Why New Zealand moved
The All Blacks’ pairing –‘Bea’unga’ – faces its biggest test today, writes Daniel Schofield in Tokyo
Speaking after New Zealand suffered an apparently seismic 16-9 defeat by Ireland last November, Steve Hansen issued a gentle reminder that there was a lot of water to go under the bridge before the World Cup. “A lot can happen,” Hansen said. “Injuries, brainwaves, sacked coaches, new coaches …”
One injury and one brainwave later, New Zealand prepare to face Ireland in the World Cup quarterfinal today at the Tokyo Stadium with a markedly different back line from 11 months ago. If “Pooper” – Australia’s combination of openside flankers David Pocock and Michael Hooper – was the defining selection of the 2015 World Cup so Hansen’s pairing of Richie Mo’unga and Beauden Barrett at fly-half and full-back – dubbed “Bea’unga” – will determine the All Blacks’ attempt to win three tournaments in a row.
The narrative running through the 2019 Super Rugby season was Richie or Beauden. The debate raged everywhere from pubs to messageboards: the form fly-half who has now won three Super Rugby titles in his first three seasons or the two-time Rugby Player of the Year? Like Tony Blair, Hansen decided there was a third way.
So in July, for the Rugby Championship match against South Africa, Hansen picked both, shifting Barrett to full-back. “It’s probably time,” Hansen said at the time. “We’ve got a plan with a whole lot of things that we want to do before we get to the nitty-gritty business [of the World Cup] and we just felt Saturday’s the right time to try that particular part of the plan. It means taking a few risks but we’re happy to do that. I’ve often said if the reward’s worth the risk, then take the risk.”
In some ways it was a less radical departure than it first seemed. As Hansen observed on Thursday, New Zealand had previously experimented with a second playmaker, by deploying Damian Mckenzie at full-back.
When Mckenzie suffered an anterior cruciate knee ligament injury in April that ruled him out of the tournament, it opened the door for Mo’unga to come in.