All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has been full of praise for the debutants he named in a 39-man squad for the opening two Tests of the Rugby Championship.
Hansen named new All Blacks Braydon Ennor, Josh Ioane, Luke Jacobson, and Sevu Reece as well as uncapped players Asafo Aumua and Atu Moli tonight in the squad to face Argentina and South Africa.
The All Blacks coach was particularly looking forward to working with 22-year-old "pocket rocket" Reece.
"He’s quick, he scores tries, he’s the leading try scorer, he’s got two over Ngani and Ngani’s been a consistently high try scorer so to score more than him means you’re doing something right," Hansen said.
"He just plays like he enjoys his rugby doesn’t he? He’s a pocket rocket and I’m excited about working with him."
The versatility of 22-year-old Chiefs loose forward Jacobson, arguably the biggest bolter in the squad, impressed during the Super Rugby season.
"He’s a very physical defender and a good ball carrier, not just as a carrier and passer, he’s got the ability to beat people, he’s got the ability to offload in contact and he can play multiple positions," Hansen said.
"Going to the World Cup at the end of the year we’re going to need people who can do that the easier it will be for us to narrow the squad down to 31."
Moli had won selection with form after coming back from a "horrific" haematoma leg injury he suffered in a match at the start of the 2018 season.
The 24-year-old spent two weeks in hospital where doctors routinely cut his leg open to release pressure on the muscle.
"The injury as you said was horrific really when you get a close look at it, it’s not pretty," Hansen said.
"He showed really good mental fortitude to soldier through that, come back the other side and he’s at the beginning of his career, there’s lots of upside with Atu."
The coaches were also looking forward to developing Ioane to build some much-needed depth at No.10, according to selector Grant Fox.
"We need extra cover at 10 in the meantime and we need to have a good look at Josh," Fox said.
"We’ve been impressed by his form at the Highlanders, he’s a big strapping lad who’s quick, who runs at the line well."
"He’s got good speed, he distributes the ball well, he’s got a very sound kicking game, he’s inexperienced and we want to get our hands on him to try and help grow him."
"Without Damien it’s pretty obvious we don’t have a lot of depth at 10."
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