All Blacks selection battles heat up after Chiefs dominate semifinals

Memo to Cam Roigard: Let’s leave the acting to Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep, shall we?

Yes, what Roigard did was perfectly legal – lying prone on the ground as if injured after being taken out in the air.

He then leapt up, took a quick tap penalty and bolted 60m – setting up the Hurricanes’ first try against the well-beaten Blues.

That has no place in rugby.

Two or three Blues players were clustered around the All Blacks halfback, checking on his health, when he took off like a scalded cat.

Roigard can justify it as much as he likes, but the plain fact is that it is an advantage gained by a player pretending to be injured, when he isn’t.

Memo to rugby lawmakers: Roigard isn’t the only one doing this; it’s becoming commonplace.

Football calls it “simulation” or “diving” and awards a free kick against dramatic actors.

Time to arm rugby refs with something similar so sham injuries can result in the penalty being reversed.

Peters and Pasifika

Here’s hoping Winston Peters puts the big tick next to moves to reallocate Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade aid to Samoa and Tonga to save Moana Pasifika from extinction.

Peters and his brothers, Ron, Alan and Wayne, were well-known club players yonks ago; few will appreciate more the necessity to safeguard the team.

Take a look at last weekend’s Super Rugby semifinals. About two-thirds of all 46 players in action were Pasifika, nearly all New Zealand-born. New Zealand rugby owes a debt there and must help keep the game alive in the islands.

Sign, Winston, sign! All that’s needed then is a Super Rugby draft and ability for New Zealand players to be selected for the All Blacks if they play for Moana or an Australian franchise.

Clashes with consequences

Throughout the long Super Rugby season, our regular All Blacks watch has kept a close eye on head-to-head clashes which might persuade a selector to change or confirm an opinion – and there hasn’t been a more significant collection of such contests than last weekend’s semifinals.

Especially the Chiefs’ brilliant – almost perfect – first half which decided the game against the Crusaders after the first 40 minutes and maybe cemented some selectorial thinking too. The only caveat is that All Blacks selectors don’t solely look at head-to-head clashes in local derbies, basing decisions more on the style they want their team to play and those who can deliver it.

The Chiefs were also so good in that opening segment that the selectors, looking at some of the Crusaders through the lens of a mostly successful season instead of just one game, might forgive some for being swamped by the Chiefs’ tsunami.

However, in our efforts to read their minds and analyse the matches they are watching, it’s possible to come to some conclusions regarding those who might have taken a large step towards a place in the 34-man squad to be named soon – and even towards a start.

Hooker

Samisoni Taukei’aho v Codie Taylor

Taukei’aho’s power and reliability may well have promoted him to No. 1 hooker. He carried busily, stood out on defence and his lineout throwing was faultless. Not for the first time in recent weeks, Taylor’s throwing was just a little off and, while he always hews away in the grunt stuff, he hasn’t offered as much going forward as Taukei’aho.

There’s also an argument that Asafo Aumua, after his storming game against the Blues, could also have leapfrogged Taylor. His lineout work is more reliable now and he provides some injection of power off the bench.

Loosehead prop

Ollie Norris v Fletcher Newell/George Bower

Norris scrummed well against benchmark Newell, popping the tighthead out of the scrum just after 20 minutes. When the benches came on, Norris saw loosehead rival George Bower subbed into a Crusaders’ scrum which went rapidly backwards – recalling the old World War II joke about Italian tanks (one forward, four reverse gears). Another loosehead rival, Xavier Numia, also moved closer to an All Black jersey with a try and an impressive match against the Blues.

Lock

Josh Lord v Jamie Hannah

There’s been little doubt about Lord’s place in the squad with Fabian Holland and Scott Barrett injured, but he successfully underlined that with a fine performance before giving way to Naitoa Ah Kuoi in the second half. Hannah suffered in the Chiefs’ onslaught while Lord’s lineout work and ball handling stamps him as a possible starter along with Tupou Vaa’i in the first tests of the year, maybe with one of Sam Darry and Patrick Tuipulotu off the bench.

Openside flanker

Leicester Fainga’anuku v Luke Jacobson

A no-contest as Fainga’anuku was injured in the first half, though he had already been just one of those swamped by the Chiefs. Jacobson was all impressive work rate, bristling aggression and determination. Will it be enough in a crowded collection of candidates which includes the Hurricanes’ excellent Du’Plessis Kirifi?

Blindside/No 8

Simon Parker v Samipeni Finau v Ethan Blackadder v Christian Lio-Willie

Still the most difficult position to pick; some fine players will miss the first squad, though this long season offers further opportunities. Lio-Willie carried best, even in a team as well-beaten as the Crusaders. Blackadder tackled relentlessly and Parker gave a typical performance, highly efficient at the collisions and breakdown, winning two turnovers. Finau did well at the lineout and in general play. Anton Segner was comparatively quiet against the Hurricanes, leaving the field in the second half after a crocked knee. This choice will come down to style of play.

While Wallace Sititi, Ardie Savea and Peter Lakai appear likely to be the All Blacks’ first-choice back row, none are of huge dimensions. Some feel that doesn’t matter as the counter-attack style likely to be favoured this season will need more ball skill than brawn. The theory is that some creative thinking at the lineout can obviate having shorter loosies against the giants of South Africa and, to a slightly lesser extent, France and England. Maybe, maybe not.

The Boks have now beaten the All Blacks in five of the past six tests and seven out of the past 11, dating back over five years. In the three most recent All Black victories, blindside flankers were the more powerful Shannon Frizell (twice) and Parker. Others in a losing team: Jacobson, Sititi, Blackadder. No one is pretending this was the reason for the wins (two came when the All Blacks fielded multiple playmakers), but it is an interesting footnote.

Halfback

Cortez Ratima v Noah Hotham

Earlier this season, this column was convinced Hotham had climbed above Ratima as second in line behind Roigard. No longer. Ratima’s clinical performance against the Reds in the qualifying finals and the Crusaders on Friday almost certainly sealed matters.

Midfield

Quinn Tupaea v David Havili

Havili’s resurgence probably ended here. Tupaea was superb until going off injured, once clattering through Havili in the build-up to Kyren Taumoefolau’s first try.

Paul Lewis writes about rugby, cricket, league, football, yachting, golf, the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.