North Island
35
Match Complete
South Island
38
| 80 |  | J. Barrett | ||
| 80 |  | W. Jordan | ||
| D. McKenzie | | 71 | ||
| A. Dixon | | 71 | ||
| D. McKenzie | | 66 | ||
| R. Ioane | | 66 | ||
| 62 | | J. Barrett | ||
| 61 | | T. Lomax | ||
| 58 | | J. Barrett | ||
| 57 | | W. Jordan | ||
| D. McKenzie | | 46 | ||
| A. Smith | | 45 | ||
| 32 | | J. Barrett | ||
| 30 | | J. Barrett | ||
| D. McKenzie | | 18 | ||
| D. McKenzie | | 17 | ||
| 11 |  | J. Barrett | ||
| 7 | | J. Barrett | ||
| 6 | | N. Laulala | ||
| D. McKenzie | | 4 | ||
| R. Ioane | | 2 |
| 5 | Tries | 5 | ||
| 5 | Conversions | 5 | ||
| 0 | Penalty Goals | 1 | ||
| 0 | Field Goals | 0 |
The New Zealanders will reawaken a tradition only seen three times since 1986 as the North Island takes on the South Island in Wellington. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of what promises to be an exciting match starting from 5:10pm (AEST).
All Blacks’ coach Ian Foster has selected a couple of cracking teams to go head to head but it will be interesting to see whether this match has any real impact on national selection. Will Foster learn something new in this 80 minutes that he hasn’t seen already during Super Rugby Aotearoa?
Whatever happens later in the year though, there is plenty to be excited about with this match up.
The North side has some fantastic combinations that you don’t get to see very often with the back three of Damian McKenzie, Sevu Reece and Caleb Clarke having the potential to tear their southern opponents apart with pace, footwork and the ability to pop up anywhere in attack.
Upfront the spread of talent is clear to see and the North team will be wanting to show that they have more than enough power and control to dominate their rivals. Hoskins Sotutu, a 22-year-old, has impressed this season for the Blues and it will be interesting to see what the young back-rower can do to get his team going forward.
Behind the pack, the halves combination of Beauden Barrett and TJ Perenara is skillful and experienced but they are up against a good looking pairing for the South team in Richie Mo’unga and Brad Weber.
Of course, the Barrett and Mo’unga battle is attracting plenty of headlines and chat but it’s hard to see the Crusaders #10 not wearing the same number for the All Blacks later this year. However, that won’t stop the joy of watching the two go head to head.
In the South side, no one is going to be surprised to see that there are more than a few Crusaders after their past few seasons. The comfort and understanding that these players will have will go a long way to counteracting the talent in the North side. The South Island pack has seven Crusaders and they will look to create a strong platform and plenty of go forward for Weber to enjoy.
Prediction
It’s a shame that there won’t be crowds at this game as it should be a great exhibition but even though there will be plenty of attacking, free-flowing play, both teams will be desperate to win. In the end, the Crusaders dominated South Island side should get to collect the Te Matau a Māui Cup and the Loving Cup.
North Island by 5
Game information
Kick-off: 5:10pm (AEST)
Venue: Sky Stadium, Wellington
TV: Fox Sports
Online: Kayo Sports, Foxtel GO
Betting: North $1.66, South $2.25
Teams
North Island
1. Karl Tu’inukuafe 2. Asafo Aumua, 3. Ofa Tuungafasi, 4. Patrick Tuipulotu (captain), 5. Tupou Vaa’i, 6. Akira Ioane, 7. Ardie Savea, 8. Hoskins Sotutu, 9. TJ Perenara, 10. Beauden Barrett, 11. Caleb Clarke, 12. Anton Lienert-Brown, 13. Rieko Ioane, 14. Sevu Reece, 15. Damian McKenzie
Replacements: 16. Ash Dixon, 17. Ayden Johnstone, 18. Angus Ta’avao, 19. Scott Scrafton, 20. Dalton Papalii, 21. Aaron Smith, 22. Peter Umaga-Jensen, 23. Mitchell Hunt
South Island
1. Joe Moody, 2. Codie Taylor, 3. Nepo Laulala, 4. Samuel Whitelock (captain), 5. Mitchell Dunshea, 6. Shannon Frizell, 7. Tom Christie, 8. Tom Sanders, 9. Brad Weber, 10. Richie Mo’unga, 11. George Bridge, 12. Jack Goodhue, 13. Brayden Ennor, 14. Will Jordan, 15. Jordie Barrett
16. Liam Coltman, 17. George Bower, 18. Tyrel Lomax, 19. Manaaki Selby-Rickit, 20. Dillon Hunt, 21. Finlay Christie, 22. Josh Ioane, 23. Leicester Faingaanuku
Diesel 2.0
Roar Rookie
Cheers Fox. Good squad and a good mixture of old heads and new. Thin in the locks I see.
