The 'damaging' loose forwards staking their All Blacks claim

A question familiar to All Blacks fans in the Ian Foster era is that of the starting loose forward trio, balancing the explosive power game that some players possess with the needs of the lineout and set-piece game and everything in between has proven a challenge that is yet to be fully resolved with the World Cup just six months away.

In 2022, Shannon Frizzel and Scott Barrett shared the bulk of minutes at No 6, while Dalton Papali’i made himself at home in the No 7 after an injury to captain Sam Cane towards the tail end of the international season. Luke Jacobson and Akira Ioane were further squad members while 2023 Highlanders captain Billy Harmon was brought into the camp later as injury cover.

The common denominator was Ardie Savea, the No 8 was ferociously dominant off the back of the scrum and earned himself the All Blacks player of the year. Savea’s consistency and impact left little time for apparent second choice No 8 Hoskins Sotutu, who struggled to find his feet in limited minutes.

Savea may lack some size compared to rival No 8’s but his physicality is unquestionably worthy of international No 8 status. His height however does add an extra consideration when selecting the No 6, while Savea is still a solid option in the lineouts, a little extra height in another jumping option is preferable to maintain the All Blacks’ high standards at set piece.

That’s where Barrett, a lock, had the upper hand over his blindside flanker peers. That being said, former Hurricane loose forward Gordon Simpson went in a different direction when selecting his preferred starting loose forward trio for the All Blacks’ first international Test of the year.

“Blackadder would obviously start at six, I think he’s been (great),” Simpson told SENZ’s Hurricane Valley.

“I’d put obviously Ardie at eight, (but) the seven … I mean Papali’i’s obviously the incumbent I think at the moment (and then there is) Sam Cane.

“It’s a tough one within those two because do you take the captaincy back to Sam Cane and put him in there and then bring Dalton off sort of as a bench player because he can probably play open and blind?

“I’d probably put Cane in there just because of experience and because of his captaincy and his leadership within the team.

“They’d be the three at the moment, but you could easily change Papali’i over for Cane and sort of have those other two with him.

“At the moment that’s where I’d see it.”

Ethan Blackadder missed the 2022 international season due to a dislocated shoulder, although has picked up right where he left off and could reprise his starting role with the All Blacks after playing in both the No 6 and No 7 jerseys in 2021. As Simpson points out, Blackadder isn’t the only one with that versatility, Dalton Papali’i also featured at both blind and openside in 2022 and provides the impact player role in Simpson’s theoretical team.

While Savea’s selection is a given for many Kiwi fans, Simpson admits Blues youngster Hoskins Sotutu doesn’t make that No 8 selection so easy after the form he’s opened the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season with.

“Hoskins Sotutu is very close,” he added.

“It’s a toughie between him and Ardie at the moment, I think they’re both playing really well and both quite damaging at the moment.

“It’s still early days but there are certainly guys that are holding their hand up at the moment.”