If there is anything New Zealand rugby wants to avoid now, it is a repeat of the anguish of the Ian Foster saga, in those three navel-gazing years between 2020 and 2022. The melodrama linked to the selection of the All Blacks’ backline is one legacy ‘Razor’ Robertson would happily pass up.
Ahead of the 2023 World Cup, it took a whole lot of time and some seismic see-sawing, plus the arrival of Joe Schmidt as attack coach, to provide some clarity and mould the back-line that eventually pitched up in France. As the debates sharpened on a knife-edge between March 2022 and June the following year, I found myself writing no less than 10 separate articles on Rugby Pass+.
They ranged across all aspects of the discussion: there were a couple written exactly 12 months apart, on the breathless priming of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck for the #12 jersey in time for the start of the World Cup, and another lauding Anton Lienert-Brown’s value as a ‘glue’ player in the mould of Conrad Smith. https://www.rugbypass.com/plus/times-running-out-as-the-great-roger-tuivasa-sheck-debate-rages-on/ [March 2023] was the last of four pieces pushing the claims of Jordie Barrett to shift from full-back to second five-eighth in the All Blacks.
At the time, New Zealand appeared to be obsessed with cramming as much X-factor on to the pitch as possible, and it tended to ignore players who played a more understated role, doing the dirty work and making those around them look better and more connected, but without demanding the spotlight themselves. The starting midfield for most of the losing 2022 series against Ireland featured two full-backs at first and second five-eighth and a wing at centre. I summarized it in the article as follows:
“For the last six years, New Zealand have increasingly reached towards X-factor, rather than players steeped in the technical and physical demands of play at numbers 10, 12 and 13, to provide the quality in the spots DC [Dan Carter], ‘Rock’ [Ma’a Nonu] and ‘the Snake’ [Conrad Smith] vacated.
They converted a player [Beauden Barrett] who started his international career as a full-back or utility into a number 10, they unearthed an outstanding left wing against the 2017 British & Irish Lions [Rieko Ioane] and recast him as a centre, and they moved a man who had played the majority of his rugby at fullback [David Havili] into second five-eighth.”
Moving Jordie Barrett from 15 to 12 provided the best of all possible solutions. Jordie had the size and the power to be the work-horse runner that Havili and RTS clearly were not cut out to be, and he was a more solid defender to boot. He also offered X-factor via his big offloading and kicking games.
Barrett’s selection at #12 also had an important knock-on effect. It meant committing to a specialist [Richie Mo’unga] at first five-eighth and going back to the future at full-back, by relocating Beauden Barrett to the position he originally occupied when he first entered the Test rugby arena https://www.rugbypass.com/plus/a-tale-of-two-flyhalves/ [June 2023].
With the return of Will Jordan and David Havili, and the addition of Ruben Love to his squad for the Rugby Championship, Razor will enjoy an overflow of multi-positional X-facto
Many of the same selection dilemmas and temptations still exist for Scott Robertson. The Gordian Knot of striking the right balance between X-factor and more ‘glue’ players who promote unit health and well-being is still a live leftover from the Fozzy era. As NBA legend Michael Jordan once pointed out: “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.”
With the return of Will Jordan and David Havili, and the addition of Ruben Love to his squad for the Rugby Championship, Razor will enjoy an overflow of multi-positional X-factor, but how and where will he find the invisible thread of teamwork and intelligence that joins them all together? It is not the flavour of the raw spices, but the blending of them together that counts.
Three positions in the backline will fall under the most intense scrutiny. Incumbent first five-eighth Damian McKenzie is now 29 years-old and he has made eight starts for the All Blacks at #10 compared to 23 at #15; at the age of 27, Rieko Ioane’s starts at centre [25] are still outnumbered by his run-on appearances on the left wing [28]. The 33-year-old version of Beaudy Barrett is expected to come under pressure from Will Jordan at full-back, even though the Crusaders’ man has only made one of 28 Test starts there.