CUW
Roar Rookie
Forwards: Asafo Aumua, Dane Coles, Codie Taylor, Alex Hodgman, Nepo Laulala, Tyrel Lomax, Joe Moody, Karl Tu’inukuafe, Ofa Tuungafasi, Quinten Strange, Patrick Tuipulotu, Tupou Vaa’i, Samuel Whitelock, Sam Cane (c), Shannon Frizell, Cullen Grace, Akira Ioane, Dalton Papalii, Ardie Savea, Hoskins Sotutu Backs: TJ Perenara, Aaron Smith, Brad Weber, Beauden Barrett, Richie Mo’unga, Braydon Ennor, Jack Goodhue, Rieko Ioane, Anton Lienert-Brown, Jordie Barrett, George Bridge, Caleb Clarke, Will Jordan, Damian McKenzie, Sevu Reece number of players left out will feel a little undone - but it looks like the squad was picked a while back. Coz strange got injured in the Highlanders match and Grace was out a long time ago. also it seems the powers that be think of Savea as an 8 - but i thought he was below par whole of super rugger , and then showed his class as a flanker in the NS match.... also out of Hunt Boshier Papailii - one guy is happy Ennor in despite his injury - he needs to get it right , else will lose pace
CUW
Roar Rookie
no wonder the players voted him the most underrated player in new zealand - Havili can play full back or centers and even cover fly half.
Double Agent
Guest
I know it sounds a bit odd considering the guy is already an All Black but Jordie Barrett must be the most improved player in SR.
moaman
Roar Guru
Yeah, I forgot about David Havili. BB isn't so great at 10 either but he is a guy you want on the park!
Daggett
Roar Rookie
Gutted I missed this. Hope there’s a reply on fox!
Ankle-tapped Waterboy
Roar Rookie
An excellent and thoroughly enjoyable game. Watching on TV it’s sometimes hard to pick just how very fast the game is live at the ground. The skill level, vision, reaction speeds, sheer athletic ability and smarts under pressure was phenomenal. The game of rugby continues to develop and push the boundaries of what’s normal. That means the referees also have to be at their utmost. A ref has make something like 600 decisions in a match, and to get just a couple wrong is a remarkable effort, say 597 out of 600 good decisions is a fine result. But the margins are so tight that a wrong decision can turn a game. I thought I saw 3 poor decisions in the North-South game, regrettably all of them to do with tries awarded or not awarded, and even more regrettably all of them in favour of one team being the North. Fortunately it didn’t affect the final result, but it so easily could have, such are the fine margins: The truck and trailer call against Codie Taylor to deny what looked like a try from a maul at 23′ simply lost this viewer. I didn’t understand the ruling. There are arcane bits to the Laws of Rugby but this looked like the giddy heights of post-graduate Laws interpretation to this Rugby 101 viewer. At 21-31 down and 15 minutes to go, the North had a good shot at the win and got two quick tries to look good for it. But both tries raised questions. North’s comeback started with Ioane’s try in the 67′ minute. The movement started from a lineout awarded to the North by the touchjudge, even though the ball hit the legs of the North’s Anton Lienert-Brown before landing in touch. It should have been the South’s throw-in. The touch judge ignored Will Jordan’s pleas and I thought at the time, “Uh-oh, I hope nothing comes of this”. Also a bit baffled why the Ref didn’t check the grounding on Ash Dixon’s try at the 72′ minute. It looked held up in goal. That’s 21 points at dispute. As a viewer and fan, I don’t want to see this sort of thing when the Internationals roll around. [edits to try to get paragraphs to work right]
Lara
Guest
What is really scary are the players missing due to injury or away . The squad can only improve. The young guns like Jordan ,Clarke n Ennor are only developing . Jodie is now a top FB at last n should be a starter, Reiko is still learning to be a centre , with ALB n Goodhue there to guide him , the path should be made easier. The forwards.....power n more to come in the form of Retallick. Hard to fault this current squad.
