Scott Robertson’s appetite for risk will be revealed in his selections for the third and final Test of the French series and all indications suggest it will be relatively large.
The All Blacks head coach has made no secret of his desire to build depth in every position and give every member of his squad a genuine opportunity over this series and the proverbial rubber will meet the road this week in Hamilton.
In theory the conditions are right for rolling the dice.
The French, 2-0 down in the series after being competitive in Dunedin but far less so in Wellington at the weekend after head coach Fabian Galthié made 10 changes, must have a metaphorical foot on the plane at the end of a long season.
And while the All Blacks are expecting “anything and everything” from France at Waikato Stadium on Saturday according to wing Sevu Reece, they are also determined to finish off the tourists – something they couldn’t quite do at the Cake Tin during their 43-17 victory at the weekend.
“We’ve got an opportunity now to really make a statement to start this 2025 season,” Reece, a good chance to start after leaving the field within a minute in Dunedin, said. “It’s 2-0 but how cool would it be to go 3-0?”
The risk for Robertson lies in the lack of recent game time for some of those he will be keen to see in action, not to mention a potential lack of cohesion.
Reece, back to full health after a concussion in the first Test, is unlikely to be rusty given his relatively recent exploits with the championship-winning Crusaders, but the same cannot be said for those such as Ruben Love, a chance to start at fullback in place of Will Jordan, or Anton Lienert-Brown, likely to be back from a broken collarbone which has sidelined him for eight weeks.
Second-five Quinn Tupaea was involved off the bench in the first Test and performed well but took time to find his rhythm again during his first involvement in the international game in three years.
Up front, injuries to lock and skipper Scott Barrett and lock-turned blindside flanker Tupou Vaa’i mean Fabian Holland will likely have to front up again for his third Test start in three weeks, with Patrick Tuipulotu his second-row partner providing the Blues skipper shakes off a leg issue.
It is likely that Chiefs lock Naitoa Ah Kuoi will find himself on the bench at least for a potential Test debut.
It is difficult to see how the French will find the motivation to go back to the well one last time against such overwhelming odds and while Reece expected them to “throw everything at us”, another fast and accurate start by the All Blacks should be enough to shut them out.
“It’s an opportunity to look at a few and trust the whole squad that we picked can do a job,” assistant coach Jason Ryan said.
“We’re excited by that. Overall, everyone who has had their opportunity at training… have really been outstanding for us.”
Meanwhile, Ryan steadfastly refused to enter a debate about the Springboks’ tactics in their recent victory over Italy.
The forwards coach claimed to have not seen the Boks’ bizarre midfield lifts as a precursor to mauls in Gqeberha, saying he only saw the first kick-off which was deliberately short to manufacture an early scrum.
“It’s pretty clear what they want to do, eh?” Ryan said of the latter in reference to the Boks’ liking for the set piece.
The All Blacks will host the world champions in Auckland and Wellington in Rugby Championship Tests in September.
SHARE ME