Razor is firmly welded to the idea of Will Jordan as the #15 for a new generation of All Black rugby, a notion I first explored back in May 2023 https://www.rugbypass.com/plus/how-the-crusaders-are-preparing-will-jordan-to-wear-no-15-for-the-all-blacks/ when Robertson was still coaching the Crusaders. These were Razor’s words after the squad announcement for the Rugby Championship:
“He is [first and foremost] a full-back that can play wing, he can cover there.
“We are really fortunate with Beaudy’s form, he’s come in super-hot.
“We have got a game this week for Will, it’s his first game in a long, long time so he’s going to have to perform straight away and own it, [to] get back to a Test match level.
Beaudy is absolute class, and we’ll get him on the field where we can. His quality is ‘you just put me where you need me to be coaches’, and he’s done that so well for us.
Scott Hansen
“I am really big on players playing two positions; their preferred position and another position. Things change really quickly, and the utility factor is critical.”
No problem with multi-positional versatility hypothesis, but is Rieko Ioane really a better centre than Anton Lienert-Brown or Billy Proctor? Would he contribute more from the left wing? If Beauden Barrett is indeed ‘super-hot’, why not accommodate a returning Will Jordan on the right? Which of the pair will glue D-Mac more reassuringly to the #10 hotseat?
Razor’s assistant Scott Hansen unwittingly hinted at the negatives as much as he reinforced the positives when he said:
“Beaudy is absolute class, and we’ll get him on the field where we can.
“His quality is ‘you just put me where you need me to be coaches’, and he’s done that so well for us.
“The way he has led our weeks. The clarity and composure – whether that be at 10 or fullback, the influence he has had on this group has been massive the last three Tests.
“He has the ability to play 10 and lead us around the field as a first ball-player, [but] he also has quality of control as a full-back as well.
“You’ve seen the way we play, it’s very likely Beauden is on one side of the ruck with ‘D-Mac’ [Damian McKenzie] on the other, so we see those roles as having the ability to influence our attack.”
If he’s that good, why move him at all? Especially if Will Jordan’s kicking game from the back is still a work-in-progress, especially if he cannot make play on the opposite side of the ruck as well as Beaudy.
When Barrett entered the fray in the 49th minute of the second Test against England, the complexion of the game changed completely. On the scoreboard, New Zealand posted the last 11 points of the match to overhaul a 17-13 lead. On the field, Barrett took the game by the scruff of the neck and shook it, until it bled black. D-Mac moved from the centre to the periphery, to second receiver on attack, to full-back in defensive situations. Beaudy was the main man:
When the All Blacks wanted control via the kicking game, their go-to guy was Barrett, not McKenzie:
With D-Mac doing the kicking, big England full-back Freddie Steward was able to mask his relative lack of lateral speed and mobility, with Barrett at first receiver it became impossible to disguise.
In previous seasons for the Chiefs, D-Mac was often at his most lethal when shifting to second receiver outside either Bryn Gatland or Josh Ioane in the late-game, and the same trick worked a treat to turn the tables on England in the final quarter at Eden Park.
The pair also presented a more seamless defensive blanket in the backfield than the starting combo of McKenzie and Stephen Perofeta:
Could Will Jordan have defended with any more athletic dexterity or better footballing instincts? Probably not. You want D-Mac and Beaudy playing as a pair, you want to give them a shot at demonstrating their synergy from the very beginning of games:
For the three years between 2020 and 2022, Fozzy was running at a 65.5% win rate versus opponents from the Rugby Championship and the Six Nations. It was a dark night of the soul for New Zealand rugby. For All Black supporters fed on a rich diet of victory heaped upon victory – 85% plus during the Henry and Hansen years – that was poor pickings indeed.
Although the All Blacks eventually righted the ship before the 2023 World Cup with the help of Joe Schmidt, the same shadowy selection dilemmas remain for new head coach Scott Robertson. The Kiwi back-line is overflowing with talent, especially in the back three, and there will be a strong temptation to include an excess of X-factor players, some of them in sub-optimal positions.
