Gambler Hansen rolling dice with four new caps

The All Blacks have taken risks with their selections for the third test against France and picked a side that has vast attacking potential and extreme vulnerability.

With four new caps in the 23, the All Blacks team for Dunedin would have to be considered the highest risk coach Steve Hansen has picked in his coaching tenure.

Four new caps in one match squad is a record for Hansen. Twice before he has picked three new caps in one team.

It just hasn’t been Hansen’s style to throw such caution to the wind and what makes this particular team more vulnerable is the journeys of some of the players and the combined lack of experience in specific areas of the team.

Shannon Frizell starts at blindside on the back of only a handful of games for the Highlanders in his first Super Rugby campaign.

He scored a hat-trick against the Blues in April and physically he looks the part. In what limited game time he has had in Super Rugby, his intentions have been to get involved, carry hard and tackle hard.

But it’s doing test football a disservice to not realise that with so little experience even in Super Rugby, that an enormous amount is being asked of Frizell.

He could be brilliant and take to it all without a hitch and thrive under the pressure. Or he could find it a near impossible business to get to grips with the pace and intensity and find he’s chasing shadows all night.

It is, if nothing else, going to be fascinating to see how he copes. As it will be should, and probably when his Highlanders mate Jackson Hemopo enters the fray.

Hemopo is another wildcard — not originally picked in the 33-man squad, he finds himself on the bench after just six days with the team.

He has been impressive in Super Rugby and knocked the Lions about last year and, as Hansen said, deserves his call-up. Still, it’s unusual for the All Blacks to rush a new player so quickly into action.

Jack Goodhue and Richie Mo’unga played for the All Blacks against the French XV in Lyon last year and both have spent this Super Rugby campaign knocking on the door of a test cap.

Their big moment was always going to come, but perhaps when the selectors envisioned the June series they thought they would slip these two into a third test team that was more established and more experienced.

That’s been the preferred way under Hansen — be softly-softly with new caps, gently ease them off the bench one or two at a time, making sure they have seasoned campaigners all around them.

Instead, by the time Mo’unga enters the fray in the second half, the front-row could have a collective 19 test caps between them — two of them in the possession of Karl Tuinukuafe who no one had heard of a few months ago.

The loose trio, which starts with just 28 caps collectively, could have even less if Ardie Savea comes off for Matt Todd. With Sam Whitelock and Owen Franks accounting for 198 of the total 308 caps in the starting pack, there will be a bit of finger crossing going on that neither of those two are injured early.

By Hansen’s standards the All Blacks are taking an extraordinary risk to find out just who within their wider group is up to task. He’s gambling they will provide the answer he wants by beating France.

It just hasn’t been Hansen’s style to throw such caution to the wind.