Following Scott Robertson’s announcement of the All Blacks team to tackle Ireland in Dublin, we pick out our winners and losers.
New Zealand kicked off their Autumn Nations Series with a 22-24 victory over England at Twickenham Stadium and following the narrow win, Robertson has backed continuity to get over the line against Ireland.
The All Blacks arrive in Dublin looking to end Ireland’s 19-game winning streak in home Tests and the head coach clearly believes that the same group of players that edged England can get the job down in Ireland.
Without further ado, here are our winners and losers from the All Blacks team to tackle Ireland.
Winners
Damian McKenzie
Once Beauden Barrett was ruled out of the clash against Ireland there was only ever going to be one name next to the number ten on the teamsheet, Damian McKenzie. The Chiefs playmaker started the first eight Test matches of the Robertson era before he was dropped for the clash against the Wallabies in the Rugby Championship. Barrett impressed in the role and retained the starting jersey against England and now McKenzie gets a shot against the top-ranked team in the world to stake his claim.
McKenzie benefits from Barrett’s absence as frankly Harry Plummer or Stephen Perofeta were simply never going to start at fly-half this week against the All Blacks unless there were further injuries. The 29-year-old played a pivotal role off the bench against Ireland slotting two clutch kicks at goal to get the All Blacks over the line.
Cortez Ratima
Cortez Ratima shot to stardom during the Rugby Championship with several impressive performances but against England, he was far from his best as he look indecisive and threw a loose pass leading to the host’s only try of the game.
This prompt calls for Cam Roigard to replace the young number nine in the starting role against Ireland but Robertson has resisted that urge and has backed the Chiefs’ man to star alongside his clubmate McKenzie.
It’s a sign that the head coach trusts the rookie scrum-half who is in his first year of international rugby and there is not much more a young player could ask for from his boss.
Asafo Aumua and George Bell
After the win over England, Robertson described Asafo Aumua’s performance as a ‘coming of age’ shift as he hammered into English bodies in a 75-minute cameo off the bench.
Aumua has produced indifferent performances this year varying from ill-disciplined to relatively impactful but at Twickenham, he was on top form and with Taylor missing out, he has the chance to really stamp his authority on the black jersey.
He is joined in the team by George Bell who is set to earn just his third Test cap after featuring against Fiji and Japan. Ireland will be a massive step up for the young hooker but one that Robertson clearly believes he is capable of handling. His selection early this year raised a few eyebrows because at the time he was not one of the two first-choice hookers as the Crusaders and few would have blamed the All Blacks boss for backing the more experienced, although uncapped, Brodie McAlister against Ireland.
Mark Tele’a
It is been a year filled with swings and roundabouts for Mark Tele’a in the black jersey as he has yo-yoed in and out of the team but he now gets back-to-back starts for the All Blacks and one against the top-ranked team in the world.
Last year, Tele’a was nigh-on unplayable for New Zealand and against England, we saw glimpses of that form returning as he crossed for two brilliantly taken tries to steer his side to victory. It’s a richly deserved reward for the speedster who is bound to cause havoc for the Irish defence.
Tamaiti Williams and Ofa Tu’ungafasi
Ethan de Groot missed the England Test match after failing to meet the All Blacks’ internal standards and Robertson was not willing to disclose what the prop did which resulted in his dropping, he did confirm that the loosehead would be up for selection this week.
The 26-year-old has been a mainstay in All Blacks’ squads since his Test debut in 2021 but has been snubbed this week after superb performances by Tamaiti Williams and Ofa Tu’ungafasi in Twickenham.
Williams held his own in a challenging scrum battle in the first half while Ofa Tu’ungafasi dominated in the second half and played a pivotal role in the match’s outcome. The pair’s form in the opening November international has been duly rewarded with roles in the squad to face Ireland and rightly so.
Losers
Injured duo
Beauden Barrett and Codie Taylor were in stunning form heading into the Test match against England and while the latter only lasted a few minutes before being forced off, the former continued to impress.
Their concussions could not have come at a worse time for the All Blacks team as they front up against an Ireland team that has regularly got the better of them since 2016. New Zealand do have the quality to fill their positions but the bench does look lighter this week compared to last.
Cam Roigard
Cam Roigard has been in excellent nick following his long-term injury lay-off and against England he made a game-defining impact off the bench adding much-needed pace and accuracy to their attack.
He would have hoped that his cameo against England would have resulted in a start this week but it is not to be as Ratima is backed to combine better with McKenzie.
Still, Roigard can play another key role in the latter stages where the All Blacks have struggled this year and with recent encounters with Ireland going down to the wire, he could be the difference between winning and losing.
TJ Perenara
Sticking with the scrum-halves and TJ Perenara would have also fancied his chances of having a crack at Ireland but it looks as if the veteran star has already played his final game against the men from the Emerald Isle.
As mentioned above, Ratima wasn’t at his best and with the All Blacks losing over 200 Test matches worth of experience with Taylor and Barrett’s injury, Perenara could have provided a boost.
Patrick Tuipulotu
Test rugby is undoubtedly an 80-minute game nowadays and Patrick Tuipulotu’s selection on the bench after a mighty performance against England is a clear indication of that.
The Blues’ lock hammered into the English defence and attack in a world-class shift that contributed hugely in the game’s outcome which will have tempted Robertson to hand him a starting jersey. However, the value he added in the final quarter is clearly more important as Robertson looks to replicate the strong finish at Twickenham.
While players will say that they are happy to contribute in a manner to the team, they will still have the ambition to be in the starting XV and Tuipulotu can feel hard done by after impressing last week.
Sevu Reece
For a second week in a row, Sevu Reece misses out on the All Blacks matchday 23 and through little fault of his own.
The Test match against Japan looks to have been the turning point in the pecking order for the All Blacks with Caleb Clarke and Tele’a now cementing their place in the starting lineup with strong outings against England.
Ethan de Groot
As mentioned above, De Groot was a straightforward selection for the All Blacks previously but after failing to meet the team’s standards last week, he misses the side’s biggest Test match this November.
He is without a world-class operator and would usually return straight back to the team but the other looseheads did nothing to justify De Groot replacing them.