After playing exceptionally well in Auckland, there will be a temptation to give Scott Barrett another start. The former captain returned to test action for the first time this year with a vintage effort where his ball carrying was top notch and his tackling, cleanout work and general physicality were all brutal and effective.
But there are salient lessons to be learned from past cases of high-impact returns by players with limited game time behind them.
Brodie Retallick, like Barrett, was a supremely conditioned beast with a big engine, but what the coaches found with him whenever they picked him to play a test after a long absence, was that he could be brilliant on his return, but that he would struggle to back it up the following week.
So perhaps there is a road map there for Rennie to follow and to either leave Barrett – who had played just 90 minutes of rugby this year for Taranaki before starting against Australia – either out of the 23 or use him off the bench.
He’s going to have a big role to play in the UK where his bruising, all-action approach will likely be utilised in all four tests.
Plus, the All Blacks need to find a way to improve their lineout which has arguably been a point of vulnerability since they went to South Africa.
It was picked apart by South Africa in the second test – where there were also a couple of costly malfunctions that saw prime attacking opportunities blown – and again at Eden Park, the Wallabies were able to win a couple of All Blacks throws and force the home team to adopt a conservative throwing strategy.
The lineout continues to be a work-on for the All Blacks. Photo / Photosport
So far this year, the All Blacks haven’t inspired confidence when they have thrown to the tail, and even getting the ball to No 4 – bread and butter stuff – has been at times a stressful and wobbly exercise that has not yielded the prime attacking opportunity it was supposed to.
Playing Tupou Vaa’i at blindside gives the All Blacks three genuine options to throw to but while that positional ploy has worked in adding to the ball-carrying horsepower, it hasn’t yet given the lineout the intended functionality and aggressive threat on opposition ball it was designed to bring.
If Barrett is rested, then the most likely option would be to bring in Fabian Holland alongside Josh Lord – the combination that started in the Ellis Park victory.
Rennie, without getting into the specifics, said it took three meetings to pick the team last week, and lock was probably one of the areas most hotly debated.
If Holland and Lord are not the option, then shifting Vaa’i back to lock and playing Shannon Frizell, a strong lineout operator, might be considered.
Injuries to Segner and Blackadder have likely simplified the thinking in the back-row as Wallace Sititi, Peter Lakai, Frizell and Simon Parker are the only initial selections who remain fit.
Cam Roigard was exceptional in Auckland but Rennie, almost paradoxically, might be getting fearful that his preferred No 9 is so much better than the alternatives that the All Blacks need to be wary of being overly dependent on one player.
This might be the perfect game to start Kyle Preston and see if he can deliver the same kicking threat Roigard did and facilitate the gameplan with the same maturity.
There may, though, be a wariness about losing the core elements of the Eden Park performance, and perhaps Preston will be given an extended run off the bench rather than a start.
The only other definite change the All Blacks will have to make is on the left wing to replace Carter and there has long been a desire to give Fehi Fineanganofo a start – but that will be dependent on whether he has recovered from both a concussion and hamstring strain.
If he hasn’t, there may be a surprise selection of Chay Fihaki ahead of the UK tour to see if his kick-catch portfolio can pass muster at test level and give the All Blacks a different sort of player to the wings in their current mix.
Gregor Paul is one of New Zealand’s most respected rugby writers and columnists. He has won multiple awards for journalism and written several books about sport.
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