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Why Brad Weber missed out on the All Blacks’ World Cup squad
By Finn Morton
When two-time Rugby World Cup winning-captain Richie McCaw revealed the All Blacks 33-man squad to head to France on Monday, three halfbacks walked out onto the stage in Napier.
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Brad Weber wasn’t one of them.
New Zealand rugby is blessed with some truly exciting options at halfback, including the likes of Weber, Folau Fakatava and the injured TJ Perenara. But all three missed on All Blacks selection.
Selectors have stuck with the same three halfbacks who played a role in the All Blacks’ perfect run in both The Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup.
Veteran Aaron Smith has been picked for his third Rugby World Cup, and will travel alongside rising star Cam Roigard and Blues halfback Finlay Christie.
But some rugby fans in Aotearoa wanted to see the All Blacks go in a different direction – in the direction of capable No. 9 Brad Weber. The halfback has impressed in the black jersey before, and came “very close” to selection.
“We’ve got some quality nines at the moment in this country, we believe. He’s like a number of players, we know that if we picked him that he’d do a good job for us,” Foster told reporters.
“We look hard at the skillsets we want and we just really believe we’ve got the three that we need.
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“There’s a uniqueness around Cam. I know he’s young but he brings a left-sided game, he’s a runner.
“Fin managed really well, for parts of that team in the weekend where we weren’t giving him any good ball to play off. But it was also a really strong defensive effort, he was a massive part of that.
“We just look at the different strengths of our nines and it’s always tough on someone.”
Since the squad was named, All Blacks coach Ian Foster has confirmed that Weber has been called up as injury cover alongside flanker Samipeni Finau and uncapped hooker George Bell.
“That was always the plan,” Foster added.
“We’re allowed to have extra players train with us up until we go to France, so we’ll bring Brad, Samipeni and George with us.
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“To be fair, it would have been Asofa Aumua (at hooker) but he pulled a call at the weekend and is out for six to eight weeks.
“In Samipeni’s case, he could potentially be involved in the South Africa game if we feel we can utilise him to manage our lock stock through to the start.”
The All Blacks take on rivals South Africa at Twickenham later this month, and will open their World Cup campaign against tournament hosts and favourites France on September 9 (NZST) in Paris.
I would've picked Aaron, Roigard and Weber for the Rugby Championship squad but that's not how it went, Christie was there and his chances for World Cup selection were boosted by being in the mix and learning their offensive and defensive systems and he didn't do enough wrong to warrant dropping him, the initial bad selection made this the correct selection.
Sometimes recent experience matters more than overall experience, especially in such a crucial playmaking role, that's why they're bringing Brad Weber and George Bell to England, they're both potential call ups in an injury crisis and they need to know those systems whether it's the offensive system for Weber or lineout calls for George.
I agree Schmidt has taken their defensive and offensive systems to a new level this year and not including Weber (despite him playing better than Christie throughout Super Rugby) was the first mistake. I felt Christie did not take his chances during the RC but to compound that earlier mistake by persisting with him now seems high risk. The same might be said for Havili who has not been a part of this year's program (and who didn't shine in Foster's former "systems" despite an incredible rugby brain and skills) - and who now has to get up to speed. However, I feel he should be able to quickly get in to the new systems as they are somewhat similar to the way the Crusaders play - and he always shines there. Hopefully Weber gets up to speed quickly and is ready to go if needed.
This is what makes it a real farce. If Smith goes down immediately prior to a playoff, there isnt the proverbial snowballs chance that they will go with Christie and Roigard. Weber will be in that 9 shirt in a flash with Roigard on the pine.
Fuzzy Fozzie logic is hard to follow. Christies heart and scramble is admirable, especially in defense but his slow delivery and option taking is below true international class.
Hmm, I was appalled when he just shoveled the ball onto Jordan when Stevenson made that big break. Obviously doesn't have the pace of a Roigard to threaten much in that situation but to look half running and deliver it away so quickly? Did Jordan think he had a inside line and could beat everyone with his pace, so call for it? Hard to believe with so much space still between the D line. He's a half back, he should at least run straight a step and deliver a bullet to Jordan's chest or something. Epitomized his threat throughout the whole game.
A good guy and player to have there or there abouts, but not like Perenara level, and certainly not bring as much to the table as Roigard. That back up position could be the sides shortcoming.