Where are our next crop of ABs stars coming from?
Kieran Read’s gone, as are Ryan Crotty, Sonny Bill Williams, Ben Smith and a handful of other long-serving All Blacks. The good news is there is plenty of emerging talent for the incoming head coach of the All Blacks to consider during the new World Cup cycle.
In no particular order, here are five young players who could breathe new life into the All Blacks before the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France rolls around.
It’s only a matter of time before the exceptionally talented Christchurch product represents the All Blacks.
The 21-year-old Crusader, who was a key member of the world champion New Zealand under-20s in 2017, is a natural fullback with blistering speed and a knack for beating defenders.
No wonder the Highlanders and Blues were desperate to claw him away from his home town when his two-year deal with the red and blacks was nearing an end.
Jordan declined, instead inking a three-year deal with the Crusaders.
As good as he is now, it should be noted he’s only played nine Super Rugby matches because concussion sidelined him in 2018, then a leg injury hindered him through the middle of 2019.
Jordan scored eight tries in five starts for the Crusaders this year.
It’s not a stretch to say Solomon Alaimalo might have cracked the All Blacks this year had he matched his Super Rugby form from last year.
But he didn’t. The 23-year-old had an injury-plagued year, managing just 12 starts (nine at fullback and three on the wing) and struggled for any consistency.
To think his name regularly popped up as a possible All Blacks bolter for the 2018 northern tour, after he scored eight tries in a scintillating Super Rugby campaign.
The good news for the St
Bede’s College old boy is he’s still got ample time to find his feet again.
At 1.96m tall, weighing 100kg, and with speed to burn, he’s got all the physical traits of an excellent outside back.
Unlucky in some people’s minds not to make the All Blacks World Cup squad this year, Ennor is undoubtedly going to play a hand in the All Blacks moving forward.
The 22-year-old has already had a taste in the black jersey, being named in the Rugby Championship squad earlier this year and debuting against Argentina in Buenos AIres.
Ennor, the quickest member of the Crusaders squad over 100m, prefers to play centre but has played the majority of his Super Rugby on the wing.
That appears set to change next year in the aftermath of Ryan Crotty finishing up with the Christchurch-based franchise.
Ennor, who scored 10 tries in 17 appearances (four starts) this year, is likely to partner Jack Goodhue in the midfield in 2020.
There is no doubt that abrasive loose forward Jacobson will play a big hand for the All Blacks in the next World Cup cycle, as long as he can shake off his concussion issues.
The 22-year-old bolter was sent home from the World Cup in Japan before the team even played a match due to a delayed concussion, suffered after the team’s warm-up rout of Tonga in September.
Jacobson also missed Waikato’s entire 2018 Mitre 10 Cup season, and the Chiefs’ last five games this year, after taking blows to the head.
Prop Kane Hames, who still wants to play but has been sidelined with concussion for two years, is proof there are no guarantees when it comes to head injuries.
Being compared to former All Blacks prop Carl Hayman before he even played a game for the Highlanders wasn’t really fair.
It explains the huge expectations on Lomax, who has signed a four-year deal with the Hurricanes after spending the past two seasons in Dunedin.
Lomax, understandably, didn’t come close to fulfilling expectations in his first year after leaving the Melbourne Rebels and moving to New Zealand to chase his All Blacks dream.
He was even relegated to the Highlanders development team.
But the one-test tighthead sure made progress the past year and, at just 23-year of age, is still a spring chicken in terms of his development.
Let’s bench the Hayman comparison, but Lomax could be invaluable as the All Blacks pack moves on from the departure of long-term servant Owen Franks.