There was a comment from one of the television presenters during the build-up to Saturday's Bledisloe Cup test in Sydney about No.8 Harry Wilson's importance to the Wallabies and how hard they would be to beat with 15 of him in the starting line-up.
By Patrick McKendry of RNZ
Well, to continue on those hypothetical lines, on the evidence of the past fortnight the same may apply to New Zealand's No.7 Peter Lakai because the openside flanker can just about do it all and is in the form of his life.
The combination he is forming with blindside Tupou Vaa'i and No.8 Wallace Sititi is compelling and his performance in the 43-21 victory over Australia was a continuation of what he did to the Wallabies a week earlier at Eden Park.
All three are multi-skilled athletes and all three showed their full array of skills against a Wallabies side that could not cope with the first-half onslaught.
Indeed, Lakai, a 23-year-old who has played 16 tests, spent time in the midfield in the final quarter after the All Blacks ran out of numbers due to injuries.
Significantly, this was only his second test in the No.7 jersey. He has previously played mainly at No.8 – or off the bench in the No.20 jersey.
It is far easier to look good in a side going forward as the All Blacks did in that first 43 minutes at Accor Stadium than, say, against a Springboks team on home soil, but what cannot be disputed is that head coach Dave Rennie has difficult decisions to make when Luke Jacobson returns from his elbow injury.
Jacobson's surgery has put him out for the rest of the year, but with skipper Ardie Savea out until February at the earliest due to shoulder surgery, Lakai, along with Vaa'i and Sititi, have a long November runway in the United Kingdom to further cement their positions.
Rennie has preferred Jacobson as his No.7 but Lakai's attacking game appears superior and he is just as hard-hitting on defence.
"I thought he was phenomenal in South Africa as well," Rennie replied when asked about the Hurricanes player. "He's an unbelievable athlete. He runs like a back and hits hard. He has post-tackle presence. He's pretty special, Pete. He had another big say today."
The All Blacks' depth in his area is impressive – and helped by the South Africa trip – but it needs to be because the casualties keep coming.
Savea, Jacobson and Ethan Blackadder (calf) were unavailable for the Bledisloe Cup series, swept by the All Blacks for the sixth year in succession, with Shannon Frizell the latest concern.
Frizell – eligible again after his return from Japan – was named on the bench for both tests and suffered what at the time was a mystery leg injury in Sydney.
A knee or calf issue may make him uncertain for the Nations Championship tests next month, with Du'Plessi Kirifi, overlooked until the day after Bledisloe 1, potentially now being indespensable.
Meanwhile, while in London, Rennie and company will be involved in World Rugby talks about the state of the game and high on the agenda is likely to be the television match official's influence.
The latest curious intervention came in the second half of the Sydney test when TMO Marius van der Westhuizen alerted referee Luke Pearce to a "foul play" incident regarding halfback Cam Roigard's extraordinary try-saving tackle on Wallabies No.10 Declan Meredith.
Roigard, scrambling back, fell with Meredith over the line and used a leg to stop his opponent from putting the ball down. Assisted by fullback Beauden Barrett, the All Blacks won the ball back and counter-attacked – via Lakai.
About two minutes later, van der Westhuizen's alert was received, and rightly dismissed, by Pearce. Van der Westhuizen believed Roigard had kicked the ball out of Meredith's hands. Replays proved he did not.
Rennie was more concerned more about the potential process had the incident been considered foul play and Pearce awarded a penalty try – as would have been the case.
"If you go back and let's say it was a penalty try, do you take the two minutes off we've just lost in the game?" he asked. "There's lots of questions to be asked around that."
The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including a cyclone hits the Cook Islands, and the FlyDubai pilot speaks about being attacked. (Source: Breakfast)
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