Barrett on flank, Cane to bench for semifinal
TOKYO: Scott Barrett has been surprisingly named to start at blindside flanker for the All Blacks in their Rugby World Cup semifinal against England on Saturday, with Ardie Savea shifting to the openside of the scrum.
Sam Cane, who had operated in a twinopenside combination with Savea since the All Blacks match against Australia in Perth in August, has dropped to the bench for the clash at Yokohama Stadium.
Barrett, who normally plays at lock, spent about 15 minutes of the 4614 quarterfinal win over Ireland last Saturday playing in the No 6 jersey in what coach Steve Hansen said had been a tactical decision.
A year ago he came on against England early in the second half at Twickenham to give the All Blacks extra options at the lineout, where they subsequently caused all sorts of disruption on England’s throws.
The 25yearold’s inclusion in an otherwiseunchanged starting side from that which beat Ireland adds an extra dimension to the All Blacks lineout and some additional size in the collision area.
Patrick Tuipulotu will come on to the bench as the specialist lock replacement. Cane’s move to the bench has meant there was no place for Shannon Frizell, who had been tipped to replace the injured Matt Todd as loose forward cover.
Todd injured his shoulder against Ireland and Hansen ruled him out of contention for the semifinal earlier in the week.
‘‘The team is exactly where we want to be, mentally and
physically ahead of the weekend’’, Hansen said yesterday.
‘‘In these moments pressure is bandied around quite readily . . . pressure is always there whenever you play quality opposition.
‘‘It’s about how you handle that in the moment and not getting distracted.’’
All Blacks captain Kieran Read, who missed training earlier in the week with a calf muscle injury, was named for his 126th test.
Hansen retained his backline, with an average age of 25, which will be anchored by Beauden Barrett at fullback and Richie Mo’unga at first fiveeighth in the dualplaymaker role the coach has preferred in the past 18 months.
Sonny Bill Williams will come off the bench to provide punch in the midfield in the second half. — Reuters