One of the easiest decisions All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson will make this year will be the make-up of two-thirds of his loose forwards.
Ardie Savea and Wallace Sititi are certainties to start in the first Test against France in Dunedin on July 5 (if fit), and probably at openside flanker and No.8 respectively given their form this season.
Savea, outstanding this season and one of the most consistently high-performing All Blacks of the last four or five years, is the obvious replacement for Sam Cane, with Sititi, World Rugby’s breakout player of the year in 2024, the obvious selection in his preferred position at the back of the scrum.
The big question mark remains over the wearer of the No.6 jersey and while Samipeni Finau, the early incumbent last season before Robertson looked elsewhere, may have the inside running, Ethan Blackadder will remain in the mix for his work rate and defensive capabilities.
It means Blackadder’s return from yet another injury to start for the Crusaders in their crunch final-round match against the Brumbies in Canberra on Friday night is significant not only for himself and the red and blacks but also the national team.
Calf and hamstring injuries, along with several other ailments, have meant it has taken Blackadder, 30, since 2018 to rack up 50 games for the Crusaders.
As he wryly noted this week, his former loose forward teammate Jordan Taufua notched more than 100 matches in six years before his departure, meaning on average Taufua played more than twice as many games as Blackadder per season.
His body has occasionally let him down, but Blackadder is known for a bloody-minded attitude (the two may be related), a mindset ideal for the rigors of the Test game, which, allied with Robertson’s trust in him from his Crusaders’ days, means he will likely to be named in the All Blacks squad on June 23.
If Savea, Sititi, Blackadder and Finau are near certain inclusions, and up-and-coming Hurricane Peter Lakai, 22, is included after making his Test debut last year, there may be only two more spots left for loose forwards.
Does Robertson go for Luke Jacobson of the Chiefs and Blues flanker Dalton Papali’i, or does he take a punt on the uncapped Du’Plessis Kirifi?
Kirifi, 28, has been at the forefront of the Hurricanes’ surge to fourth on the Super Rugby table this season and strikes as an ideal back-up for Savea in the No.7 jersey.
Another untested player who has put his name in the frame for a national call-up is Chiefs blindside flanker Simon Parker, a 25-year-old thriving with regular game time who stands at 1.97m tall.
Parker, a Northlander who does the fundamentals well, represented the All Blacks XV last year and will be another one on Robertson’s radar.
However, the value of experience cannot be overlooked as the man known as Razer cuts and dices his squad.
Chief among Robertson’s lessons last year, his first as All Blacks head coach, was the value of experience.
It was one of the reasons why he leaned so much on former skipper Cane, now retired from the international game and playing in Japan, who probably enjoyed more game time that he may have expected.
That experience and workrate may give Blackadder an in to Robertson’s first squad of the year providing he can string some games together.
There is no question that Blackadder, who has been capped only 15 times since making his Test debut in 2021, should have played more often for the All Blacks.
Some have wondered whether he may have been a better option on the bench than Papali'i for the 2023 World Cup final, a match in which Boks loose forward Pieter Steph du Toit played with a freedom that Blackadder may not have allowed.
Crusaders coach Rob Penney was asked this week about Blackadder’s involvement in a match on Friday which will decide whether his side will finish second or third on the table.
"He had a good run before his injury. His conditioning is without question," Penney said. "Ethan's Ethan, he has a massive motor, he doesn't need to do a lot on the grass to be ready.
"He won’t go 80 obviously, but he will add another dimension to us, I have no doubt."
The same could be said of the All Blacks this year.
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