Fox
Roar Guru
Here's the new squad just picked Hookers: Asafo Aumua, Dane Coles, Codie Taylor. Props: Alex Hodgman, Nepo Laulala, Tyrel Lomax, Joe Moody, Karl Tu’inukuafe, Ofa Tuungafasi. Locks: Quinten Strange, Patrick Tuipulotu, Tupou Vaa’i, Sam Whitelock. Loose forwards: Sam Cane (capt), Shannon Frizell, Cullen Grace, Akira Ioane, Dalton Papalii, Ardie Savea, Hoskins Sotutu. Halfbacks: TJ Perenara, Aaron Smith, Brad Weber. First five-eighths: Beauden Barrett, Richie Mo’unga. Midfielders: Braydon Ennor, Jack Goodhue, Rieko Ioane, Anton Lienert-Brown. Outside backs: Jordie Barrett, George Bridge, Caleb Clarke, Will Jordan, Damian McKenzie, Sevu Reece.Both Ioanes are in the squad and IMO rightly so.
Fox
Roar Guru
I only saw one genuine read that he Ioane missed in the centres – which was about on par with ALB and he was by miles the most devastating in attack the entire game because of the blinding acceleration which only Ennor can match off the mark Here’s the new AB squad just picked All Blacks squad: Hookers: Asafo Aumua, Dane Coles, Codie Taylor. Props: Alex Hodgman, Nepo Laulala, Tyrel Lomax, Joe Moody, Karl Tu’inukuafe, Ofa Tuungafasi. Locks: Quinten Strange, Patrick Tuipulotu, Tupou Vaa’i, Sam Whitelock. Loose forwards: Sam Cane (capt), Shannon Frizell, Cullen Grace, Akira Ioane, Dalton Papalii, Ardie Savea, Hoskins Sotutu. Halfbacks: TJ Perenara, Aaron Smith, Brad Weber. First five-eighths: Beauden Barrett, Richie Mo’unga. Midfielders: Braydon Ennor, Jack Goodhue, Rieko Ioane, Anton Lienert-Brown. Outside backs: Jordie Barrett, George Bridge, Caleb Clarke, Will Jordan, Damian McKenzie, Sevu Reece. Both Ioanes are in the squad and IMO rightly so.
timber
Guest
Sotutu can still do that from 8, I think it's the overall balance that's important. I'd like to see Jacobson given another chance at 6, hopefully he can stay injury free. Cane at 7 and Savea on the bench.
Robert
Guest
Doesn't look like this coaching group are going to be as bad as some people were hoping
Kiwiburger
Guest
A lot of praise for Reiko on this blog, and while he's a classy ball runner I thought he looked loss on defense particularly in that first half. Teams are urgently shifting it around the midfield traffic these days and your 13 needs to on song with their reads. Jordie is playing as if hes finally realised he's a huge guy and it's marvellous to see. Frizzel was anonymous which is a shame, I really wanted him to go well and while his two tries were really good I thought Jordan was a little quiet but will admit I wasn't keeping a close eye. I'd look at converting Sotutu into a 6 personally. Big carries, big hits in an area the Abs have been lacking since Kaino retired.
CUW
Roar Rookie
HAvili - the most consistent before injuries - this year as well as last. BB is not so great at 15.
The Bull
Guest
Hmm, had nothing to do with those English lads played some good rugby? The Poms were 30 points better that day.
moaman
Roar Guru
The alternatives are BB, DMac, Jordan or even Bridge.We really are spoilt for choice in some areas. I suspect Foster won't get too funky.
JD Kiwi
Roar Rookie
They clearly changed lanes
Paulo
Roar Rookie
You don’t need black jerseys there to be the same maul. The opposition can’t just peel off once the maul is formed to make it ‘not a maul’. That isn’t why they (Wrongfully) called it back.
Paulo
Roar Rookie
You know it’s dodge when the kicker grabs the ball and runs to convert, there is only one reason when the conversion puts you in front that you rush it, that’s when the try is dodgy af and you don’t want it looked at.
Uriah Heep
Roar Rookie
Nuggie made a huge difference when he came on. I'm not sure what you'd pick TJ for these days.