Will All Blacks’ plan bear fruit?
Whimsical types called them the Golden Generation. Then, suddenly, they were gone.
Following the triumph over Australia in the 2015 World Cup final in London the All Blacks farewelled captain Richie McCaw, Keven Mealamu, Tony Woodcock, Dan Carter, Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith. Retirement beckoned for forwards McCaw, Mealamu and Woodcock, while backs Carter, Nonu and Smith signed with French clubs to collect a bumper pay-out in the twilight of their careers.
Between them the six men, considered giants of the game in New Zealand, had more than 700 test caps.
The good news for the All Blacks was that none of these departures had blindsided selectors Steve Hansen, Ian Foster and Grant Fox. The players had signalled in advance that their exits were imminent, which in turn gave the selectors the opportunity to either groom their understudies or maintain a watchful eye on promising up and comers ahead of the next global tournament.
Now, less than 12 months out from the defence of the Webb Ellis Cup in Japan, All Blacks coach Hansen will hope to reap the benefits of that plan.
It has been a balancing act with the selectors forced to mix combinations, take the odd educated punt or discard those who have been too slow to prove themselves at the highest level. This has been dictated by form fluctuations and injuries, or simply because some players have decided the opportunity to earn big coin in offshore competitions was too good to ignore.
Hansen has continued to mould the backbone of the team around his most loyal foot soldiers, remaining committed to key leaders even when their form has fluctuated, or they have been left incapacitated by injuries.
The retirement of openside flanker McCaw, arguably one of the greatest test captains of all time, had the potential to knock the All Blacks off the rails until they bedded in a suitable replacement.
Yet the team kept steaming on. No 8 Kieran Read replaced McCaw as skipper, and there was just one loss in 14 tests during his first year in charge, 2016.
Sam Cane, having bided his time as McCaw’s understudy since 2012, assumed responsibility at No 7 when the latter stepped down and Ardie Savea was promoted over the luckless Matt Todd as Cane’s deputy.
Dane Coles and Codie Taylor ensured the departure of hooker Mealamu was no calamity, and Joe Moody and Wyatt Crockett were options at loosehead prop following Woodcock’s decision to retire and commit to the farming life.
If first five-eighth Carter had represented another country, his departure could have created major headaches. However, Aaron Cruden, Beauden Barrett and to a lesser degree Lima Sopoaga, ensured Carter’s decision to join Paris club Racing Metro on a multimillion-dollar deal for three seasons wasn’t a calamity for the All Blacks. Another first-five, Colin Slade, joined French club Pau after the 2015 tournament.
The exodus of veteran midfielders Nonu (who will represent the Blues this season, but is a long shot to add to the 103 test appearances he made between 2003 and 2015) and Smith was offset by the presence of Malakai Fekitoa and Ryan Crotty; the pair had already been blooded in tests, while Anton Lienert-Brown and George Moala were rewarded with their first test caps in 2016.
Sonny Bill Williams didn’t play any tests in 2016, electing to pursue his dream of winning an Olympic gold medal in sevens before being cruelly cut down by a ruptured Achilles tendon at the Rio Games.
Williams returned to 15s in 2017, and although dogged by injuries this year he appears certain to be included in the squad for the World Cup, if – and this is a big if – his body remains intact.
It would have been reckless for Hansen, Foster and Fox to believe they could ring-fence all of New Zealand’s talented players prior to the global tournament in Japan.
NZ Rugby doesn’t have the funds to match the terrific deals offered by northern hemisphere clubs, and some young men elected to spurn opportunities with the All Blacks for the big money offshore. Who could blame them?
But that didn’t prevent Hansen from voicing his displeasure with Pat Lam after he had recruited All Blacks lock/loose forward Steven Luatua, who had made 15 test appearances between 2013 and 2016, to play for English club Bristol.
Hansen was disappointed about the lack of communication prior to Luatua announcing his departure, saying the player spoke ‘‘briefly’’ to the NZ Rugby contracts team prior to Bristol trumpeting their star signing in early 2017.
‘‘And he’s been tapped on the shoulder by Pat Lam which is disappointing too,’’ Hansen said.
‘‘If you’re an ex-New Zealander you should be mindful about players’ careers. But when they decide to go you’ve got to support them. Steven had made that decision so we’ll do that.’’
Luatua never played for the All Blacks again, joining Bristol after completing his duties for the Blues in Super Rugby.
Lam was not best pleased by Hansen describing him as an exNew Zealander, either: ‘‘I am very saddened and disappointed that All Black head coach Steve Hansen had made a personal attack on myself and my family by calling me an ex-New Zealander,’’ Lam said in a statement.
‘‘I was born in New Zealand to hard-working Samoan parents. I was educated in New Zealand and worked as a schoolteacher and a professional rugby coach in New Zealand.
‘‘I had the privilege and honour to represent both my country of birth and my country of heritage. I am a proud New Zealander and I’m also proud to be a Pacific Islander.
‘‘The only reason we don’t live in New Zealand at the moment is I had an opportunity to continue to coach rugby professionally in Ireland and support my family after being sacked by the NZRU and the Blues.’’
The departure of other All Blacks was handled in a more dignified manner by all parties involved.
Cruden had aspirations to stitch together multiple starts in the No 10 jersey following Carter’s retirement, but his hopes of doing so nosedived when it became clear the in-form Barrett was going to be the heir apparent.
In 2017 Cruden left for France, recruited to play for the Montpellier club under Kiwi coach Vern Cotter.
Midfielder Fekitoa was a casualty of the selectors’ decision to overlook him for the British and Irish Lions series, and within months had been snapped up by French club Toulon.
Long-serving blindside flanker Jerome Kaino, one of the world’s best in the position while in his prime, prop Charlie Faumuina, lock Dominic Bird, halfback Tawera Kerr-Barlow, midfielders Moala and Charlie Ngatai, wings Julian Savea and Seta Tamanivalu and first-five Sopoaga have all joined the pilgrimage to accept richer contracts abroad.
Prop Crockett retired from test footy after the 2017 northern tour, and others, such as loose forward Elliot Dixon, couldn’t break back into the squad after three test appearances in 2016.
Injuries also limited the appearances of some. Loosehead props Kane Hames and Atu Moli never played in 2018 because of concussion. Hames appeared in nine tests in 2016-17, while Moli’s sole outing was against a French XV in Lyon in late 2017.
The 16-9 loss to Ireland in Dublin in November did more than prick the All Blacks’ pride, and provide the Irish with a confidence booster ahead of the World Cup.
It enhanced the belief that the New Zealanders, ranked by World Rugby as best team for the last nine years, are fallible. South Africa, England, Wales, teams that build game plans around their defensive structures, will have noted how the Irish prevented the All Blacks from scoring a try at Aviva Stadium.
It should also be noted that none of the current All Blacks have experienced the disappointment and despair of pitching out of a World Cup tournament early. It is foreign to them.
Unlike McCaw, Mealamu, Woodcock, Carter, Nonu and Smith, who had been sent home early from previous tournaments prior to the 24-year drought being broken in 2011, none of the current squad know what is like to feel the despair and humiliation at failing in the biggest tournament of all.
The desire to avenge past losses can be a powerful motivator.
The squad named for the 2019 tournament will have many attributes, but not one of the players – unless Nonu stages a remarkable comeback – will be able to look back in anger.