ABs’ walking wounded now cause for concern
Low on minutes, injured Sam Whitelock and Ryan Crotty could force a selection rethink, writes Gregor Paul
The All Blacks’ walking wounded may yet be passed fit for the first test against France next week — but the collective lack of rugby played by a handful of stalwarts will likely force a rethink about the make-up of the starting team.
The biggest concern for the All Blacks is whether series captain Sam Whitelock will recover from his concussion symptoms in time after again not being picked by the Crusaders this week.
Whitelock hasn’t played since the thrilling 31-29 comeback win against the Waratahs on May 12 and while his symptoms are not thought to be severe, he hasn’t fully recovered and the medics can’t predict with any certainty when they think he will come good.
The All Blacks run an ultracautious strategy with players returning from concussion and if Whitelock isn’t passed fit to train on Monday, it’s unlikely he’ll be considered for selection for the June 9 clash at Eden Park.
If he’s ruled out, the captaincy would revert to either Sam Cane or Ben Smith who are the named vice captains.
Cane, however, remains on the uncertain list as he has been battling an abdominal strain that proved stubbornly difficult to shake off.
He hasn’t played since April 13 but has been named on the Chiefs’ bench for tomorrow’s clash with the Crusaders. Expectations are high that he will get through the game, but it still leaves a little concern around the secondary issue the All Blacks are facing — which is too many individuals are lacking recent game time.
If Whitelock is passed fit, he’s such an experienced player with solid game time behind him before his concussion, that the coaches would trust him to power through 80 minutes against France even if he hadn’t played for a month.
They have to be careful, though, as to how many players they can select who are short of game time. Cane is another good athlete who could, if he is given the all clear, probably get through a test despite having only played once off the bench in the last eight weeks.
But the risk would be high having two players in the pack coming into the test short of game time.
Maybe the selectors would have the appetite for that risk but they have to consider that Liam Squire is another who has barely played this season due to a broken thumb.
Although he’s been named by the Highlanders this week, it may be considered too big a risk to have both Cane and Squire in the loose trio from the start.
The lack of game time issue is compounded by the situation with Owen Franks and Joe Moody.
Moody has played only 55 minutes all season, while Franks only returned on April 23. He missed last week’s match against the Hurricanes and is suspended for the Chiefs battle.
That’s five probable starters who are significantly down on minutes played coming into the series.
The situation in the backs isn’t so dire, but isn’t perfect either.
Ryan Crotty is again missing for the Crusaders this week due to a head knock he suffered early in the game against the Blues on May 11.
So if he is available, he’ll be another who hasn’t played in the last month.
Like Whitelock, Crotty will have to be able to train from the start of the week to be considered for selection, but the coaches will be comfortable starting with Anton Lienert-Brown if need be.
They may also, if they award the captaincy to Smith, use him at fullback where he can probably more effectively guide the team, which would most likely mean Rieko Ioane and Waisake Naholo will be the starting wings.
The biggest concern for the All Blacks is whether series captain Sam Whitelock will recover from his concussion symptoms in time after again not being picked by the Crusaders.