Return of the heavy hitters
Steve Hansen wondered aloud on Sunday if there was ‘‘such a thing’’ as an All Blacks’ first XV.
The New Zealand coach knew good and well there was, because four days later he’s named it.
The only issue in between appears to have been Sonny Bill Williams’ illness, which has seen the midfield back included in the reserves to meet South Africa at Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Saturday. Otherwise, injury permitting, this is the side that was always on the cards after last week’s 46-24 win over Argentina in Nelson.
Jordie Barrett returns to fullback, while Ryan Crotty, Rieko Ioane, Beauden Barrett, Aaron Smith, Sam Cane and Liam Squire are among the other notable inclusions. Williams’ health hiccup has seen Anton Lienert-Brown elevated from the bench to partner Crotty in midfield, while Sam Whitelock replaces the injured Brodie Retallick at lock.
The other shift that might generate discussion is that of Ben Smith to the right wing, to accommodate Jordie Barrett’s selection in the 15 jumper. Smith remains a hugely accomplished fullback, while Waisake Naholo has done well on both the right and left wings so far this season.
But Naholo drops out of the 23 completely, with halfback TJ Perenara, Williams and Damian McKenzie, who’ll primarily cover first five-eighth and fullback, the backline players on the bench.
The Springboks come into this game on the back of losses to Argentina and Australia, followed by the unsolicited admission from coach Rassie Erasmus that his job was on the line. Saturday has got ambush written all over it and the All Blacks have tried to plan accordingly.
‘‘We’ve had a good week’s preparation here in the capital, focusing on what we need to bring to the game through our skillsets, the intensity of our play and our energy,’’ Hansen said.
‘‘We know that we’ll have to be at our very best in all these areas to counter an opposition we know will be desperate following their back-to-back losses.
‘‘You just have to look at our last encounter in Cape Town to understand what kind of beast we will be facing,’’ he said.
New Zealand won that 25-24, but it took a huge amount out of them. Even with a fortnight to recover, they looked a tired side in losing their next test 23-18 to Australia in Brisbane.