Rugby: Strong ABs team up to the challenge

Charles Piutau missed out on selection for the All Blacks' 31-man World Cup squad. Photo Getty
Charles Piutau missed out on selection for the All Blacks' 31-man World Cup squad. Photo Getty

The All Blacks have named their 31-man squad for the World Cup starting next month. ODT Online rugby writer Jeff Cheshire looks at whether the selectors have got the mix right.

Here we are, finally, down to 31 players.

Yet after all the debate and hype leading into the squad naming, it was a list that read fairly predictably. Sure there may be a few contentious selections but on the whole it is a strong team that is more than capable of getting the job done.

If there was to be a surprise, it was the inclusion of Waisake Naholo, or rather the exclusion of Charles Piutau.

There is no doubting Naholo's ability. On his day he is as dangerous as any back in the world, bringing pace, power and one of the most explosive left foot steps around. He did it time and again for the Highlanders this year and while he was a mixed bag on his All Blacks debut, there was enough to suggest he will make the transition to test level well.

But he has not played for two months and that is a concern.

The coaches will know where he is at regarding his injury and physical capabilities, which is all well and good. Until he steps on to the park and shows where he is at in a game though, the selection remains a gamble.

That is particularly the case given you had an in-form Piutau waiting in the wings, one of the All Blacks' best in the games he has played this year. With ball in hand he was a handful, especially in South Africa, while his work rate remained high high, particularly in his ability to cut down space on the kick chase.

To leave out one of your form players, who has been there and not let them down for three years, is a move which has attracted some controversy. Particularly when you are dropping him for someone who, while brilliant, goes into the tournament largely underdone.

Although you could say a lot of the players will enter the tournament underdone.

Charlie Faumuina has played minimal rugby over the past two months, and as good as he is, seems a risk to take given he is not match-fit. He got the nod ahead of the in-form Nepo Laulala, who has shown himself to be equally adept at set-piece and in his work around the field.

Tawera Kerr-Barlow is another one, although options were scarce for his position and taking a third halfback is the right way to go given the specialist skills the position requires. That selection is perhaps justified, although he will have to get up to speed quickly.

Those who have not been released to play in the ITM Cup will have not played for over a month, and in some cases longer. You do not want your players to pick up injuries, or to be fatigued before the start of the tournament, but as we found out in 2007, there is nothing like preparing for games by playing games.

The most glaring example of those players is Colin Slade, who has played limited minutes off the bench in three tests, all in the outside backs. He has not had a run at first five since Super Rugby and even then he was acting as Dan Carter's back-up by the end.

You have to ask why he was not released to get some game time for Canterbury, even if he has been injury prone in the past. Should he be needed in England, he will be thrust into the deep end and rust could be evident.

While Slade's selection was never clear-cut, the fact that he was not released for the ITM Cup suggested that he was always going to be chosen. That comes at the expense of the outstanding Lima Sopoaga, who has done everything right this year, whether it be for the Highlanders or in his solitary All Black appearance in Jo'burg.

It is had to knock Slade too much though. He is very much a confidence player and when he is on, he can do it all. While not possessing the flair of Sopoaga, Slade can run dangerously enough to either take a gap or pass out in front and into a gap to put someone else away. On defence he will tackle bravely and he possesses a very good left boot. He played well in Super Rugby and did not have the benefit of playing in such a well-functioning team with all the weapons Sopoaga did.

Form does not seem to have been the most important factor in a lot of cases, with the selectors opting for several players who have not shown their best in recent times.

Julian Savea has not been his usual destructive-self since coming back from injury, while Beauden Barrett has not found his feet after being rushed back for the Super Rugby playoffs either. You have a prop in Ben Franks whose only real attractive quality is his ability to play both sides of the scrum, while brother Owen has not shone as brightly in recent times either.

To an extent though, you do have to go with your tried and true players, especially those as integral to the past three years as Savea and Owen Franks. You would have to think neither of those two was in doubt, with Barrett not far behind. Ben Franks could perhaps count himself lucky though.

Then what to make of those that have been picked largely on form from a few years ago?

We all know what Luke Romano and Sonny Bill Williams are capable of. Whether they actually deliver on that is a different story. Romano has had a bad run with injuries and since returning has been solid, although hardly stellar, while Williams still looks like a league player playing union and has not recaptured his form of 2012.

To take both of them, Jeremy Thrush and Ryan Crotty have been dropped, two men who have hardly had a chance this year, suggesting that these selections were made a while ago. Both have put their hands up for the All Blacks over the past two years and have proven their worth. So why choose two players, essentially based on what they were doing three years ago, over two who have not let them down more recently and are playing no worse than anyone else?

Either way it is remains a strong team and the positions up for debate are of those on the edge of the squad, except for perhaps Piutau's. The top XV, which will play most of the games, seems more or less clear and there will be far less debate over this aside from one or two positions which remain up for grabs.

The selectors have chosen the players they believe are best equipped to play the game they want to play. You have to trust them with that, as after all, only they truly know the master plan that aims to see the All Blacks lifting the World Cup in a couple of months time.

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