Injuries, not innovation, are driving change in Scott Robertson’s All Blacks

I couldn’t be happier about Peter Lakai’s elevation to the All Blacks.

The Hurricanes and Wellington loose forward is talented, versatile and capable of adding real value to the national team in the years to come.

But my greatest satisfaction at his selection is derived from what it’s potentially going to force All Blacks coach Scott Robertson into.

Certainly one, maybe two, All Blacks have enhanced their reputation so far this season.

One was the beneficiary of others’ misfortune and the other given greater game time and responsibility due to retirements.

Had Ethan Blackadder been fit, we wouldn’t have seen much of Wallace Sititi in an All Blacks jumper. Maybe a few minutes off the bench, that would’ve been about it.

Now, I assume we’d all agree Sititi has the potential to become a star, at either blindside flanker or No.8.

Equally, Tupou Vaa’i was largely a peripheral figure of previous All Blacks squads. But, thanks to the retirements of Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick, along with injury to Patrick Tuipulotu, Vaa’i has established himself as a mainstay of the starting XV.

Rightly or wrongly, many of us presumed Robertson would be an agent of change, as head coach.

That old methods and players would be discarded and a kind of magical mystery tour would ensue as Robertson, a bit like the fictional character Willy Wonka, took us on a journey through his rugby mind.

In truth, we’ve had no such adventure.

Robertson has stuck steadfastly to established players, from whom he’s extracted mixed results.

It took, particularly in Sititi’s case, injury to one of Robertson’s favoured players in order for something different to occur.

I look at the All Blacks and see a pretty tired product. I see no vigour, no innovation. Plenty of guys who’ve been tried, and often failed, on the international stage, but nothing that suggests a concerted plan to achieve 2027 Rugby World Cup success is in place.

This team needs to be regenerated but, on the evidence of the first few months, it appears as if only injury will provide the impetus for change.

With Blackadder, Luke Jacobson and Dalton Papali’i not fit enough to be considered for selection against Japan next week, Robertson has been obliged to think outside the box.

Sure, he’s still carrying Sam Cane and TJ Perenara around for reasons that make no sense, but at least Lakai is getting some kind of look in.

In a broader sense, that’s what I want to see from this end-of-year tour. I want to see guys who haven’t been regulars in the matchday 23 actually start important tests and for us all to see if there are other options the selectors could explore.

I don’t see the point in ever selecting Sevu Reece, quite frankly. Just as I think we’ve seen all that Rieko Ioane, Anton Lienert-Brown, Jordie Barrett and Damian McKenzie have to offer this team.

I struggle to see what’s gained from playing people like Ardie Savea, Scott Barrett and Codie Taylor in these upcoming test matches which – at the end of the day – don’t actually count for anything.

The All Blacks, as they’re constructed now, aren’t good enough to win the next World Cup. They need new players and new ideas.

If Robertson does have a unique take on rugby, then I’m baffled as to why we haven’t seen it yet. His selections have been conservative in the extreme, almost as if he’s frightened to upset some of the more seasoned players.

Well, guys such as Sititi and Vaa’i have shown that there is something to be gained and things to be learned by selecting players who might not have been your first choice.

The team has arguably improved in the process.

There are guys in the squad who are incumbents for a reason and who will still play an integral part in the next World Cup campaign.

In the meantime, though, Robertson should look at the next couple of years as an opportunity to find out exactly how good the likes of Lakai are.