No prizes for guessing who must be considered the All Blacks’ best player over the three Tests against Ireland: It has to be loose forward Ardie Savea – consistently brilliant no matter the circumstances and a man determined to shoulder the burden of leading his team’s ultimately doomed comeback in Wellington.
Despite the gloom surrounding the team after their historic series defeat to Ireland, who had never before won a Test against the All Blacks in New Zealand, a few individuals enhanced their reputation against a visiting team which appeared better prepared, more highly motivated, tougher and smarter – no easy task.
Loose forward Savea tops the lot for his standout performance in the first Test at Eden Park, the highlight being his individual try against an apparently set defence from near 50m out that any back would be exceedingly proud of, and his similarly inspired effort in the third Test in Wellington.
“I’d love to have that sort of talent,” said fullback Jordie Barrett of Savea after the Eden Park win. “He’s a freak.”
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Savea was at it again at Sky Stadium as he attempted to turn around a shocking 22-3 halftime deficit – popping up time and again to carry the ball and finally getting across the line to raise hopes of a comeback.
The 28-year-old Savea’s quality, even in a losing side, was not unexpected, however. Savea, who has played 62 Tests, has been one of New Zealand’s best for several years now and has become an integral part of the leadership team.
Indeed, he spoke with honesty and emotion after the 32-22 defeat at Sky Stadium, as did skipper Sam Cane and Dane Coles, and Savea’s influence within this group shouldn’t be under-estimated.
The surprise package was loosehead prop George Bower, a player who stood head and shoulders above every other prop in the squad for his set piece consistency and skill and pace in open play – the catch, pass, run and tackle areas in which the other All Black props were obviously deficient in comparison with Ireland's.
All of the other All Blacks' props struggled, with Ofa Tuungafasi off the set piece pace and yellow carded in Dunedin, with the unfortunate Angus Ta’avao red carded for a high tackle incident he knew nothing about and which was made more farcical by Irishman Andrew Porter being shown a yellow for what was a worse act a week later.
Karl Tuinukuafe, an odd addition to the squad, not surprisingly struggled with the pace of Test rugby, with Nepo Laulala, included in the third Test after recovering from a neck issue, conspicuously losing the ball in front of his posts in the first half.
Bower, 30, played his 14th Test in Wellington after starting in the No.1 jersey for the previous two (due to the ongoing injury absence of Joe Moody), and was probably the only other player to seriously enhance his reputation (although Scott Barrett impressed at blindside flanker at Eden Park before shifting to lock in Dunedin and was an absentee through injury in Wellington).
The front row (and props in particular) is an area of concern for the All Blacks because, Bower apart, they don’t appear to have men of sufficient quality for the modern game.
Bower’s two Crusaders teammates Fletcher Newell, 22, and Tamaiti Williams, 21, look the best prospects but weren’t included in Ian Foster’s squad. They are young for props but have proven themselves at Super Rugby level and can do it all on the field, a skillset that is increasingly necessary at international level.
One of the many questions the New Zealand Rugby board has to consider now is whether Foster and his assistants have the coaching nous to develop such talent.
Wing Will Jordan’s quality quickly shone through in Dunedin and Wellington after his Covid-enforced absence in Auckland, with fellow outside back Sevu Reece alive to opportunities and in possession of the pace to exploit them.
Newcomer Leicester Fainga’anuku performed well on debut at Eden Park but struggled in Dunedin after being yellow carded.
Loose forward Pita Gus Sowakula scored a try on debut in Auckland but overall did little to suggest he has the skillset to dominate such a congested position within the All Blacks, and midfielder Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was given only a handful of minutes at the end of the Wellington defeat.
Ranked - the All Blacks’ best against Ireland:
1. Ardie Savea
2. George Bower
3. Will Jordan
4. Sevu Reece
5. Scott Barrett
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