![]() The only other “contentious issue” in Donald’s view comes at halfback, where he believes Weber – who was among the highest-profile exclusions from the All Blacks squad to face Ireland – may have earned a recall. “Akira was great in Wellington, probably – along with Ardie – our best All Black, so he’s well and truly cemented himself in the squad, but does Cullen Grace come in anyway?” ![]() The All Blacks could look to refresh their squad ahead of the Rugby Championship. The new men the All Blacks might call upon for the Rugby Championship “Apart from Akira now, if Barrett’s out, he is the only No 6 in the squad,” Donald said. You’d imagine he comes in for someone.”ĭonald went on to highlight that, without Barrett, the All Blacks would be left with Akira Ioane as the only blindside flanker in the squad, which he said could further necessitate the inclusion of Grace. “You mentioned Josh Dickson, who’s already been in and around, obviously Frizell’s been an All Black. “All of a sudden, does Tom Robinson – and I know this will be music to the ears of many a Blues fan – does he, all of a sudden, come into the consideration because he’s done the lock-six thing? “Obviously Scott Barrett, under the current coaching regime… Is seen as a six as far as the top XV goes, which may change tomorrow, but we just have to presume he’s a six-lock. “The Brodie Retallick, Scott Barrett potential double-whammy is an issue,” Donald said. Without him and Retallick, Donald said Robinson and Grace could come into the selection mix as he also made note of other contenders such as Highlanders pair Josh Dickson and Shannon Frizell. The question on everyone's lips in New Zealand is when is Scott Robertson taking over the All Blacks? But the real question should be, what changes would he make if he was in charge? Read NowĪfter starring at blindside flanker in the first test against Ireland, Barrett was only moved to lock for the second test due to the unavailability of Whitelock and Vaa’i, and was named to start at No 6 for the third test before injury struck. What a Scott Robertson-coached All Blacks lineup might look like Grace, meanwhile, starred for the Crusaders and Maori All Blacks as a No 8, but has also played his fair share of first-class rugby as a blindside flanker and lock.ĭonald believes that versatility could be valuable for the All Blacks, especially given Barrett was seemingly New Zealand’s first-choice No 6 despite normally playing lock. Therefore, reinforcements in that positional group may be needed for the Rugby Championship, and Donald pinpointed Robinson and Grace as the two leading candidates to fill the voids left by Retallick and Barrett.īoth players are capable of playing throughout the forward pack, with Robinson – normally a blindside flanker – often used as a lock by the Blues in this year’s Super Rugby Pacific. ![]() That could leave the All Blacks with only three fit locks to pick from in Sam Whitelock, Tupou Vaa’i and Patrick Tuipulotu – the latter of whom was only made available to play from the second test onwards after being granted dispensation upon his sabbatical return in Japan. The severity of Barrett’s injury is yet to be confirmed, but news of his injury comes after young second rower Josh Lord was sidelined for the rest of the year with a ruptured ACL before the Ireland series even kicked off. Retallick has been ruled out for between six-to-eight weeks with a broken cheekbone after he endured a head clash with Ireland prop Andrew Porter during last week’s loss in Wellington.īarrett, meanwhile, was a late omission from the match day team for that test after sustaining an Achilles injury earlier in the week. Read NowĮlsewhere in the tight five, injuries to Brodie Retallick and Scott Barrett may force changes to the All Blacks’ stocks at lock. 'Bizarre': All Blacks greats puzzled by glaring non-selections for Ireland seriesĪll Blacks greats have questioned the omission of two players they believe could have impacted in the recent series defeat to Ireland.
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