NZ running rugby cultivating top No.10s

Yes the all blacks are the pinnacle of sport in nz, with a future in nz or overseas seen as a major pull. Outside of Auckland rugby league is not widely played, if you miss out on a super contract, you can still get picked up to play in Wales Ireland etc and make good money as well as travel. Nrl is the only avenue for rugby league, and is considered not a skilful sport in nz, the only reason I say this is if you are a skilful player ,like a few I grew up with are told not to waste your time in league and play Union.Let's be honest outside of England and Aus who else plays league?

Geez, good but scary point. So you're saying that at least two nations have the creativity knocked out of all their 10's by the time they turn pro? Interesting. Certainly explains Englands run of 10's, not a shred of creativity in any of their last half dozen 10's.

I guess we see track athletes improve their performances over career spans as a natural progression but don't ever think of speed as a core skill for rugby. I've never heard of a speed coach but Barrett maybe has found one.

nice - I was at both of those games and still watch them on mysky at least once a month

Damn, that was an enjoyable 48 minutes and 48 seconds. Great commentary from the players. Still got the French game and final on MySky and tuck into them every now and then. :)

Fantastic video, thanks moaman.

That was the beauty of Barrett on the bench - covering 10 and 15 - wing at a push. Kicking abilities, speed and can run a game. Cruden offers only at 10, Sopoaga only at 10 or 12 at a stretch. Mackensie for the future is a good bench player - he could bring the same spark as Barrett and he offers similar role to Barrett earlier - he can cover 10, 15 and wing at a push. Importantly he also offers a goal kicking option if barrett isn't on song. The questions of Mackensie are size, tackling ability and under the high ball (B Smith and Dagg are both superior to him there). But Mackensie will have to show patience. Especially if he insists on staying at the Chiefs where he is consigned to playing 15 rather than 10. There's no way he will topple Barrett on current form (had to be amazing form to displace the selector's loyalty to Cruden) or Ben Smith (barely put a foot wrong for four years as an AB) until Smith perhaps retires after the 2019 WC. I'd expect to see Mackensie in the serious AB mix on the EOYT of 2017. This is all barring injury of course (and Cruden has a history of that) Sopoaga is quality and I think he is the one player I'd like the selectors to make a space for. Especially when things like Bledisloes and Rugby Championships are wrapped up - then what is the directive for the team in those remaining games? It could be to see how Sopoaga's influence shapes the ABs. I'd even throw him the dead rubber Bledisloe Game at Eden Park. I don't think it's risky either. Especially if he has the constant metronome that is Aaron Smith inside him and a solid 12/13 combination outside him that isn't chopped and changed - even if it's not setting the world alight - for the next five games Crotty and Fekitoa are the way to go. Moala in the squad for injury - potentially bench. Israel Dagg is the biggest benefactor of Nonu/Smith's retirement and Milne-Skudder's injury - because with Crotty and Fekitoa oscillating between satisfactory and good one sense's that the selectors have needed a player with a kick, experience and tuned positional awareness. But they don't have anyone in the 2nd Five or centre position in NZ rugby to turn to with the experience of Dagg. So instead they're sticking to their guns with their midfield squad (hoping they'll grow into their roles) and instead fanning out to the fullbacks for their organisational skills and cool head. Dagg fills that - he also has the potential to make the 2019 World Cup and he has the benefit of working with Ben Smith at the back rather than competing against him.

Kuruki Fully agree; I don't see Crudes coming off the bench as a long term option.

What cracked me up was that in the euphoria of the final win....Conrad says deadpan that he was still peeved at being subbed! I liked that! Was the first decent view I had of the Carter conversion too ;-)

I feel pretty safe predicting that won't happy Kuruki.

If Barrett can continue this form and deliver on the weekend and against the Africans then i think we can without question say right, Barrett is now the best 10 in NZ and will start almost every test. When we get to that point if not already then i think it's time to reconsider selecting Cruden on the bench. I don't think we are getting the same spark from Cruden coming into 10 and shifting Barrett to the back as we were with Barrett coming into 15 from the bench. I would rather see someone like McKenzie or even when fit the reintroduction of Milner Skudder in that bench role to add real impact in the second half. I don't like the idea of changing the 10 halfway through a game and Barrett simply deserves to play 80 minutes in the 10 jersey.

