Lienert-Brown to manor born in the midfield
Talented rookie has impressed all and sundry since stepping up, reports Marc Hinton.
Hand up if you had Ryan Crotty and Anton Lienert-Brown as your first-choice All Blacks midfield at the start of this remarkable campaign. If your digits are pointing skywards, you’re a genius.
The pair started their third straight test together in last night’s Bledisloe Cup against the Wallabies at Eden Park, and it’s a combination as unlikely as it has been wildly successful.
Crotty you might have had at a pinch, especially if you’re the sort that rates hard-working, error-free, glue-guy, cerebral midfielders as important in a backline. You know, the Conrad Smith type.
Certainly, the feeling was that Charlie Ngatai and Sonny Bill Williams both possessed superior attacking talent as No 12s, but when they were both removed from the equation this year through injury, Crotty has proven a more than adept alternative. He has started nine of the 10 tests this season and, frankly, has barely put a foot wrong.
Then there’s Lienert-Brown. He wasn’t even in the first-choice Chiefs midfield through this year’s Super Rugby campaign, only stepping into a regular spot when Ngatai went down with the concussion that he’s still battling.
But as an age-grade standout (he had two years in the under-20s, the last as captain) the 21-year-old had been on the All Blacks radar, and when he started to string the big games together late in Super Rugby his name entered the discussion.
But, really, he’s an anachronism. A surprise selection in an era when nearly every fine young All Blackin-waiting is heavily signposted. We all know that Rieko Ioane is going to get there before long (and his older brother, too, for that matter), and the same went with Ardie Savea. These guys are groomed, integrated, introduced long before they’re needed for a test match.
But Lienert-Brown’s whirlwind rise had that feeling of unexpectedness, of freshness, of roll the dice and come up a winner about it. Yes, the kid had talent, and is still scratching the surface of his abilities. But who knew he could be this good?
‘‘We’ve been following him, as we do with a number of players, through the age-group stuff, and we’ve known about him for a while,’’ All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster said. ‘‘It became a matter of at what point do we bring him in? It was his form post-June in a couple of big games, he really looked like he was settling in. That was when we decided he was one for us.’’
Lienert-Brown (dubbed Alby) has jumped all over his chance. He started at 12 against the Wallabies in Wellington, then came off the bench in the home tests against Argentina and South Africa, before starting the road games in Argentina and South Africa at centre.
He has looked for all money born for test rugby. He has run hard, elusively, offloaded with precision and handled every challenge thrown his way. His combination with Crotty has quickly settled into something that appears to be bringing the best out in both men.
‘‘He’s just doing his thing really, really well,’’ noted Crotty before last night’s test.
‘‘His strength is in the carry, and his ability to offload, and he’s running some great lines. It’s nice to be able to run off him at times and try and pick what he’s going to do.
‘‘He’s just going out there and doing his job really well, and that’s why the perception is we’re playing as a good combination.’’
Foster said the All Blacks coaches had been suitably impressed by his ability to take on some new things but still retain his natural game.
‘‘We’ve been working on a couple of little skill areas with him, and the good thing is whilst he’s making some gains in some of his running lines and stuff, he is still able to keep his own instincts about how he wants to play.
‘‘His offload game has been good, he’s got quick feet, and he’s handled the introduction to test level really, really well.’’
But Foster emphasises that the challenges will keep coming for a young man now well and truly on the scouting reports.
‘‘He’s going to be a lot more analysed, and people are going to be working on how to shut him down. His challenge now is the same as every player when they come in and make a big impact early − to not get complacent and keep figuring out how they can keep improving.’’
Head coach Steve Hansen noted what he saw as his young midfielder’s principal quality.
‘‘What’s impressed us is his demeanour under pressure; he’s got the ability to cope with it. His skill sets are complementing what we’re trying to do in his combination with Crotts.
‘‘In Alby’s case it’s just a matter of growing him all the time. He’s not the finished product by any stretch of the imagination but he’s shown us plenty and he’s getting reward for that.’’