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Former All Black captain defends Razor fielding four openside flankers
By Ned Lester
Versatility was a clear requirement from Scott Robertson when making his Rugby Championship squad selections, and nowhere was that fact more apparent than in the loose forwards.
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Over the weekend, the All Blacks bounced back from their loss in Wellington to hand Argentina a 32-point defeat. All four of New Zealand’s back row selections in the matchday 23 had been plying their trade in a No. 7 jersey throughout their respective club seasons.
Dalton Papali’i and reserve Sam Cane are the two who donned their familiar positions on the openside flank, while World Rugby Player of the Year Ardie Savea has resumed control of his No. 8 jersey after a season in Japan playing at seven for the Kolbe Steelers.
Ethan Blackadder is no stranger to the blindside but found his home at openside for the Crusaders after returning from injury.
It’s a trend that was pointed out to former All Blacks captain and loose forward Kieran Read, who said while the players are often employed in the No. 7 jersey, as a unit they can still make a well-rounded unit for the team.
“We do have sevens out there on the field but I don’t think they’re traditional sevens that go out and jackal and win turnovers, I think our sevens offer slightly different things,” Read told The Breakdown.
“Obviously Ardie’s turned into a really great ball-carrying eight and I think the difference with Blacakkder, last night compared to the week before was just his physicality, which is the biggest thing that I think the All Blacks needed.
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“Him alongside Jordie Barrett I thought probably had one of his best games in the 12 jersey, to add a bit of physicality which was 100 per cent needed at an Eden Park that was a bit wet.”
Coming up against one of, if not the best loose forward trio in the world in South Africa will demand an even more industrious performance from the All Blacks back row.
Having faced one of rugby’s all-time performances from Pieter-Steph du Toit in their last contest – the Rugby World Cup final – there’s plenty of firepower to match for the Kiwis.
Unlike that last match between the two famous rivals, the venue will be anything but neutral, with a raucous Johannesburg crowd expected to witness the two teams contest the Freedom Cup showdown.
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Heading into such a hostile environment, Read says the All Blacks must prepare accordingly.
“Experience counts for a lot in those moments with pressure. But, I guess what you have to do is you have to exert a bit of that in training. So, the guys who aren’t in the starting 15 at the time are really trying to behave as much as they can like the opposition you’re playing.
“Those reserve guys setting up the week so the guys are feeling the pressure, feeling the physicality that the South Africans are going to bring in terms of line speed.
“So you do get a bit of that pressure, but then also what we’ve found this week is the guys had all this external pressure coming in after a loss and it’s actually heightened them, it’s actually made them play a lot better. So how do we find that feeling again?
“As leaders, it’s about looking back inside and to you, and then putting that pressure and that high expectation on the guys to go out and perform again, not coming off a loss this time but coming off a good win.
“That’s always that really crucial learning piece that the All Blacks need to keep doing.”
