re going to need a Sam Cane-type player, and I think that’s where Jacobson really comes into his own.”
Speaking to the media after naming his team to face Les Bleus, Rennie said he wasn’t bothered by the numbers on the players’ backs who were included in his loose trio but was instead looking at their attributes and what they brought to the team.
“It’s just numbers on the back for me,” the head coach said.
“Sounds like some people got quite excited about the change, but all of those guys have played a little bit at eight. We like Luke. He is tough; he’ll have a real physical presence against the French, and we think that’s really important.
“Both Pete and Ardie give us post-tackle presence, but excellent athletes who suit our type of game. So yeah, it was probably the area we discussed most around combinations, and so those guys will start and Wallace [Sititi] off the bench.”
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“Those days are gone”
Kirwan echoed the new coach’s sentiments and predicts that Jacobson won’t be an old-school type of openside flanker for the All Blacks this weekend.
“Although they’ve named him at seven, don’t expect him to be playing the traditional seven,” he said.
“He will get in there, make his tackles and do the dirty work so we can loosen the other two up.”
On the numbers, he added: “Those days are gone. It will be about who works in the tight, who’s carrying a bit wider.”
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In fact, few very nations nowadays follow the traditional notion of a blindside and openside flanker and instead look for a balance across the back-three. Pieter-Steph du Toit may be the epitome of a modern-day blindside, but Siya Kolisi is far from a classic fetching number six, with the Springboks often looking to others in the pack to fulfil that role.
For years, France have deployed left and right flankers who have incredibly well-rounded skillsets, with Argentina doing similar with the likes of Pablo Matera, Juan Martin Gonzalez and Marcos Kremer. England have named Ollie Chessum in the number six jersey and do have a somewhat traditional back-row to face the Boks this weekend, but also started Guy Pepper, Ben Earl and Sam Underhill in the same loose trio recently.
READ MORE: Ardie Savea blasts ‘rubbish’ France criticism as captain calls for All Blacks ‘brutality’
