Only a year until the start of the British & Irish Lions Tour in New Zealand and there is already a lot of speculation on which players will be chosen to face the All Blacks. The upcoming Summer Tour, which will start the next weekend, will give us the first answers.
The same applies for New Zealand of course because, if it is true that you often get this opportunity once in the Northern Hemisphere, it is even more the case in the Southern Hemisphere. The British & Irish Lions play the same Southern nation every 12 years.
Last time that the British & Irish Lions played the New Zealand team, it was in 2005. The second Test match is remembered by all the fans with Dan Carter showing all his class, scoring 33 points including brillant tries, conversions and penalties. That was world-class.
According to Steve Hansen, when he named his squad for June Tests, he does not consider the All Blacks in re-building. New Zealand will have to perform without the likes of Tony Woodcock, Keven Mealamu, Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith.
If the players who have been called to face Wales third times are in a pretty good seat to be part of the British & Irish Lions games, there is a lot of competition every weekend in Super Rugby and all the players will have to keep performing to save the place in the team.
1. The 2016 New Zealand All Blacks squad : Re-establishing era
The All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has called initially a 32-man squad to face Wales. He has selected two more players in the squad as cover for the first game with a third player, the Auckland Blues midfielder George Moala, called as a cover for Chiefs’ Charlie Ngatai.
In the squad which has been named, taking into account the 35 players training together, there are 9 Crusaders players, 8 Chiefs players, 8 Highlanders players with Hurricanes and Blues completing the squad with 5 players each. That is a very strong and balanced squad.
Looking at the squad, the 2015 World Cup Champions are retained with six uncapped players called as well : Blues prop Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Highlanders Tom Franklin, Elliot Dixon and Liam Squire, Hurricanes flanker Ardie Savea and Chiefs centre Seta Tamanivalu.
Also, the two players who were called as cover for the first game are : Highlanders lock Tom Franklin and Hurricanes scrum-half TJ Perenara. The Crusaders fullback Israel Dagg has earned a re-call with his teammate Ryan Crotty at centre after World Cup omissions.
Props : Wyatt Crockett (Crusaders), Charlie Faumuina (Blues), Owen Franks (Crusaders), Joe Moody (Crusaders), Ofa Tu’ungafasi (Blues).
Hookers : Dane Coles (Hurricanes), Nathan Harris (Chiefs), Codie Taylor (Crusaders).
Second-rows : Brodie Retallick (Chiefs), Luke Romano (Crusaders), Patrick Tuipulotu (Blues), Sam Whitelock (Crusaders).
Flankers : Sam Cane (Chiefs), Jerome Kaino (Blues), Elliot Dixon (Highlanders), Ardie Savea (Hurricanes).
Number 8 : Kieran Read (Crusaders), Liam Squire (Highlanders).
Scrum-halves : Tawera Kerr-Barlow (Chiefs), Aaron Smith (Highlanders).
First-five eighths : Beauden Barrett (Hurricanes), Aaron Cruden (Chiefs), Lima Sopoaga (Highlanders).
Centres : Ryan Crotty (Crusaders), Malakai Fekitoa (Highlanders), Charlie Ngatai (Chiefs), Seta Tamanivalu (Chiefs).
Wingers : Waisake Naholo (Highlanders), Julian Savea (Hurricanes).
Fullbacks : Israel Dagg (Crusaders), Damian McKenzie (Chiefs), Ben Smith (Highlanders).
Cover : Tom Franklin (Highlanders), George Moala (Blues), TJ Perenara (Hurricanes).
The starting XV for the All Blacks against Wales remains a big question because there are many options available. With Keven Mealamu and Richie McCaw having retired, the next player who will lead the Haka is not known yet and it will be a huge honour for the player.
2. The Auckland Blues : Very promising players
With only five players from the Blues franchise in the new All Blacks squad, the inspiring coach Tana Umaga would think that there is a lot of room for improvements. Players such as Charlie Faumuina and Jerome Kaino are bringing a lot of experience in the franchise.
During this Super Rugby season, the Auckland Blues struggled to find some consistency but their major advantage is the fact that they have a very talented squad with promising players who are very young. Tana Umaga will keep working hard to reach new heights.
Some seasons ago, when former All Blacks winger John Kirwan was coaching the Blues, he was blamed for his inability to retain youngsters who performed very well once that they left the Auckland-based franchise. Gareth Anscombe is one of these players, for example.
That is fair to say that the Auckland Blues always had a very strong backline with clever combinations to find space out wide. They need to strengthen their forward pack to have a big platform to score more tries. With the Blues, it is all about working and confidence.
Potential Blues players for the Lions : James Parsons (Hooker), Josh Bekhuis (Second-row), Akira Ioane (Flanker), Steven Luatua (Number 8), Bryn Hall (Scrum-half), Ihaia West (First-five eighth), Rene Ranger (Centre), Rieko Ioane (Winger), Tevita Li (Winger).
3. The Waikato Chiefs : Building the forward pack
Through the seasons in Super Rugby, the Chiefs have been the benchmark in the competition, winning the Super Rugby twice in 2012 and 2013. The franchise have got this ability to score from everywhere on the field thanks to stunning counter-attacking skills.
Besides, the Waikato Chiefs can rely on a very strong backline where all the players selected each weekend could be part of the All Blacks squad. They can find the space in the defence with their scrum-halves adding pace and unpredictability in the attacking game.
