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Who's the best number 9 in New Zealand? It's an increasingly tricky question
By
Jamie Wall
The number 9 jersey is perhaps the most wide-open position in New Zealand rugby at the moment, writes Jamie Wall, and the weekend’s Super Rugby showed it could also be the most heavily stacked.
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Last weekend was not a great one for New Zealand rugby fans. As well as seeing the All Blacks’ win record equalled by England after just a few months, we had to endure a couple of pretty average Super Rugby derbies that kind of gave the impression maybe we’re not as great as we think we are.
Admittedly, the Chiefs and Hurricanes weren’t helped by weather in Hamilton that, in the old days, would have called for rounding up two of every animal onto an ark. The Blues and Highlanders had less excuse on a humid night in Auckland.
There was a bright side to all this, however. Despite the conservative tactics and sloppy handling, the two dirge-fests did throw up a few interesting cases when it comes to All Blacks selection. Unfortunately (or fortunately, however you want to look at it), they were all in the same position: Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Augustine Pulu, TJ Perenara and Aaron Smith all had commanding performances at the base of the scrum.
Perenara and Kerr-Barlow locked horns in Hamilton on Friday night, where the conditions played into the latter’s favour. TKB’s kicking led directly to the Chiefs’ decisive second try, and his tackling in the heavy traffic around the rucks was phenomenal. Meanwhile, TJ’s try showed the fight of a guy who doesn’t see the problem in bumping off a guy who could probably eat him for dinner, after last week throwing a nonchalant no-look pass in the lead up to what might end up being the try of the season.
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Aaron Smith has, for reasons only known to the sexually repressed part of the New Zealand public, been under a fair bit of scrutiny since late last year and it’s fair to say his performances on the field have suffered. Saturday night saw him remind everyone that his kicking from the base of the ruck is still very effective – especially if you’re playing a game plan of picking on an inexperienced fullback and a first five that can’t catch.
On the other side of the ruck, Gus Pulu tried his best to run through the Highlanders defence, even though he was getting hardly any help from his teammates. A break late in the game could’ve been the turning point in a game neither side actually looked like wanting to win.
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There were actually two more good performances in the one decent game involving a New Zealand side, in Brisbane. Against the Reds, the Crusaders duo of Mitch Drummond and Bryn Hall combined for all of the visitors’ tries – Hall’s second up against the base of the post a reminder to all of the sneaky nature of a good number 9.
So who will run out in the halfback spot when the All Blacks take on the Lions in June? Right now it’s probably the most open and stacked position in the NZ game, and each Super Rugby team can boast a guy for any scenario, be it wet, dry, open or conservative.
Eventually, only two will get the nod on game day, but at least the rest can probably look forward to their potential French salaries having an extra couple of zeroes next to them.
