Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

All Blacks trio return to camp ahead of second Irish test after Covid disruption

(Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)

The three All Blacks stars who missed their side’s series-opening win over Ireland on Saturday have returned to camp ahead of this weekend’s rematch in Dunedin.

ADVERTISEMENT

Speaking to media on Monday, All Blacks first-five Beauden Barrett confirmed that Will Jordan, Jack Goodhue and David Havili, as well as defence coach Scott McLeod, are all back with the squad after being struck down with Covid last week.

As such, all three players were unavailable for selection as the All Blacks romped to a 42-19 victory at Eden Park in Auckland two days ago.

Video Spacer

Aotearoa Rugby Pod | Episode 20

Video Spacer

Aotearoa Rugby Pod | Episode 20

That result sets up a tantalising encounter under the roof of Forsyth Barr Stadium this Saturday, of which Ireland must win in order to keep their hopes of a series win alive.

However, Ireland’s challenge of bouncing back to beat the All Blacks will be made tougher by the imminent returns of Jordan, Goodhue and Havili, all of whom Barrett was pleased to see back in action.

“They’re back, and it’s great to see them back. It was a tough week for those individuals, but we’re back to full-strength, almost, and it’s great to have them,” Barrett said of the Crusaders trio.

“It just means that we can have a really good training week. That’s guaranteed. Last week, we were a little bit down on numbers and had to bring people in, and obviously it brings more experience having Jack, Davey and Will back in the squad.

ADVERTISEMENT

“It’s great for us, so it’s competitive. Who knows, when it comes to selection, who will be out there, but I know everyone’s keen as to get their opportunity.”

As Barrett alluded to, whether any one of Jordan, Goodhue or Havili are fit enough to be picked in the immediate aftermath of their Covid diagnosis remains to be seen.

Even if they are available for selection, all three players face competition from teammates who starred against Ireland last weekend.

Jordan is the likeliest to start if he is free to play, although All Blacks captain Sam Cane said last week that the 2021 World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year isn’t likely to feature until next week’s third test in Wellington.

ADVERTISEMENT

Goodhue and Havili, meanwhile, have a tussle on their hands if they are to dislodge Quinn Tupaea and Rieko Ioane in what is a highly-competitive midfield contingent within the All Blacks squad.

Related

All four players, as well as the uncapped Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, are in the running for game time throughout the series, but Tupaea and Ioane strengthened their cases for selection this week with a pair of impressive performances last weekend.

Tupaea’s physical approach to the game was on full show in a try-scoring appearance at second-five, while Ioane’s defensive presence at centre was reflective of his continual growth in that position since his full-time switch from wing a few years ago.

Therefore, it may be that All Blacks head coach Ian Foster opts to retain Tupaea and Ioane as his primary midfield combination.

In saying that, though, Barrett revealed that the All Blacks have identified some key shortcomings from their first-up win that will need to be addressed leading into this week’s rematch, and that could force some selection changes.

“We want to take our game to another level. We’ve already identified many areas to get better in,” Barrett said.

“Obviously there were some missed opportunities out there on the weekend. Although it was our first go at it, we’d like to improve a lot.”

While Barrett didn’t highlight which areas those improvements needed to be made, Tupaea said post-match on Saturday that the All Blacks needed to raise the bar with their ruck defence heading into the second test.

“We just need to tighten up a bit around our hard D around our rucks. That’s where they’ll get us. Their backs swing from side to side quite well and it’s pretty hard to defend at times,” Tupaea said at the time.

Only time will tell what shape the All Blacks will take this weekend with ruck defence being one of their key concerns in the wake of their victory, but, if anything is certain, it’s that Ireland won’t go down without a fight in the series-decider.

“I’d expect them to bounce back,” Barrett said when asked what to expect of Ireland this weekend.

“They’re such a proud side and they’ll raise their intent again this week because I guess it is do-or-die, the series is on the line this weekend, and we know that they’re coming and we also need to rise as well.

“There’s a lot to learn about the game itself and we’re doing that in these couple of days and getting prepared for a brutal test match.”

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

C
CO 17 minutes ago
Forget Ireland, the All Blacks face the real alpha of Europe next

I cannot believe that you don't think the French rugby team coach and captain are not discussing putting Jalibert on the bench in favour of Duponts club teammate that doesn't even play at 10.


This is a terrible, massive insult to a 10 and I'm sure Dupont would also be very enraged if benched for a player that doesn't even play halfback.


A good captain would've insisted to the coach that it was an idea of madness and either select Jalibert or replace him with another 10 if you want him to be reserve.


Jalibert may not be the world's finest tacklers but that's often not a tens main strength that the loose forwards and second five cover. An intercept pass is never great but they happen.


When any player is playing for his club then it's club first, respect doesn't need to be shown to opposition players simply because they're internationals.


Who exactly are you claiming Jalibert hasn't respected? If it's Toulouse international players then it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this bench demotion out.


The outcome of selecting Jalibert to the bench and he then throwing his croissants out the window of the team bus immediately prior to playing the Allblacks is a disaster that will be team disharmony as any team mates of Jalibert are in a state of anger and revolt so a performance that will be sub optimal against a team that is thirsting for revenge against France.


I don't know about you but the Allblacks are very upset they've lost twice in a row to France and want to put out a statement performance so this preparation by Galthie of creating havoc looks to me like a coach that is clueless.

91 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ Wales 'in one of their deepest holes for a long time' Wales 'in one of their deepest holes for a long time'
Search