As always, temptation should be resisted. If that means Will Jordan returning to the team as a wing, and Rieko Ioane shifting out one spot from the centre, so be it. Damian McKenzie thrives on the support offered by Beauden Barrett as a playmaker, and as his partner in the defensive backfield. Every brick needs some mortar.
As Baseball hitting legend Babe Ruth explained, “The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club ain’t worth a dime.”
My New Zealand backline for The Rugby Championship: 15. Beauden Barrett 14. Will Jordan 13. Anton Lienert-Brown 12. Jordie Barrett 11. Mark Telea/Rieko Ioane 10. Damian McKenzie 9. Cortez Ratima
RIP Alun Carter
The sad news of Alun Carter’s passing was announced yesterday. He was only 59 years old and he left this world doing what he loved the most, running across the hills on the Blorenge, in his beloved Gwent uplands.
Alun was a work colleague for over 20 years, and we worked together on a Lions tour, in Wales’ first Grand Slam for 27 years, and collaborated on two award-winning books. As a work-mate he was stimulating and sympathetic, but he was an even better friend.
His honesty, loyalty and kindness will be sorely missed by all those fortunate enough to know him in this lifetime. I can still picture him now, always running across some far horizon into the endless distance, always there when you needed him most. Friend for Life.
Great article Nick. Reminds me of that piece you wrote on Alex Nankivell and being that glue in midfield. Wish the AB‘s had of given him a chance.
Yep that one sprang to my mind whne I was writing it!
Maybe my kiwi mate was right. Robertson not all he is cracked up to be. A bit like Deans, mollycoddled by the Crusaders very good systems.
Or NZ rugby's obsession with sabotaging their nearest neighbours with their coaches has come back to bite them by lowering the local standard.
Ersamus could see this happening I reckon and wisely diverted the Bok players to Europe.
Not about Kiwi coaches in Aussie John.🙄
Sorry for your loss Nick. ALB has been an unappreciated back in New Zealand. Graham Henry would have loved him I reckon.
One of the ABs best in defeat to Argy M!
Articles on point as usual. I have actually just finished watching the English 6N series this week to get a better idea of how these two games went (I know, boredom much? But they were actually fun games).
Nisbo asked his team after 30 minutes whether or not they had seen anything different in the All Blacks play under Robertson. Mils stumbled on that question. Myself, I had thought that we could have been 30 points up by that stage of the game. To me that was great and a drastically visible turnaround from the recent 3 games of last years (let alone 21/22's) rugby. However, having watched those 6N games, that pretty much was the case for Englands opposition in every one of them, they were leaving holes and space all over the place. Looking back now I actually think we played rather 'directly' into their hands (that was my thought at the time as well but only in terms of an AB weakness, not an England one). Englands punch on attack was also there throughout the series and to me made New Zealands defensive scorelines look no better than Italy's, Wales, or Scotland (ie a pretty ordinary standard).
Do you think that the English were a little more structured, on defence particularly, by the time they had reached New Zealand Nick? On attack, there was a lot of pre talk about Furbank, but he made as many mistakes as Steward did during the 6N, and while he has a different dynamic, I thought it was that which Immanuel brought which might have been the biggest improvement. Conversely though I thought the back three (loosies) were much more threatening in Europe, aside from perhaps what Chandler brought here.
I'm happy to move on personally. You're examples from Beauden exemplify the X-factor you are talking about, his classic solo kick chases, it was great to see him running onto the ball again. Personally I can't wait to go back to a more rounded fullback like Jordan.
Yes Felix Jones' D patterns were a lot more embedded by the time they reached Aotearoa JW. And I think England will persist with Furbnak - or another full-back like him. It gives them so much more on counter-attack.
I don't agree Will Jordan is a more rounded FB than Beaudy though. I'm not convinced he has the same ability to play as a 1st receiver or possesses a quality kicking game.
the AB's main coaching staff of Macdonald (Blues/AB'sXV), Holland ('Canes), Hansen ('Saders), Ryan ('Saders/AB's) and Robertson ('Saders/AB's)...have first hand knowledge of many of the players and the skill sets each one brings into the squad... but the Where, What and by Whom game plan they decide on is Razors call...Go the AB's...always seeking a strategy to their advantage...or not...
