With their Eden Park record on the line again, the All Blacks have been boosted by the return from injury of halfbacks Cam Roigard and Cortez Ratima, hooker Codie Taylor and lock Patrick Tuipulotu.
All four are likely to play key roles against the Wallabies at the All Blacks' fortress on Saturday as head coach Scott Robertson attempts to turn around a team badly exposed by the Springboks in Wellington just over a week ago.
Roigard, the country’s top halfback by some distance, has not played for the All Blacks since a stress fracture in his right foot suffered in July.
The All Blacks have missed his game management and running game in the Rugby Championship during which they have beaten Argentina and South Africa, only to lose to the same opposition the following week.
The potential for Roigard’s impact was again highlighted during his comeback game for Counties against Auckland in Pukekohe at the weekend, the 24-year-old coming on early in the second half and barging over for a try shortly afterwards.
“Cam is really important to us,” Robertson told the media in Auckland today. “It showed immediately when he came on to the field the impact he can have. It’s good to have him back in the mix. His game management is strong, he can kick, and he’s got a hell of a pass.”
Ratima missed the two Tests against the Boks due to a rib injury, with fellow halfback Noah Hotham also in and out of the squad due to injury.
The return of Roigard and Ratima, plus experienced forwards Taylor (head injury against the Boks at Eden Park) and Tuipulotu (head injury against the Pumas in Cordoba), should help the All Blacks in their search for a consistency which has eluded them again this year.
Their recent record-breaking defeat to the world champion South Africans highlighted their boom-and-bust trend, coming as it did after a promising first half by the All Blacks only for the Boks to score 36 unanswered points after the break.
The All Blacks reviewed that match this morning and, “it stung, it was really clear. We discussed and reviewed and were as honest as we possibly could be”, Robertson said. “You don’t want to stung… but we’ll use it.”
He added: “We’ve played some great rugby in the majority of games but not enough. How can we win those little key moments…”
Asked how he felt in the aftermath of New Zealand’s heaviest Test defeat, Robertson said: “My job is to lead this team and I probably think more about them than myself.
“There are a lot of shareholders in our country that we serve that have definitely let us know what they think and so they should. We talked about how our job is to serve our people. That’s always been our focus.”
Without getting into detail, it is clear that the team’s leadership, skill execution and the timing of replacements will be a focus for Robertson and his fellow coaches this week as the All Blacks attempt to retain the Bledisloe Cup in the first Test of two against the Wallabies, the current leaders of the Rugby Championship.
“We’ve got a team that over the last 18 months a lot of guys have come in and learned Test footy. We’re trying to build combinations… it’s a balancing act and one we have to get right,” Robertson said.
While the All Blacks' set piece is unlikely to come under the pressure exerted by the Boks, the Wallabies have been transformed under the direction of head coach Joe Schmidt, an assistant alongside former All Blacks head coach Ian Foster.
Schmidt's men will be hampered by the calf injury to explosive loose forward Rob Valetini and unavailability of powerful lock Will Skelton, but they possess a backline full of threats, including midfielders Hunter Paisami and Joseph-Aukuso Sua’ali’i and fullback Tom Wright.
“They’re persistent – they play a really clear brand, they know their DNA, they stay in the game for the whole match,” Robertson said of the Wallabies. “They have a great squad and are well coached.”
Sua’ali’i, a former NRL player, has been a revelation this year and must be considered one of the best midfielders in the world.
“He’s a great athlete. He’s long limbed and has great feet and can hold the ball in one hand and keep the ball alive. He’s brought a lot of his league skillset over. You tackle him and the ball at the same time, really, that’s probably the best way to stop him.”
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