Ardie Savea, Wallace Sititi and who? Analysing the All Blacks loose forward options – Tight Five

THREE KEY FACTS

An observation ...

The jigsaw puzzle that is the All Blacks’ loose forward combination has no easy answer – are the right pieces even there that you need? The blindspot appears to be blindside. It can be fixed by rotating players around and there’s a sense that the numbers on the back are meaning less and less as test rugby evolves.

Obviously, Ardie Savea and Wallace Sititi are certainties from last year’s class – but there must be question marks as to who joins them and how that shakes down into a starting side. Scott Robertson and his selectors picked five fit loose forwards and three injury replacements in their final squad last year, with Savea and Sititi joined by Sam Cane, Samipeni Finau and Peter Lakai.

An explanation...

Dalton Papali’i, Ethan Blackadder and Luke Jacobson were unavailable through injury. Cane is now unavailable; Papali’i has (perhaps unfairly) gone under the radar this year as his Blues side have struggled but his defensive work has been noticeable even in defeat; Blackadder can’t seem to stay on the park due to injury. Meanwhile, Finau and Jacobson have been key ingredients in the Chiefs’ table-topping form, but the jury remains out on them as test performers.

Even Lakai has probably not reached the standards of last year in a Hurricanes team that have been up and down, but there is room to do so before the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs.

A question ...

So, do you pick and stick or look elsewhere? There’s every chance, outside of Sititi and Savea, that some or all of those players available report for duty, but it could equally be just one or some of that group.

Cane proved more valuable to this coaching group than many predicted with his efforts last year and there seems to be no like-for-like “warrior”-type replacement to emerge from the Super stocks yet. Du’Plessis Kirifi is not that Cane-type replacement but is surely worthy of inclusion after a season for the Hurricanes in which he’s shaken off the tag of being a magnet for penalties. His size may not necessarily be suitable for test rugby, but he seems to relish fighting the good fight around the paddock.

A prediction...

Others continue to try to fight their way in – Hoskins Sotutu, Christian Lio-Willie, Braydon Iose and even the impressive Semisi Tupou-Ta’eiloa from Moana Pasifika should figure on the radar somewhere, but it’s hard to make a convincing argument for any of them, outside of Kirifi, to bounce out an incumbent.

With little conviction, I’d be looking to start Jacobson at blindside, Savea at openside and Sititi at No 8 against the French, with Kirifi coming off the bench.

A salute

It’s worth noting that Savea’s stature in the game has only grown with his move to Moana Pasifika this season and the All Blacks stand to benefit from a player in his pomp, perhaps even going to another level than what we’ve seen in the past.

His classy performance against the Highlanders, including the grubber for a kick-and-chase try – that he was denied the week previous against the Fijian Drua – shows a player completely at ease and in the rarefied air that the bounce will go their way. Impressively, he appears uninhibited by the leadership responsibilities put on his plate. As silly as it is to say, he may be getting better.

Elliott Smith is a Rugby Commentator and Deputy Sports News Editor for Newstalk ZB. He is the host of the Rugby Direct podcast.