Can Rieko shine for Auckland?
Aflurry of All Blacks have returned to their provinces for some game time ahead of the World Cup starting in Japan next month. The All Blacks released nine players from their squad after thrashing the Wallabies 36-0 last Saturday to retain the Bledisloe Cup.
So, this week’s Mitre 10 Cup could be the final audition for some hopeful but nervous All Blacks on the fringes ahead of the 31-man cut for the World Cup squad naming next Wednesday.
Here are the five talking points for round three.
1. Will the real Rieko please stand up?
Of those released All Blacks, none are scratching for form quite like Rieko Ioane, who was dropped in favour of George Bridge for the Bledisloe decider.
Bridge was superb on the left wing, as was Sevu Reece on the right after he replaced Ben Smith, and the two Crusaders, who have played only six tests between them, are seriously good bets to retain their starting berths for the World Cup opener against South Africa in Yokohama on September 21.
Ioane and Smith, meanwhile, are out of sorts. Smith has struggled after a season disrupted by a knee injury but Ioane is out of form, stretching back to an indifferent Super Rugby campaign for the Blues.
Ironically, Ioane’s axing mirrors his own elevation into the All Blacks at the expense of Julian Savea for the first test against the British and Irish Lions in 2017. It was an inspired decision by All Blacks coach Steve Hansen as Ioane won World Rugby’s breakthrough player of the year award.
The 22-year-old maintained his test form the following year and has notched 23 tries in 26 tests to date, but he returns to Auckland this week, though his World Cup selection seems assured ahead of a likely appearance against Bay of Plenty at Eden Park.
2. Best of the rest
Elsewhere, Brad Weber
(Hawke’s Bay) and Liam
Coltman and Josh Ioane
(both Otago) are expected to face one another in the round’s opening game in
Napier, a rematch of last year’s Championship semifinal when Ioane’s lastgasp penalty snatched Otago victory. Weber and Coltman are likely World Cup inclusions as the third halfback and hooker respectively, while uncapped first five-eighth Ioane is set to miss out after his first call-up last month.
Loose forward Vaea Fifita returns to Wellington as they host Canterbury, who utility back Braydon Ennor is set to run out for. Fifita’s World Cup spot is seemingly undecided, but likely, while Ennor’s omission is more certain.
Prop Atu Moli and lock/loose forward Jackson Hemopo are on the fringes of the 31 as the All Blacks weigh up how to balance their forwards in Japan. Alongside blindside flanker Liam Squire, Moli is poised for his Tasman debut in Blenheim against Hemopo, who returns to Manawatu¯ .
Finally, Luke Jacobson would make his first appearance for Waikato since 2017 should he play against Counties Manukau in Pukekohe. The loose forward missed all of Waikato’s 2018 campaign because of concussion and he remains an outside bet
for the World Cup.
3. Canterbury’s early slump
Canterbury have made their worst start to a season since dropping their first two games in 1996.
After losing the title to Auckland in last year’s Premiership final, Canterbury’s season started with their first loss to Waikato since 2011, then a 23-8 home defeat against a strong Tasman team to go down in the all-crusaders region game for just the second time in their last eight clashes.
It doesn’t get easier for Canterbury as they travel north for a Premiership encounter against a Wellington team likely featuring Fifita and Asafo Aumua, but the Lions are also winless after losing to Tasman and drawing with Hawke’s Bay.
When these two last met in the capital in 2017, Wellington trounced the red and blacks 60-14 and Aumua, a hooker, memorably skipped and sprinted past Canterbury’s Bridge, then the fullback, for an astonishing try.
4. Who can stop BOP?
Bay of Plenty have steamed out of the blocks and followed up their opening round win over Otago (50-7) by hammering Waikato 40-14.
The Steamers were disappointing last year and failed to reach the semifinals, but their talented squad have so far fired and they’re the only team in the competition with a maximum 10 points from two games.
Next Bay of Plenty face a serious test against the defending champions at Eden Park, with Ioane poised for his first Auckland appearance since 2016 after his release from the All Blacks.
5. Can Southland finally win?
The round ends with Southland hosting North Harbour and the question remains: can the Stags win their first game since October, 2016?
There have been glimpses of improvement from last year despite opening with defeats to Northland and Otago, the latter in a failed challenge for the Ranfurly Shield, with their record losing streak up to 23.
Harbour would be a tough nut to crack but after drawing with Auckland, a home defeat to Counties followed and with a long-range forecast for a wet Sunday in Invercargill, who knows?