All Black fan Tim Cronin from RugbyShirts.net looks ahead to the European tour
All Blacks’ management announced a relatively conservative squad as they prepare to embark on this year’s Northern Hemisphere tour, with just two uncapped players joining the squad which contested the recently concluded Rugby Championship.
Despite compelling form from a number of exciting youngsters in the ITM Cup national competition which finished on the weekend, Wellington hooker Dane Coles and Waikato halfback Tawera Kerr-Barlow are the only two players in the squad yet to experience test football, and neither were particularly surprising selections, having been on the fringes of the squad throughout the Championship.
The selection of Coles is bad news for Hawkes Bay hooker Hika Elliot, who has sat on the cusp of selection for several years now, but has failed to kick on and cement a spot in the team. The number two jersey continues to be a concern for the powers-that-be in All Blacks management, with very little emerging talent coming through the system, a fact reflected in their commitment to veteran players Keven Mealamu and Andrew Hore. Short term, these two continue to perform well at international level, but the day when they hang up the boots must be drawing ever-closer, and Steve Hansen will be hoping that the traditionally volatile Coles can gain some maturity during the course of the up-coming tour.
That Ali Williams made the squad says much about the lack of depth in the second row as well. In Sam Whitelock, Brodie Rettallick and Luke Romano the All Blacks have three young locks who look set to be the future of New Zealand rugby, and I can’t envisage that Williams will genuinely challenge for a starting spot. But they obviously felt that no-one else did enough in the ITM Cup to warrant selection, and have stuck with Williams, who will obviously bring some experience and steel to the squad, despite waning form.
Andy Ellis will be disappointed to miss the tour, having been on fine form as Canterbury claimed a fifth consecutive national title on the weekend, but the selectors have gone for a solid mix of experience and youth in their halfback selections, with incumbent Aaron Smith and the experienced Peri Weepu set to resume their duel for the starting jumper, and Kerr-Barlow bound to benefit hugely from the experience.
The continued faith in young Sam Cane, despite Matt Todd’s exceptional form in the ITM Cup, adds further weight to the suggestion that Canterbury’s openside flanker is well and truly out in the cold on the international scene, and one wonders what the relentless worker needs to do to propel himself back in to contention.
But, overall, few surprises, with Hansen and co. obviously looking to continue to develop their preferred combinations. I can’t help thinking that Scotland will struggle to give their fancy new away jersey an appropriate debut when they meet the All Blacks first up, potentially receiving a backlash after the All Blacks’ awful performance in Brisbane, and I would envisage a number of young players getting an opportunity to shine in that first match.
Tim Cronin is a Rugby fan and full time writer based in the rubble of the Canterbury Crusaders’ home town, Christchurch. Tim is a part of the Pukeko Sportsteam, where his role is watching, writing, and complaining about all things rugby.
