Will Taranaki get their ABs for shield defence?
Taranaki Rugby Football Union employees shouldn’t have to deal with needless distractions in the coming days.
They’re going to be busy enough as it is.
The 23-22 victory over Canterbury in Christchurch last Saturday ensured the Ranfurly Shield was shipped north, and it’s now up to coach Willie Rickards to ask his players to forget the postmatch party and focus on the first defence against Otago at TET Stadium and Events Centre in Inglewood on Sunday afternoon.
Not everything is going to be in Rickard’s control, however.
He has to wait to learn whether All Blacks coach Ian Foster will release the Barrett brothers, Beauden and Jordie, or the uncapped Tupou Vaa’i after they played in the win over Canterbury in a near-empty Orangetheory Stadium in the Garden City.
For all we know that could have been their lot for the Mitre 10 Cup in 2020.
So far, we know this: the All Blacks are at a training camp in Whakatane to prepare for the Bledisloe Cup matches against the Wallabies on October 11 and 18.
An added complication is that Beauden’s wife is understood to be due to give birth this month and, understandably, he may prefer to be back home in Auckland.
If Foster decides against releasing the trio for the fixture it won’t only be a blow for Rickards, or those team-mates who hoped to get another crack to play alongside the internationals.
Taranaki supporters will also have a right to be disappointed after the alert level 2 restrictions prevented them watching their All Blacks in the first round game against Bay of Plenty in Inglewood on September 13.
To see All Blacks play for their provinces in the first two rounds of the Mitre 10 Cup has been a rare treat, even if most of us had to do so from our lounges because of social distancing rules.
In recent years the demanding Super Rugby schedule, a domestic test series, and the Rugby Championship programme blocked any hope of the provinces getting their claws on their current All Blacks.
Even fringe All Blacks who struggled to break into the matchday 23 have been ring-fenced.
This, to put it mildly, has frustrated provincial administrators who have been desperate to attract more customers and rake in muchneeded dollars. And coaches, no doubt wanting to pick up precious competition points, have hardly jumped with joy at this policy.
Allowing internationals to return to the provincial fields no doubt comes with the risk of injury, and All Blacks’ coaches have believed keeping players in camp was more beneficial for them.
The biggest losers? The provinces.
Coaches, chairmen and CEOs rarely air their discontent on this issue in public forums; to do so would earn the wrath of NZ Rugby and the All Blacks’ management, and there’s only going to be one winner in that showdown.
The pandemic has forced a major re-think for all rugby businesses in New Zealand, and provinces were grateful to learn they would get their All Blacks for the first two rounds – at least – of the Mitre 10 Cup.
Then came the cruel blow. The raised alert levels didn’t allow fans to view their All Blacks in their provincial colours.
Now there has been a glimmer of hope. The Government’s decision to drop to alert level 1 offers a chance for provinces to pour some bucks into the piggy banks in these financially challenging times.
Imagine it: the Ranfurly Shield on show, an afternoon kick-off and a big crowd in Inglewood.
Otago won’t have any current All Blacks in action, but Taranaki could. Some would say it should.
The first test against the Wallabies in Wellington is almost three weeks away. It would be a shame to see the All Blacks be short of a gallop.