Thanks for the link moaman - I stumbled across this a couple of weeks ago and I liked the construction of the piece. Aaron Smith's explanations are pretty funny sometimes and I liked Conrad and Richie talking about getting sent off in the Argentina game. Sky Sports do very good pieces on the All Blacks most of the time and this is no exception. That game against France was a orgasm of complete rugby skills. That will be one of the great Rugby World Cup games for me. Yes France buckled - but that work done in the final try in the first half by the ABs would buckle most international teams. It was like watching the 82 Brazilian football team in action. Hopefully captivating younger generation of rugby fans.

Yes - playing Sopoaga once the RC is wrapped up is the good call BBA and yes Taylorman that means playing Sopoaga at Ellis Park. In that case they'd always have Barrett on the bench. But I'd like to see the ABs stick with a centre pairing for the rest of the RC (Crotty/Fekitoa) and the only places they change is at 6 (rotate Squire/Dixon/Kaino), blood Cody Taylor more (which they tried to do in Bledisloe 1 anyway) I'd also prefer to see them play Tuipulotu rather than Romano as lock back up and give Sopoaga a mini-campaign of sorts - give him back to back games against Springboks and Argentina away. That would be great to see him direct a backline for consecutive matches. But I still think they'll give him plenty to do on EOYT - especially against Italy and maybe Ireland.

Guys; If you haven't seen this I highly reccomend it; couple of minor audial glitches but really well put-together and insightful stuff. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmDAVicIl0U

I am looking forward to Cordero running around slow Folau when they meet...

I think if the RC is wrapped up after round 4 then you would expect to see some changes. Barrett has had a big year so should get some deserved time off if the opportunity presents.

Yep completely agree with Hansen. I think kiwi 10 are given all necessary tools to blossom in the nz rugby set up: encouraged by coaches, protected by refs etc they express themselves naturally from day 1. Was talking abiut that with my saffa mate a couple of weeks ago and we were comparing the kiwi model to france or old SA (in his case) where late tackles by backrowers or other forwards on 10s were encouraged and ingrained in our rugby culture (kids, teens and adults) That's why imo our 10s don't look as 'natural' and instinctive when they reach 20-25yo. They have feared being smashed by bigger guys all their life and learnt to play accordingly. May explain why they rarely seek and find the best option when they have the ball, they know they have a second or 2 before they get hit, legally or not. A Barrett in comparison plays his own game as he has probably never been inhibited by external factors the same way saffas or french players have.

NZ has 1 professional league club so of course only need 1 no 7 and 1 no 6. The test you talk about had Foran, Johnson, Leului out injured but guys like Lolohea, Nikorima, Hingano, Te Marai Martin, are coming thru

Set play is set play, but Barret is more than just noticeable in his support play.....a bit like our own Mark Ella of years past. The wrong game plans can have a restrictive influence on the natural talents of a player, especially a player in a key pivotal position. On the subject of support play, Folau has to inject himself more into attacking moves if the Wallabies need to inflict pain on opposition defences. A fullback in the modern game should be a major strike weapon, either as a link or the one who penetrates.....particularly in broken play. Folau is absolutely ideal for the job.......but he is under-utilised in this regard. Future Wallaby success will very much depend on this factor alone.....ie. apart from the obvious scrum, lineout and basic skill components that have plagued the Wallabies in more recent times.

Is the production line of 10's due to the fact that most young talented playmakers want to be all blacks rather than league internationals? There seems to be a definate lack of league playmakers in NZ. The ANZAC test played earlier this year saw Keiran Foran unavailable which resulted in Kodi Nikorima named at 5/8 and Tohu Harris starting there for the game. Where as there would have been a dozen Aussie players who could have filled the spot had they been Kiwi. Is the lack of Aussie rugby playmakers due to the fact that League snaps up all the young talent? I'd love to hear from some Kiwis what they think about this and is there young league playmakers coming through?