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Kiwis' triumph a matter of selection

New Zealand need to get their team selections right. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
Roar Guru
26th October, 2014
22

After a dominant victory for the New Zealand Kiwis on the weeked, many questions have been asked.

Would that scoreline remain had Australia fielded their strongest team? Are the Kiwis finally the real deal?

At the end of the day, as a Kiwis fan, it doesn’t matter to me. We won and we thoroughly deserved our victory. We played with more urgency and hunger.

To me, that’s not exactly what I highlighted from the win. The selection process, post-World Cup, is what has impressed me the most. Let me break it down for you.

For the World Cup, Stephen Kearney and co. selected a strong team on paper. Very strong. Easily the second strongest squad in the competition. With their selections, they picked a number of players (who maybe achieved selection based on name rather than form). I won’t name those players, but a lot of in-form players were left out of the World Cup squad last year for “bigger name” players.

Fast forward to the Anzac Test this year, and all of the Australian media were laughing at some of the surprise selections in the Kiwis line-up, and at how many “names” were missing.

Secretly, I was a little confident, in that the team selected was actually picked on form. As we all know, the Kiwis put up a strong performance, much better than the World Cup final showing – and for mine, all you need to do is look at the selection difference.

Bar Australia, I think it’s fair to say no other country can really pick on “player merit” and still get a strong performance from their players. New Zealand tried it, and as shown in the World Cup final, it didn’t work.

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When I watch the game as a Kiwis supporter, I want to see players who may not stand in front of the Haka, who may not showcase the most scary pukana – but rather a player who wants to play for the black, and will play hard for the jersey. That’s exactly what I’ve seen so far in the two games this year from the Kiwis.

Desperation in defence, strong running, spirited play and unity in abundance; that’s what the black jersey needs.

Overlooked players like Kevin Proctor, Tohu Harris and debutant Jason Taumalolo were absolutely outstanding on the weekend. Proctor topped all Kiwis in tackles and Taumalolo led all forwards in metres gained.

Old boys like Adam Blair showed some of the younger “show pony” forwards how desperate he is to play for the black jersey. In a series of play, Blair showed his passion by mowing down a break made by an Australian player, who broke into the Kiwis’ territory with New Zealand on the back foot.

Not only did he mow him down, he chased and made the next three tackles, while the remainder of the forwards were struggling to get back onside.

Moments later, when New Zealand eventually regained the ball on their next set, a tired, exhausted Adam Blair was seen struggling to breathe on-screen – all due to his commitment on defence. That’s exactly what Kiwi supporters want to see!

When selecting a team, I don’t want to see the show ponies during the Haka, I want to see players who want to play with passion and nothing to lose. Players like Martin Taupau or a Jason Nightingale, who may be overlooked for much “bigger” names in their respective positions, but who play with nothing to lose and a fiery passion to represent their country.

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On another note, it’s good to see the young exciting combination of Kieran Foran and Shaun Johnson finally click into what we all, as Kiwi fans, have been waiting to see. They steered the show around beautifully and were precise with their plays. Off their sweet skills, they played behind a more dominant and passionate Kiwi pack, in which was enthralling to see.

We may have played a lesser Australian side, but let’s not take that away from the effort of this Kiwi team.

Although the Australian media (and commentators) don’t want to admit it, we were better and we thoroughly deserved the victory.

Well done selection team, let’s stick with this method – it’s working a treat !

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