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'He's so much better than people think': The forgotten All Black at the Chiefs

Sam Crane and Luke Jacobson of the Chiefs celebrate winning the round 14 Super Rugby Pacific match between ACT Brumbies and Chiefs at GIO Stadium, on May 27, 2023, in Canberra, Australia. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)

Chiefs No 8 Luke Jacobson produced a barnstorming display in Canberra against the Brumbies, logging 16 tackles from 18 attempts while clocking 128 metres with ball in hand.

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He demonstrated his smarts with a shortside run off the back of the scrum down an empty Brumbies channel.

Jacobson burned away down the one metre narrow corridor before selling a dummy that fooled two Brumbies, scoring from the 45 metre run.

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The stunning try was in addition to a high work rate performance that caught the eye of ex-All Black Jeff Wilson on Sky Sport’s The Breakdown.

“I’m going to pick players who are playing,” Wilson said of the All Blacks‘ loose forward puzzle.

“This guy Jacobson is going out there and showing some real nice touches and at the moment our options at No 8 are a little bit limited.

“They are limited. It is Ardie Savea, Hoskins, or this [guy]. He is so much better than people think.”

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Jacobson’s All Black career began in 2019 as a late cycle debutant and earnt World Cup squad selection, but injury prevented him from getting to Japan.

He came off the bench in Argentina in the Rugby Championship before starting one Test against Tonga that year.

He didn’t play for the All Blacks in 2020 in the Covid-reduced season but returned in 2021 for 10 Tests.

Again in 2022 he missed the entire All Blacks season and hasn’t featured since a 47-9 victory over Italy.

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Former All Black wing John Kirwan believed Jacobson will be back in black this year but as a versatile option across all three back row positions.

“I’ve taken him as a No 7,” Kirwan said of his 36-man squad.

“I’ve got Savea and Sotutu as the No 8s and I’ve got Sam Cane, Papalii and Jacobson.

“I’ve got Barrett as a No 6, which opens up the lock discussion.

“I think against the big sides in France, you are going to really look at Barrett [at 6] and someone like Akira coming on late when they are tired and he can bring his bit of X-factor.”

 

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3 Comments
G
G 522 days ago

Akira? 😂 😂

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AM 39 minutes ago
'Freelancer' Izaia Perese shows the need for true inclusivity in Australian rugby

That's Cron's job though. Australia has had one of the most penalised scrums in international rugby for a long time. Just look at the scrum win loss percentage and scrum penalties. That is your evidence. AA has been the starter during that period. Pretty simple analysis. That Australia has had a poor scrum for a long time is hardly news. If bell and thor are not on the field they are woeful. So you are just plain wrong. They have very little time for the lions so doing the same old things that dont work is not going to get them there.


Ainsley is better than our next best tighthead options and has been playing well at scrum time for Lyon in the most competitive comp in the world. Superstar player? No. But better than the next best options. So that is a good enough guide. The scrummaging in the Prem is pretty good too so there is Sio's proof. Same analysis for him. Certainly better in both cases than Super, where the brumbies had the worst win loss and scrum pen in Super. Who plays there? Ohh yes... And the level of scrummaging in Super is well below the URC, prem and France with the SA teams out.


Nongorr is truly woeful. He's 130kg and gets shoved about. That just should not be happening at that weight for a specialist prop who has always played rugby cf pone with leauge. He has had enough time to develop at 23. You'd be better off with Pone who is at least good around the field for the moment and sending Nongorr on exchange to France or England to see if they can improve him with better coaching as happened with Skelton and Meafou. He isn't going to develop in time in super if he has it at all.


Latu is a better scrummaging hooker than BPA and Nasser. and he's the best aussie player over the ball at ruck time. McReight's super jackling percentage hasnt converted to international level but latu consistently does it at heniken level, which is similar to test level in the big games. With good coaching at La Rochelle he's much improved though still has the odd shocker. He should start the November games.

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