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'Someone had to miss out': Why Crusaders and Highlanders loosies missed All Blacks cut

(Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Despite the impressive form of three Crusaders and Highlanders loose forwards, none managed to earn All Blacks selection ahead of next month’s three-test series against Ireland.

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Highlanders duo Shannon Frizell and Marino Mikaele-Tu’u, as well as Crusaders standout Cullen Grace, joined Chiefs star Luke Jacobson as the biggest loose forward omissions at the first All Blacks squad announcement of the year on Monday.

All Black assistant coach John Plumtree explained this came down to certain preferences from the national selectors despite some strong Super Rugby Pacific form from Grace and the uncapped Mikaele-Tu’u.

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Wallabies coach Dave Rennie speaks with the media

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Wallabies coach Dave Rennie speaks with the media

Frizell, who has 17 test caps to his name, also missed the cut despite playing three tests in a disrupted 2021 All Blacks campaign.

This season, Frizell impressed with his physicality and ball-carrying prowess before succumbing to a knee injury that sidelined him for eight weeks.

He only returned little more than a week ago, playing a bench role in the Highlanders’ quarter-final loss to the Blues at Eden Park, but Plumtree said the 28-year-old’s condition isn’t quite where he needs to be.

“Obviously, another player been injured pretty much the whole year. I was pretty happy with his little cameo against the Blues but it’s the only time we’ve got to see him play really,” Plumtree said on Monday.

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“He started the season really well before he got injured. He’s a big man and he needs time to get fit. He’ll just be working hard on that and we’ll keep contact with him.

“We know what he brings to the international game. We’ll just watch him progress his fitness slowly.”

Likewise, Frizell’s Highlanders teammate Mikaele-Tu’u had an impressive Super Rugby Pacific season, but that wasn’t enough to tip the scales in the 24-year-old’s favour.

Instead, Blues star Hoskins Sotutu and Chiefs powerhouse Pita Gus Sowakula have been picked as the preferred No 8 options behind the incumbent Ardie Savea.

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Plumtree spoke particularly highly of Sotutu, who had a breakthrough 2020 campaign before a slight slump in 2021, but has found his groove again this season after working on his game and showing improvement in the areas the All Blacks wanted.

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It’s for that reason that the All Blacks opted to go ahead with the 10-test international rather than Mikaele-Tu’u.

“Marino was good but we didn’t see him as being quite as good as the others at this stage. Hoskins Sotutu, I think he’s played the house down for the Blues this year consistently,” Plumtree said.

“The things that we asked him to work on, he’s gone away and he’s put a real big focus on it. I think the boys have done a real good job with him. Go back to Marino, yep, playing well, but right now we saw Hoskins as just ahead of him.”

The uncapped Sowakula, meanwhile, was the surprise pick in the loose forwards after an eye-catching Super Rugby Pacific season and joins Savea, Sotutu, captain Sam Cane, Dalton Papalii and Akira Ioane as the squad’s back row cover.

Plumtree reasoned that Sowakula’s ability to create go-forward is what led to his selection as they ultimately could not resist what the Fijian-born 27-year-old can bring to the table at a time when international defences are so constricting.

“We’re really excited about him coming into international rugby,” Plumtree said.

“He’s an experienced campaigner. He’s been around for a little bit. I think this year, particularly, we’ve seen him play more consistently and certainly at the start of Super Rugby, he was unbelievable.

“Just loved what he can bring to a game through his power. The fact that in international rugby, momentum is hard to find – especially when defence is so flat.

“Pita Gus is one guy that certainly can dent a [defence] line, if you like. We’re pretty happy with him.”

Sowakula’s selection came at the expense of both Grace and Jacobson, both of whom have been part of previous All Blacks squads.

Jacobson was a part of the All Blacks squad in 2021 and featured in 10 tests during the season, including a start at No 8 against the Springboks on the Gold Coast.

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Plumtree said that it was “tough” to leave Jacobson out, but reaffirmed that the door is open for a return should the chance arise.

“Luke’s been good too. The thing with Luke is he can play in three different positions in the loose forwards which makes him pretty valuable,” Plumtree said.

“Obviously we’ve got Ardie, Dalton can do that [play all across the back row]. It was just really the mix of the loose forwards. Luke’s there, only has to be an injury or two and we’d be going to him, I guess.

“Tough to leave Luke out. Playing consistently well, as well. I guess with the loose forwards in this country, there’s always going to be that, isn’t there? There’s always a number of loose forwards [that are in form].

“Look at the No 8s in all five teams, they’ve been excellent this year so pretty tough decisions to make in those areas.”

That sentiment extends to Grace, who played just one test from the bench in 2020 and has been pushing to reclaim his place in the All Blacks mix since.

Crusaders boss Scott Robertson publicly endorsed his young No 8 last week, saying that he is currently “playing like an All Black” after Grace scored his side’s only two tries in their semi-final win over the Chiefs.

However, that wasn’t enough to convince the All Blacks selectors, who, according to Plumtree, simply preferred other options.

“Cully, he’s been with us before, a couple of years ago, and we know where he fits in from a physicality and skills [point-of-view],” Plumtree said.

“I thought all five No 8s in the country have been playing really good footy and Cully’s been one of them, but, again, it’s just a preference thing.

“Again, we’ve got 13 test matches this year and we’ve got some really good loose forwards in this country and unfortunately someone had to miss out.”

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Comments

3 Comments
G
Graeme 884 days ago

Selection is just three men's opinion, four if you count Fox.

M
Martin 890 days ago

That’s fair enough on Frizell. Honest and direct. Sounds like they want him. They have a clear plan.

D
DarstedlyDan 891 days ago

What is this “it’s just a preference thing”? Surely the selectors can articulate succinctly why they have picked some players, and not others. “Preference” here can mean anything - and nothing. Every time one of the AB coaching group opens their mouths I get worried. Muddled, unclear, self-contradictory thinking. Why reason when a good cliche will do?

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JW 3 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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