Jordie relishing his move to second five
AUCKLAND: With surprise changes by design, and others enforced, the significantly revamped All Blacks have plenty to prove at Eden Park tomorrow night.
From a collective perspective, the All Blacks are well aware they were fortunate to escape with the Bledisloe Cup after blowing an 18point secondhalf lead in Melbourne’s captivating and controversial contest.
From Jordie Barrett’s switch to second fiveeighth to Akira Ioane, Dalton Papali’i and Codie Taylor’s inclusions among six starting changes, there are no shortage of personal motivating factors for the rematch against the Wallabies, either.
Relegating Samisoni Taukei’aho, arguably the All Blacks’ best performer this season, to the bench is a surprise move.
Sam Whitelock assuming the captaincy ahead of Ardie Savea in Sam Cane’s absence is also notable, too. Yet Barrett moving from fullback to No 12 forms the focal talking point.
Second five is the position Barrett, who played there as a teenager, has long coveted, increasingly more so after spending time there for the Hurricanes this season.
Barrett is ultimately expected to revert to fullback when the All Blacks’ midfield stocks replenish but with David Havili (concussion) and Quinn Tupaea (seasonending knee injury) sidelined, this week presents an intriguing experiment after the midtest reshuffle at Marvel Stadium.
A maiden start at second five leaves halfback and centre as the only backline roles Barrett has not filled for the All Blacks.
‘‘Now I’ve got a bit more size I’m enjoying playing 12 again,’’ Barrett said.
‘‘It’s a challenge I’ve been waiting a wee while for now so I can’t wait. I’m comfortable with playing 12. I got a bit of a taste at this level last week. This is a new week so I’m expecting a bit of traffic.’’
All Blacks coach Ian Foster has been reluctant to move Barrett to 12 — predominantly because he values his presence at fullback. This week is a case of needs must, though it does reveal Foster’s lack of faith in Roger TuivasaSheck’s readiness.
Foster praised Barrett’s strength in the carry and defence as well as his kicking game and communication in the midfield. TuivasaSheck settles for a bench role, Foster saying he favoured last week’s combinations that included Beauden Barrett moving to fullback from the 36th minute.
‘‘Jordie went pretty good last week. He was a bit rusty on a few calls and was too eager in many ways but there’s some nice lessons there,’’ Foster said.
‘‘Roger has had a couple of NPC games and he’s training well. It’s a chance for him to watch the game unfold and then see what happens.’’
Scott Barrett’s absence is due to an Achillies issue he has been managing for the past month while Shannon Frizell is yet to fully recover from his rib injury, paving the way for Ioane to team up with Papali’i and Savea in the newlook loose forwards.
On the captaincy switch, while Cane recovers from concussion, Whitelock retains the leadership duties to allow Savea time to settle back into the team after the birth of his third child.
‘‘It takes a bit of an adjustment when you miss a week.’’
As for benching Taukei’aho after his twotry efforts last week, the All Blacks want to give Taylor his first chance since the costly lineout throwing issues in the first home loss to Argentina in Christchurch.
Meanwhile, the Wallabies have recalled fit again lock Cadeyrn Neville and No 8 Harry Wilson.
Rennie has made no changes to Australia’s backs, meaning
Bernard Foley stays at No 10.
Neville and Wilson come into the forwards as Matt Philip and Rob Leota (achilles) drop out due to injury.
To accommodate Wilson, Rob Valentini — another strong performer in Melbourne — moves to blindside flanker.
James Slipper, continuing as captain in Michael Hooper’s absence, will lead the Wallabies for the first time at Eden Park. —