Now for the hard part
Steve Hansen will name his All Blacks World Cup squad in 10 days with plenty to think about between now and then, including some selection head-scratchers, an AC joint injury to Richie Mo’unga and just whether his phone will ring with Liam Squire on the other end.
The All Blacks brains trust certainly has a more positive environment in which to make their final cull of the season down to the 31 they will take to Japan for their tilt at World Cup history. That squad will be announced a week on Wednesday, and Hansen admitted that after Saturday’s outstanding 36-0 Bledisloe Cup victory over the Wallabies on Eden Park some decisions are clearer and others more clouded.
Hansen and his coaches rolled the dice on the back of the record defeat to the Wallabies in Perth by dropping three established players in Ben Smith, Rieko Ioane and Owen Franks and ushering in younger, less experience alternatives in George Bridge, Sevu Reece and Nepo Laulala. The gamble paid handsome dividends.
‘‘In some ways it makes it easier because some people really put their hand up last night,’’ said Hansen of looming World Cup selections. He said starting No 10 Mo’unga had suffered an AC joint injury in his shoulder which would leave him sore for a couple of weeks but was not expected to have World Cup ramifications.
‘‘Where we had question marks, you no longer have question marks,’’ he added. ‘‘But in other ways it makes it a bit tougher too. There are always tough calls. Every time you name the team somebody misses out and it’s the end of their dream, and this is a pretty big one going to a World Cup.’’
The All Blacks coach said some established pecking orders were under review, especially after the composed and accurate way Bridge and Reece went about their business on the wings.
‘‘We saw lots of energy, we saw lots of intent, they were great under the high ball, great chasing kicks, so it’s a bit of pressure on the other guys now to front up. There’s the old saying ‘never give a sucker an even break because he’ll take it’. Now we’ve got some genuine competition, it will be good to see how it unfolds.’’
One selection issue could solve itself, with Brodie Retallick’s recovery from his shoulder dislocation likely to require a fourth specialist lock on deck to get them through the early matches in Japan. To that end, Patrick Tuipulotu answered some key questions on Saturday, with Hansen revealing a change in diet had produced some startling results.
‘‘We changed what he took in from an energy intake prior to this game because we know he’s fit and been running out of energy pretty early in games. Last night he went deep into the game and played really well,’’ said Hansen.
Squire remains an outside chance of becoming a late callup.
He is playing provincial rugby for Tasman after withdrawing from consideration for the All Blacks because he didn’t feel he was ready for test rugby on the back of an injury-plagued season.
Hansen confirmed the ball was now in Squire’s court if he wanted to be considered for the World Cup.
‘‘We’ve got an understanding: if he’s keen, he’ll let me know,’’ explained the coach . . . That means he rings me.
‘‘We’ve got 10 days till we name [the squad]. We’ll have plenty of discussions between now and then, but a lot of the robust ones have been had. We’ve baked a lot of the cake, now it’s about getting it out of the oven and putting a bit of icing on it.’’