Black in business
Steve Hansen will name his All Blacks World Cup squad in 10 days with plenty to think about between now and then, including some selection head-scratchers, an AC joint injury to Richie Mo’unga and just whether his phone will ring with Liam Squire on the other end.
The All Blacks brains trust certainly has a more positive environment in which to make their final cull of the season down to the 31 they will take to Japan for their tilt at World Cup history. That squad will be announced a week on Wednesday, and Hansen admitted that after Saturday’s outstanding 36-0 Bledisloe Cup victory over the Wallabies on Eden Park some decisions are clearer and others more clouded.
Hansen and his coaches rolled the dice on the back of the record defeat to the Wallabies in Perth by dropping three established players in Ben Smith, Rieko Ioane and Owen Franks and ushering in younger, less experience alternatives in George Bridge, Sevu Reece and Nepo Laulala. The gamble paid handsome dividends.
‘‘In some ways it makes it easier because some people really put their hand up last night,’’ said Hansen of looming World Cup selections. He said starting No 10 Mo’unga had suffered an AC joint injury in his shoulder which would leave him sore for a couple of weeks but was not expected to have World Cup ramifications.
‘‘Where we had question marks, you no longer have question marks,’’ he added. ‘‘But in other ways it makes it a bit tougher too. There are always tough calls. Every time you name the team somebody misses out and it’s the end of their dream, and this is a pretty big one going to a World Cup.’’
The All Blacks coach said some established pecking orders were under review, especially after the composed and accurate way Bridge and Reece went about their business on the wings.
‘‘We saw lots of energy, we saw lots of intent, they were great under the high ball, great chasing kicks, so it’s a bit of pressure on the other guys now to front up. There’s the old saying ‘never give a sucker an even break because he’ll take it’. Now we’ve got some genuine competition, it will be good to see how it unfolds.’’
One selection issue could solve itself, with Brodie Retallick’s recovery from his shoulder dislocation likely to require a fourth specialist lock on deck to get them through the early matches in Japan. To that end, Patrick Tuipulotu answered some key questions on Saturday, with Hansen revealing a change in diet had produced some startling results.
‘‘We changed what he took in from an energy intake prior to this game because we know he’s fit and been running out of energy pretty early in games. Last night he went deep into the game and played really well,’’ said Hansen.
Squire remains an outside chance of becoming a late callup.
He is playing provincial rugby for Tasman after withdrawing from consideration for the All Blacks because he didn’t feel he was ready for test rugby on the back of an injury-plagued season.
Hansen confirmed the ball was now in Squire’s court if he wanted to be considered for the World Cup.
‘‘We’ve got an understanding: if he’s keen, he’ll let me know,’’ explained the coach . . . That means he rings me.
‘‘We’ve got 10 days till we name [the squad]. We’ll have plenty of discussions between now and then, but a lot of the robust ones have been had. We’ve baked a lot of the cake, now it’s about getting it out of the oven and putting a bit of icing on it.’’
All Blacks fullback Beauden Barrett was racked by illness just hours from Saturday night’s Bledisloe Cup redemption mission and had to shake off debilitating stomach pains to put in an 80-minute effort.
Barrett played his part in an outstanding All Blacks response to their 47-26 mauling at the hands of the Wallabies a week earlier in Perth, though yesterday he explained perhaps why he wasn’t quite at the brilliant best we have been accustomed to seeing from him in recent years.
The two-time world player of the year has shifted back to the No 15 spot in a World Cup-year reshuffle designed to have dual playmakers on the field at the same time. It has been a work in progress but yielded its most significant output at Eden Park as the All Blacks crushed the Aussies 36-0, running in five quality tries in wet conditions.
Barrett had a strong tactical kicking game, launched the counter-attack that led to Aaron Smith’s first-half try and was active enough as he totalled 42 running metres from six carries.
The experienced utility back ended up playing the full 80 (including the final quarter at first-five when Richie Mo’unga left the field just ahead of the three-quarter mark with a shoulder injury) and admitted it had been a challenge.
‘‘I kicked the ball quite a bit and probably would have liked to run it a little bit more, but physically I wasn’t feeling well,’’ he said. ‘‘I had some terrible gut pains and some gastro issues.’’
Barrett confirmed the illness only came on a few hours before the game and had cleared up by yesterday. It did not stop him having a ‘‘few slurps’’ out of the Bledisloe Cup as the All Blacks enjoyed their bounceback victory to tuck the big trophy away for a 17th consecutive year.
‘‘Our intent was certainly there,’’ said Barrett of the All Blacks’ best performance of the year by some distance. ‘‘We looked after the ball which gave us more opportunity to play with ball in hand and sometimes kick and play what we see. We’ve been working on quite a few things and we put a lot of them out there.’’
Barrett said a command display by the forwards allowed the All Blacks to unleash a simple but effective wet-weather game that was crucial just a month out from the World Cup.
‘‘We knew the answers would be in the room and we found them. I wouldn’t say it was simple but what we saw out on the park came through simple rugby, just doing the basics right and having the right intent.’’