How surprise opportunities led Harry Plummer to debut for All Blacks

2024 has been a year of opportunities for Harry Plummer. Before receiving a late call-up to debut for the All Blacks against the Wallabies, Plummer had orchestrated the Blues’ run to the Super Rugby Pacific title after being given a chance to wear the No. 10 jersey.

Stephen Perofeta had suffered a shoulder injury which opened the door for Plummer to steer the ship for the Blues as the team’s chief playmaker. The 26-year-old went on to start 10 matches at first five-eighth, which included a masterful 16-point haul in the Grand Final.

If Perofeta hadn’t suffered that unfortunate injury during the sixth round of the Blues’ quest for title glory then who knows how different the year could’ve looked. Plummer might’ve been kept at 12 or on the bench, and a Test debut for New Zealand might’ve been out of reach.

But it’s these half-opportunities that defined Plummer’s rise to becoming All Black No. 1221 this year. While the flyhalf has only played about four minutes of Test rugby so far, another injury has potentially opened the door for more minutes in the coveted black jersey.

Beauden Barrett has been ruled out of the All Blacks’ next Test.

That’s a huge loss.

Whether you believe ‘Baz’ or Damian McKenzie should wear the No. 10 jumper for the All Blacks is not even a point worth making here. Regardless of how you look at it, the loss of the former two-time World Rugby Player of the Year is an almighty blow before facing Ireland in Dublin.

With McKenize likely to start against the world’s top-ranked side, Plummer has a chance of providing cover off the bench. Plummer has been called into the top squad after Barrett was deemed unavailable, and so has one-Test All Black Ruben Love.

But with Plummer able to cover 10, 12 and 15, the bench has become a speciality for the utility over the years with Auckland in the NPC and the Blues. While it’s by no means a guarantee, that could bode well for Plummer before this highly-anticipated Test at the Aviva Stadium.

“I’m stoked with how it’s all played out,” Plummer told RugbyPass before the second Bledisloe Cup Test in Wellington. “A lot of my opportunities this year have come from injury or illness or whatever from other players.

“It’s probably been a story of my career that I’ve been able to cover so many positions, that I come off the bench and make it quite easy to pick me for a bench player because I can cover a few (positions).

“Stevie (Perofeta) was playing some really good rugby with the Blues, we had some awesome twelves in AJ (Lam), Bryce Heem and Corey Evans… it was really competitive. Obviously, I got my shot when Stevie went down.

“I saw it as a moment to take it and run with it.

“Obviously for that season I was recognised for this and managed to come in and the same thing with my debut, I wasn’t named and then someone goes down and to be able to get my shot, it’s all happened pretty fast.”

The Blues social media team didn’t hide their opinion mere hours after the team’s Super Rugby victory. Accompanying a picture of Plummer with the trophy was the caption “BLACK JERSEY NOW.” That would end up happening, but not right away.

 

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Following another injury to Perofeta, Plummer was called into the All Blacks ahead of The Rugby Championship. The Aucklander travelled with the team to South Africa, but would end up getting a chance to debut for the All Blacks across the ditch in Australia.

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins

2

Draws

0

Wins

3

Average Points scored

22

25

First try wins

60%

Home team wins

20%

Beauden Barrett was initially supposed to start for the All Blacks in the opening Bledisloe Cup Test at Accor Stadium, but an illness ruled the star playmaker out. Plummer was called into the matchday 23 on the morning of that Test.

“I was saying to some of the boys that probably helped that I didn’t have the whole week to overthink anything,” Plummer reflected

“Obviously you stay ready and you stay prepared to play but it’s never really front of mind that you’re going to get a chance so that was pretty cool to have that day and have that moment, being told, and it all happened pretty quickly.

“Sitting on the bench, it sort of felt a little bit like a normal Super Rugby game in way… you’re watching a sport that you’ve grown up playing and love to watch and love to be a part of. But, you catch a glimpse of a fern and it changes your perspective pretty quickly.

“Being told that I was gonna obviously get on was – obviously in the situation of the game it was very much like, ‘Just go on and do your job but have fun at the same time.’ I suppose the enormity hit when you realise how much it means to old boys that were All Blacks, people from Auckland Rugby and the Blues who are messaging you, the family.

“It probably hits home a little bit how much it actually means to people outside of myself. It was a pretty special week.”

Plummer came off the pine quite late in that thrilling Test, and he didn’t have too much to do as the All Blacks closed it out for a tense win. Coach Scott Robertson didn’t pick the playmaker for the next Bledisloe in Wellington, with Plummer later in the All Blacks XV.

Last weekend, Plummer started against Munster and was among the standouts. The Super Rugby winner raced away for a long-range intercept try as just one moment to speak of from an impressive individual showing which has since seen him recalled into the top squad.

 

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Now, Ireland awaits.

Perofeta is arguably the frontrunner to fill the hole left by Barrett’s absence, it could be Plummer or Love who gets a chance.

If ‘Razor’ Robertson picks him to take on the world’s best team, Plummer will look to do what he’s done time and time again this year.

Whether it was the opportunities that came from Perofeta’s injuries, Barrett’s illness, or a start in a representative game against Munster, it’s about making the most of it.

In sport, every moment counts.