Many combinations possible in outside backs for All Blacks
THE intrigue around the All Blacks outside backs is not going to let up even though the makeup of the personnel is known for the series against France next month.
While the list of candidates to play has been narrowed to five, only three can start and there are many permutations that make sense.
The only fixed element is that Rieko Ioane and Ben Smith have to start. That is not up for debate.
But the positions they play is. Smith has fluctuated between wing and fullback in his test career and he has been equally brilliant in both.
His preference is fullback and if he is played there, with Ioane on the left wing, then the issue will be finding the balance on the right. Do the selectors opt for another power wing in Waisake Naholo or the fast feet and allround footballing skills of Nehe MilnerSkudder?
A different approach again could be to use Smith on the wing to inject the height and goalkicking of Jordie Barrett at fullback.
In all likelihood, at least two different options will be looked next month and it is possible that all five outside backs will get game time.
After that, the equation will change again as Israel Dagg will most likely have returned to full fitness.
He has barely played since damaging his knee last year and he has been told by the selectors that when he does return — maybe this week — he is going to have to prove himself all over again.
That will be nothing new to Dagg who has proved resilient. He missed the 2015 World Cup only to bounce back in 2016 in the best form of his career.
His advantage is that he brings a different set of skills to the others with whom he is competing.
He has an enormous kicking game and proven brilliance under the high ball, while he can also pop up at firstreceiver and play just as comfortably at fullback.
When he is in form, running freely and confident, Dagg, as was the case in 2016, is difficult to leave out of the team.
He has been charged with getting himself back to that sort of form in the next month or so and to press his claim to return for the Rugby Championship.
The door should not be considered shut on Ben Lam either, who remains a player of sig nificant interest.
Super Rugby’s top tryscorer has been in stunning form this year and he missed selection not because he was not considered good enough, but because the selectors wanted variation after deciding that Ioane and Naholo were certainties.
‘‘Obviously really close,’’ All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said about how much consideration they gave to picking the Hurricanes wing.
‘‘Ben Lam has had an outstanding season. But people around the country tell us, ‘Oh, you are going to have to pick so and so and so and so and I go who do you want do you want us to leave out?’
‘‘And there is always a deathly silence because I don’t want to leave anyone out . . .
‘‘We have gone with Wais [Naholo] and Rieko [Ioane] who is not a bad player. There are a couple of blokes there who are our big wingers and Ben Smith can play on the wing pretty handily as well.
‘‘So we looked and asked do we need another big guy or do we want someone who can change it up a bit and give us something different and Nehe does that.’’ — NZME