Nevertheless, if the Chiefs want to become even stronger, they should look at their forward pack. In the last few years, the franchise never had many players called with New Zealand in the forward pack. They have the talents so they should manage to correct that.
Finally, the Chiefs need to bring some composure back in their game. In 2016, against the Waratahs, they were trailing the australian franchise very quickly in the game. They tried to come back immediately, making mistakes, rather than building a score very calmly.
Potential Chiefs players for Lions : Nepo Laulala (Prop), Pauliasi Manu (Prop), Hikawera Elliot (Hooker), Dominic Bird (Second-row), Taleni Seu (Flanker), Augustine Pulu (Scrum-half), Brad Weber (Scrum-half), Anton Lienert-Brown (Centre), James Lowe (Winger).
4. The Canterbury Crusaders : Dominating the squad
It has been a trend since the Dan Carter and the Richie McCaw influence in the All Blacks over the last decade. The Crusaders are regularly dominating this New Zealand squad with most of the players called showing their talent in the forward pack and at scrum time.
The Crusaders, who are regularly making wonders in their home of Christchurch, have developped their game around the scrum. The skipper Kieran Read often decides, in the opponent 22-metre zone, to go for the 5-metre scrum rather than the 5-metre lineout.
Having as well many talents in their backline, the Crusaders are gifted and are considered as a complete team. Todd Blackadder’s players can score tries in the midfield or in the wide channels. The players are skillful and they are making rugby proud each weekend.
Moreover, the Canterbury franchise is the most successful team in Super Rugby ever with seven titles won. Winning the Super Rugby for the eighth times in 2016, for the last year with Todd Blackadder, would be great opportunity to have more players with New Zealand.
Potential Crusaders players for the Lions : Ben Funnell (Hooker), Scott Barrett (Second-row), Jimmy Tupou (Second-row), Jordan Taufua (Flanker), Matt Todd (Flanker), Mitchell Drummond (Scrum-half), Richie Mo’unga (First-five eighth), David Havili (Centre).
5. The Wellington Hurricanes : Pursuing the dream
Only franchise in New Zealand not to have won the Super Rugby competition yet, the Hurricanes are trying to achieve that dream every season. The 2015 Super Rugby campaign with a home defeat during the final made the franchise from Wellington even stronger.
There was a big challenge for the Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd and his assistant coach John Plumtree at the beginning of this season with Ben Franks, Jeremy Thrush, Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith all leaving for different rugby futures. The re-building was so important.
Relying on a very efficient academy system, the Wellington Hurricanes managed to maintain their standards in 2016. The franchise is in a good place to make the play-offs even if their season was made difficult due to a lack of consistency during the big games.
In the new All Blacks squad, there are only five players who were called but as Chris Boyd suggested, there were a big number of players who were unlucky not to be called by Steve Hansen. The key will be maintaining the work for all the fringe players at the Hurricanes.
Potential Hurricanes players for the Lions in 2017 : Reggie Goodes (Prop), Jeff Toomanga-Allen (Prop), Michael Fatialofa (Second-row), Vaea Fifita (Flanker), Brad Shields (Flanker), Blade Thomson (Flanker), Otere Black (First-five eighth), Ngani Laumape (Centre).
6. The Dunedin Highlanders : Trying to get some recognition
At the end of the 2015 Super Rugby season, when the Highlanders won the Super Rugby, many people did not think that it could happened. There were some debates when the New Zealand World Cup squad was named a few weeks later with not many Highlanders there.
That franchise from Dunedin has been built on very strong foundations with players doing the basics very well. The Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph brought a lot of self-belief in the squad with players trusting each other to make this Super Rugby campaign wonderful.
With the new All Blacks squad named last weekend, more and more players from the Highlanders are getting the international recognition. The Highlanders are probably not as strong as the last Super Rugby campaign but they are remaining a big threat for the teams.
The challenge for the Highlanders in the next seasons will be performing at the same level. There will be key players who will leave the franchise at the end of the current season so the coaching staff will have to be careful and build a new squad for a new hope.
Potential Highlanders for Lions : Daniel Lienert-Brown (Prop), Liam Coltman (Hooker), Ash Dixon (Hooker), Joe Wheeler (Second-row), Shane Christie (Flanker), Luke Whitelock (Number 8), Marty Banks (Utility Back), Matt Faddes (Centre), Patrick Osborne (Wing).
Conclusion
For their first game since their World Cup Triumph in 2015, the All Blacks have already started their preparations for the Test match against Wales. That is a new era for New Zealand and some players will want to establish themselves in the squad for a long time.
Obviously, with all the legends having retired or having left the country, there are some questions asked to New Zealand about their ability to handle the pressure and play with the same brillance. Kieran Read will have to step up as the next All Blacks skipper now.
There is not so much time left for New Zealand to find their starting XV as the British & Irish Lions Tour will come very soon, in only a year. Nevertheless, with the talented players and their outstanding skills, the All Blacks still have got the edge, as it stands.
Also, one of the main goals for New Zealand will be getting the same satisfaction in the result and making sure that they are still the number one nation in rugby union. With Australia and South Africa knocking at the door, it will not be easy at all to be honest.
Finally, that is fair to say that the race for the British & Irish Lions Tour is beginning right now for the New Zealand players. Playing with consistency and delivering on the pitch every time that they get an opportunity is very important to stay in the All Blacks squad.
New Zealand is in re-building ! As strong as ever !
Max.
Rugby, Only Rugby ! 