‘Their time might have already gone’ – New Zealand great’s stark warning for All Blacks hopefuls

The in-form Leicester Fainga’anuku could be one of the casualties from the All Blacks’ superb start to this year’s Rugby Championship.

That is according to New Zealand great Jeff Wilson, who sent out a warning to the fringe players looking to force their way into the Rugby World Cup reckoning.

Fainga’anuku would have potentially played against Argentina only for a minor injury to rule him out of that clash.

He then watched on as Mark Telea and Will Jordan impressed in the back three as the All Blacks beat the Springboks 35-20 in Auckland.

Two games until squad is selected

That could ultimately count against him – as well as a few other players who have not featured – when their World Cup squad is named in August.

“Players are running out of time and, for some guys, the time might have already gone. There’s only two Test matches to go (until the World Cup squad is named),” Wilson said on The Breakdown.

“If you think about who hasn’t played. Clearly Shaun Stevenson right now is very unlikely to get an opportunity. Leicester Fainga’anuku, who had a remarkable Super Rugby season, when does he get an opportunity to overtake Emoni Narawa?

“Narawa played one Test match was very, very good. You can’t fit everybody in.”

The likes of Fainga’anuku and Stevenson are still very much involved in the squad, as well as some of the injured players who could come into contention further down the line.

However, Wilson’s fellow former All Black, Justin Marshall, admits that Ian Foster will need to start cutting down the squad soon.

“What they are is keeping them integrated but at some stage there is going to have to be some culling going on, and that’s not going to be pleasant,” Marshall said.

“There is massive competition in that squad and they don’t want anyone to be on the exterior. It’s really good, regardless of how injured you are, to be in that camp at the moment.”

There is also the issue of finding the balance between giving players a chance to impress and getting some cohesion in the 23.

“Do they want to create synergy, get players confidence in positions and create combinations? Or do they want to keep injecting people in and try to give the opportunities they deserve? But that could disrupt the rhythm of the team. Massive decisions to make in the next three games,” Marshall added.

Brilliant Beauden

One individual who has booked his place to France and given himself an excellent chance of being in their first choice XV is Beauden Barrett.

The Blues playmaker starred against the Boks on Saturday, dovetailing nicely with Richie Mo’unga, who started at fly-half.

“This was probably his best performance in an All Blacks jersey for probably two years, in terms of controlling the backfield, his timing stepping into first-five, but also his connection with the other players around him,” Wilson said.

“He was playing that role almost as another pivot. It doesn’t mean that we’re not adaptable in what we can do and we can, if we want to change the game and see Will Jordan at full-back, you could do that during the game, depending on what happens.

“Clearly with their selection, they were really comfortable if they lost Richie Mo’unga that Beauden Barrett was going to be that guy at 10, with Will Jordan the guy that would go to full-back.”

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