It'sw certainly more coaches than any other team on the planet B! Whether that becomes a debit or credit will only become evident over time...
Foster followed Hansen's lead of picking the best 15 players then fitting them onto a rugby field. I'm hoping that Razor will pick the best team. My ten cents is that Reiko is much better at 11 than 13. If fullback is to be a second play maker then BB over Jordan, but Jordan is probably also the best wing. I know that the game has evolved, but if 15 is now an evolved 10, we probably wouldn't ever have seen Christian Cullen running a rugby ball back at a broken defensive line.
With DMac at 10 you probably need a second playmaker at the back, and let's face it BB is almost as good at running ball back as CC! Almost.
Today some analyst or coach would be putting up statistics and videos on why Christian Cullen should be playing right wing to make room for Carlo Spencer at fullback to create dual playmakers with Andrew Mehrtens at 10.
Condolences on your loss, Nick. And thanks for another insightful article. As a Bok supporter, that backline makes me decidedly nervous.
Thanks P. Al was a good man in the old style.
The backline looks pretty darn solid doesn't it. Funnily enough, I wrote the piece last weekend, and ALB is now at centre, BB at full-back and Rieko an 'impact sub'!
That's a great looking backline Nick, a solid smart midfield platform with plenty of pace to unleash on the outsides and inside. Plenty of play-makers dotted throughout too. Lacks a bit of power perhaps but you can't have everything.
Sorry to hear about your mate Alun, may he rest in peace.
Thanks L. Ted knows him well as he brought him as analyst with Wales in 1998.
Yes the #13 the role has changed a lot nowadays - the days of the 13 putting his wing away down the sideline are largely a thing of the past, the spot is much more physical and tighter...
That was the real issue for Rieko - he is at his best in the outside third of the field and he didn't get the ball in his hands there from 13 often enough.
Robertson has spoken about horses for courses many times and being flexible and adaptable - Maybe there will never be a settled XV or 23, and it will be changed to best execute whatever game plan they think will work against a given opposition.
Ireland, SA, and France all pose very different challenges - does it make sense to have the same 23 against all of them?
Robertson had a very settled starting XV in each of his 7 SR championship seasons, most rotation was injury enforced or on the bench.
It's still nice to know your top XV though N.
There can always be variations, but in a settled side 12 or 13 of the guys pick themselves,
Thanks for the tribute to Alun Carter, Nick ... as you know, he was one of my closest pals (first got to know him when we were in our early teens) and the news of his passing has come as a terrible shock to us all. That last paragraph of yours is particularly moving and poignant.
Thanks Steve, yes we can ill afford to lose such ppl from the game and keep its integrity.
I seem to remember Ioane himself was the main driver of his switch to centre. It didn't appear that he was a coach's project, so much as he dictated terms. It was at a time when there was a fair bit of player over reach in the player power department. Players would announce their intentions and Foz would happily endorse them. No wonder they saved his job. I've no problem if a bloke sets new goals for himself, but could never quite fathom how Ioane was so wholeheartedly backed without ever having to prove himself in his newly chosen role.
I did wonder how the Rieko switch first happened... He was already a top-class left wing and that seemed the best way to go.
Then again, I guess RTS was also backed for #12 even though it looked obvious he should start at full-back or wing too!
The only reason to play players out of position is lack of depth. However, too much depth is quite often the reason, when a star player is not the no1 for his position but is viewed as a 'must starter'. The resultant shoe horning them into the wrong position diminishes the team, and the practice retards a teams long term development. NZ, England, France all guilty of this. SA, not so much. Erasmus tends to be interested in such players as potential multi cover subs.
I think there is a solid reason why Rassie does it - he likes going to a 6-2 or even a 7-1 bench split which means the bench back[s] must be capable of slotting in in multiple positions.
Not as necessary for NZ who tend to stick with the 5-3.