FIVE REASONS TO QUICKEN THE PULSE
1 The Sonny and Jack show will be worth keeping an eye on.
New Zealand has a remarkable ability to pump out quality midfielders and wings, with Jack Goodhue one of the latest to tumble off the assembly line.
Sonny Bill Williams is one of the old guard. We all know what he is capable of if everything clicks.
Goodhue, a member of the golden breed that Super Rugby teams keep producing, is cut from a different mould. A sound distributor with an awareness of how to put the ball in front of his wings, he is also a very good defender. This will be his first test.
2 The little bloke with the topknot will be out to make amends
Usually halfback Aaron Smith, pictured, is among the best in the class. Not during the All Blacks’ 26-13 win at the Cake Tin, he wasn’t. If you wanted to try to put a positive spin on his performance, you could say it was a reminder just how good he usually he is. The duds have been few and far between, and having another wouldn’t be ideal in terms of helping fresh first five-eighth Damian McKenzie settle.
3 Everyone is looking forward to seeing Shannon Frizell fire up his engine.
Because, for many of us, the blindside flanker, pictured, is still something of a mystery.
Yep, we know he has made 10 appearances for the Highlanders and they speak well of him at the Tasman union, but apart from that we don’t know a lot more about the shy giant from Tonga.
4 This will be Sam Whitelock’s 99th test appearance, and possibly his last as captain.
With the injured Kieran Read closing in on a comeback date, there’s a real chance he will be available to lead the All Blacks in their first Bledisloe Cup match against the Wallabies in August.
No 8 Read, pictured, hasn’t played any rugby this year, a consequence of having surgery on his lower spine in December.
5 Anyone taking bets on the likelihood of this being marred by a cloudburst of controversy?
In the first test Paul Gabrillagues was unfairly yellow carded for tackling Ryan Crotty around the upper chest. Later in the game Sam Cane escaped sanction for a high shot on Remy Grosso. Although Ofa Tu’ungafasi was issued with a warning letter by World Rugby, he didn’t get any on-field grief for banging his shoulder into Grosso’s face and fracturing his skull. We all know what happened last week – Fall v Beauden Barrett. One failed a head injury assessment, the other was sent off. Then all hell broke loose.