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Why Liam Squire will be sorely missed by the All Blacks and NZ rugby

(Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

After two years of battling persistent injuries to his knee and hip, former All Blacks star Liam Squire has made the decision to call time on his days as a rugby player.

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Prioritising his health and well-being, the 30-year-old will now step away from the game that gave him 23 test caps for the All Blacks, almost half a century of Super Rugby appearances, an NPC title and a brief cameo in Japan’s Top League.

That’s a decent knock befitting a player who, when at the peak of his powers, was easily one of the most destructive players in New Zealand, if not worldwide.

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Former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika talks about handling pressure

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Former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika talks about handling pressure

You’d be a brave man to front up to the challenge of trying to stop a rampant Squire at full tilt – he was pretty rapid for a big guy – and you’d probably join the majority of those who tried and failed to do so.

Fiji and Melbourne Rebels halfback Moses Sorovi experienced that first-hand when he was used as a doormat in the lead-up to a Squire try while playing for the Reds against the Highlanders in Brisbane three years ago.

Likewise, former Springboks wing Raymond Rhule will still be having nightmares about trying to bring Squire to a halt from most kick-offs and restarts during the infamous 57-0 Albany thrashing at the hands of the All Blacks in 2017.

Rhule looked so intimidated by the fearlessness and aggression of Squire’s ball-carrying that he seemed content with just stepping aside and flinging his arms out in a reluctant, half-hearted attempt to stop the human bulldozer.

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That, of course, ended with Squire swatting Rhule, who appeared desperate to avoid the consequence of defending an athlete as powerful as the former loose forward, aside with ease in what proved to be the Ghanian-born speedster’s last test match.

Such frail defence is rarely seen in test rugby, especially in matches between the All Blacks and Springboks, but fear can do funny things to people, and that was clearly what Squire instilled in the minds of his opponents.

That fear extended to those who were forced to endure the discomfort of coming into contact with Squire’s shoulder whenever he was on defence. The rugged nature of his attacking play was equally as damaging in the defensive side of his game as well.

It wasn’t uncommon to see Squire fly into tackles with minimal regard for his own safety, and the outcome was often spectacular.

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More than that, his uncompromising defensive attitude was certainly effective in thwarting opposition attacks, and a highlights reel of his biggest hits would make for top-drawer viewing.

Those aspects of his game will make Squire a dearly missed figure as he enters a probable post-playing career in farming, but perhaps no team will feel as empty-handed by his sudden retirement as the All Blacks.

Yes, it is the Highlanders who have drawn the short straw in this situation given Squire has hung up his boots halfway through a two-year deal in his second stint with the Dunedin-based franchise.

However, based on the evidence of their most recent showings against the Springboks, it is the All Blacks who might have benefitted the most from Squire’s explosive array of skills.

Outmuscled by South Africa’s bully-boy forward pack, the All Blacks were exposed in that they were bereft of hard-hitting enforcers who could stand up to and impose themselves on the Springboks like Squire could.

It was partly what cost them the match on the Gold Coast a fortnight ago, and, truth be told, New Zealand haven’t had a player of Squire’s ilk since he withdrew himself from World Cup contention in 2019 due to injuries and personal reasons.

With four of their next five matches coming against European opposition whose emphasis on forward dominance echoes that of the Springboks, the All Blacks sure would have benefitted from Squire’s services, had he been fully fit, over the next few weeks.

If all went to plan, All Blacks boss Ian Foster could have had him back in the black jersey as Squire outlined his desire to return to the top level of the game upon confirmation of his return to the Highlanders at the end of last year.

It wasn’t to be, though, meaning the All Blacks will have to make do with the likes of Akira Ioane and Shannon Frizell in the No 6 jersey against the Springboks and Europe’s elite.

As for Squire, retirement will provide him with the private way of life he prefers and is far more comfortable with than the highly-publicised role as a professional rugby player in New Zealand.

Swapping the footy field for acres of pasture suits him well, but you must wonder how much more there was to come from Squire, for the All Blacks and Highlanders, had injuries not prevailed.

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Comments

1 Comment
D
DP 1118 days ago

Fielding Frizell and Sevu Reece would mean that the All Blacks would shamelessly play two wife beaters all in the name of winning. Disgusting.

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Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 3 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

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