Rugby ABs can’t fit Fifita or Dagg in squad
Strongest side selected to face the Boks with seven changes and Hames to prop up scrum
No Israel Dagg and no room for Vaea Fifita, but otherwise the All Blacks will roll out their strongest side against the Springboks in the Rugby Championship test in Albany on Saturday night.
Seven starting changes — and one positional switch — for a second successive week suggests rotation is in vogue.
Fifita’s absence will raise eyebrows. The humble Hurricanes flanker shot to instant fame after his spectacular runaway try last week against the Pumas. In his maiden test start, other than some extra work in the tight, he could hardly have done much more.
Even then, Liam Squire was always favoured to return at blindside. Now he will be keen to re-stamp his mark.
The balance of the bench combined with shoulder-bruising which prevented Fifita from training early in the week means he must wait to showcase his athletic talents again. Ardie Savea will provide loose forward cover with Sam Cane returning at openside.
Dagg will be immensely disappointed, too. He has managed only one test, last week against the Pumas, since the British and Irish Lions series as his troublesome knee continues to cause him problems.
Nehe Milner-Skudder is the beneficiary of Dagg’s on-going frustrations, moving to his more accustomed right wing. After his first test for two years last week, no doubt Milner-Skudder has empathy for Dagg’s plight.
He will link with Rieko Ioane, recalled on the left edge, in a rejigged back three. Damian McKenzie retains his spot at fullback, despite some shaky efforts under the high ball in New Plymouth.
The All Blacks preferred combination of Sonny Bill Williams and Ryan Crotty reunite in the midfield as expected, and Aaron Smith returns at halfback to push T J Perenara to the bench.
Up-front, Luke Romano drops out of the squad with Sam Whitelock back after a week off and Scott Barrett retaining his spot in the reserves.
Kane Hames’ promotion from out of the squad to starting loosehead over Wyatt Crockett following Joe Moody’s season-ending dislocated shoulder may catch some by surprise. But it speaks to the regard the All Blacks hold Hames’ destructive scrummaging abilities.
His association with the All Blacks began in 2013, by chance and quite amazingly, before he so much had even a whiff of a provincial contract.
Hames was a rugby development officer at the Bay of Plenty and was asked, randomly when the All Blacks had a training camp in the region, if he could provide some scrummaging opposition. His level back then was senior club football.
He pitched up in a Bay of Plenty T-shirt and an old pair of Warriors shorts, but that wasn’t the reason the All Blacks front-rowers noticed him. It was the fact he was causing them a few problems and in the scrum.
When the session finished, Crockett presumed Hames was a provincial regular and was blown away to find that wasn’t the case. There was genuine amazement that the All Blacks had just been done over by a club footballer.
He gained a contract with the Highlanders in 2014. His time in the South didn’t go too well, though. Hames didn’t win much game time through a combination of form, injury and suspension and by the end of 2015, he was let go and initially unwanted by Super Rugby teams.
He was thrown a bone in March 2016 when Pauliasi Manu was ruled out for the year and the Chiefs needed a loosehead. Hames himself was recovering from knee surgery but the Chiefs signed him anyway, without really having much in the way of choice.
By the end of Super Rugby that year the Chiefs hadn’t made their mind up whether they would retain Hames, but the All Blacks had an entirely different view.
When Joe Moody was ruled out of the first Bledisloe Cup test in Sydney, the All Blacks called up Hames. The All Blacks didn’t care that Super Rugby sides didn’t necessarily rate Hames, they were convinced he could offer them precisely what they needed.
So Hames made his debut off the bench last year with no Super Rugby contract. He’s now going to make his first start. Vaea Fifita is the most exciting All Black newcomer for many years, a true game changer, judging by what he did to Argentina in New Plymouth.
It wasn’t just the runaway try, the one which calmed the nerves and set the All Blacks safely towards victory. There was another rampaging run, the likes of which I don’t recall seeing