The Rugby Championship trophy and Bledisloe Cup are locked away for another year but this week may resonate more than most for the All Blacks selectors.
The Test against Australia in Dunedin on Saturday afternoon will be the last home fixture for head coach Ian Foster and assistant Joe Schmidt (Jason Ryan, the third selector, will continue with incoming head coach Scott Robertson from next year), and could feature several All Blacks playing their final Test in New Zealand.
It means that given men such as Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Aaron Smith, Richie Mo’unga, Beauden Barrett and Leicester Fainga’anuku may not wear the black jersey at home again, the selectors, on the eve of the World Cup squad naming in Napier on Monday, may have to keep their nerve and focus on what they want to achieve from a dead Bledisloe Cup rubber.
With such dominant performances in their last three Tests, including a big win over the Wallabies in Melbourne, in the rear view mirror, the selectors’ desire to keep building for the World Cup, which kicks off against France in Paris on September 9, will be tested to the fullest along with their wishes to give some players some much needed game time as the clock ticks down.
Halfback Smith, for example, would dearly love to start at Forsyth Barr Stadium for the final time before departing for Japan next year, and the Highlander could get his wish if the selectors opt to start Damian McKenzie at No.10 for the first time since the good win over Argentina in Mendoza on July 9.
Foster and company will presumably want some form on continuity among the inside backs which may see Smith starting (in order to help lay a foundation for McKenzie), and Finlay Christie on the bench ahead of Cam Roigard, who had an impressive debut at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Likewise, midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown is probably due for a start after an impressive cameo off the bench last weekend, with Leicester Fainga’anuku, back from injury after a hugely successful Super Rugby Pacific season, due for playing time.
However, the selectors may find it difficult to tinker with the seriously in-form wing duo of Mark Telea and Will Jordan, who both scored against Australia.
Similarly, Whitelock is due for a start after limited minutes at the MCG on his return from an Achilles problem, but Scott Barrett is playing the house down.
And while Barrett may be due for a rest after a gruelling season captaining the Crusaders to another title, his combination with Retallick is beginning to look like a World Cup banker.
Prop Fletcher Newell, available after recovering from a foot injury, may be due for a run after missing the majority of the Super Rugby season for the Crusaders, with loose forward Samipeni Finau and midfielder Dallas McLeod yet to make their Test debuts. The latter two may be vulnerable to the cut as the selectors seek to trim the squad from 36 to 33 for the World Cup.
Halfback Finlay Christie, not required for Melbourne, and loose forward Luke Jacobson, who played well off the bench along with Whitelock, Roigard and Lienert-Brown, are also pushing for starts, with Chiefs loosie Jacobson saying today that he and his teammates are aware of the significance of the Test.
There is only one more, the match against the Springboks at Twickenham on August 26, before the World Cup.
“I don’t think it’s been talked about at all but everybody knows there are some legends who will probably be playing their last Test and also management managing their last Test in New Zealand,” Jacobson said.
“I don’t think we focus on that too much, I think we focus more on the job at hand, but hopefully we can do a good job out there and send them off well.”
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