Murray Mexted has selected two bolters in his latest All Blacks loose forward combination with Ardie Savea remaining at number eight.
New Zealand begin their international season next month with a three-Test series against France as they look to build on last year’s positive end to the campaign.
The back-row is one of the most hotly debated and contested positions heading into those games versus Les Bleus, particularly following the retirement of the great Sam Cane.
Many would like to see Savea shift to openside flanker in order to accommodate 2024 World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year Wallace Sititi in his best position at the base of the scrum.
First All Blacks bolter
However, Mexted feels that the form of Du’Plessis Kirifi at the Hurricanes is too strong to ignore and believes that Scott Robertson should give him a chance in the seven jersey with Savea at eight.
“Ardie’s got so much X-factor that you can understand why he’s in the team – he’s got more X-factor than anybody. He’s got to be the first guy you pick,” he told DSPN with Martin Devlin.
“Then you’ve got to ask: ‘Does he play seven or eight?’
“There’s been another openside flanker that’s put his hand up and said: ‘Hey, there’s an option here if you want to be brave’, and his name’s Kirifi.
“He has got better and better and better, and I don’t think there’s anyone that turns over as much ball as Kirifi does in 80 minutes.
“I see Kirifi a shining light in that area; how many times do you see him over the ball? How many times does he win the penalty? It’s his body position and it’s his physique.
“I would pick Kirifi as my openside which means all of a sudden Ardie is my number eight, and everyone’s happy because Ardie scores tries too.”
That leaves the blindside position up for grabs in Mexted’s loose trio. Sititi played there in 2024 and was outstanding but the former All Blacks number eight wants someone bigger and taller in that position.
Savea has proven to be a useful lineout option over the years while Sititi, despite only being 6ft 2in, also impressed in the set-piece.
However, Mexted yearns for the days when New Zealand could call upon the likes of Jerome Kaino and Kieran Read, which gave them four genuine jumpers.
“You’ve got to pick at least three in the forwards that can win good aerial possession. I would rather have four and in the last few years the All Blacks have had four when you had Kaino and Read – you had ball winners who had genuine height and genuine ability to win the ball,” he said.
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Players like that are few and far between in New Zealand at the moment, which is the reason why Mexted has previously suggested moving Tupou Vaa’i from the second-row.
“We’ve got to have the biggest, best blindside flanker we can find in New Zealand. I’ve been looking and looking and looking, and waiting and waiting for someone to stand up and say: ‘I’m your man’,” the 71-year-old said.
“That’s why I wanted to move Vaa’i to blindside. I know they had a go at it and he was a bit lost for a couple of games and moved him back to lock, but he’s not big enough at lock to play against the big teams.
“But he’s a great rugby player so I would like to see him playing blindside. I don’t think they can do that because he hasn’t been playing there, so you’ve got to look around.”
The options to fill blindside slot
Mexted duly namechecked two players who fit the profile he is looking for and are playing well enough to get into the All Blacks side.
“Who is there that’s about two metres tall? There are two and they’re both at the Chiefs. There’s [Samipeni] Finau and all of a sudden there’s this guy called Simon Parker,” he said.
Finau has already played for the All Blacks, earning eight caps since making his debut back in 2023, while Parker would be a veritable bolter.
The 25-year-old has generally been the preferred at option at blindside this season by the Chiefs, while he can also feature at number eight.
“I hadn’t even heard of [Parker] until a few weeks ago and he’s 1.97. He’s big, he’s heavy and strong, so I think he’s an outsider,” Mexted said.
“He got the nod and there were some great loose forwards on the bench [for the Chiefs]. He was picked ahead of Sititi [against the Blues] and he was picked the week before at blindside.”
Robertson could well be considering Parker given his form this season but there is a concern around the ankle injury he picked up against the Blues in the Super Rugby Pacific play-off clash.
The severity of the issue has yet to be confirmed but he, at the very least, looks set to miss the final should the Chiefs get there.
However, providing the back-rower recovers from the problem which has forced him out of the last-four encounter and is available for a potential All Blacks call-up, Mexted believes that he could be their long-term blindside.
“It’s going to take a few games for me to critique a guy like him [but] I think he’s a guy that’s going to be pushing for the position,” he added.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/all-blacks-great-claims-wallace-sititis-position-under-threat-as-scott-robertson-urged-to-select-outsider-in-much-changed-loose-trio
