The All Blacks‘ flip-flopping Rugby Championship campaign continued in round five with a win over the Wallabies. It was a performance that left some questions still unanswered, but others may have finally been resolved.
Every sports fan’s favourite topic, selections, were back on the agenda following the win, but this time in a positive light.
After some trial and error from selectors to begin the year, the wing duo of Caleb Clarke and Leroy Carter appears to have convinced pundits that they’re the men for the starting jobs, having each scored a try in the opening 13 minutes of the game.
While Clarke only made it to halftime due to an ankle tweak, his presence as a kick-chaser and cross-field kick target was evident from the outset, and remedied an area of weakness for New Zealand this season. The 26-year-old enjoyed a viral moment pregame, when his father, former All Black Eroni Clarke, surprised him by singing the New Zealand national anthem.
Attack 
440m
Post Contact Metres
307m
Carter, on the other wing, again looked right at home in his second Test match. The Super Rugby rookie caught the eye of 66-cap Kiwi flyer Israel Dagg.
“He was so busy, not only on attack, but defensively,” Dagg reflected on his Sport Nation radio segment. “Did you see that shot he put on Len Ikitau? A shot when it was needed.
“He was so busy, the work rate, and that try is not your conventional winger’s try. But he’s in there, he’s looking for work, he’s doing a pick-and-go on the tryline. I thought he was outstanding.
“With Caleb Clarke, I think we’ve found our wingers. It’s unfortunate Caleb went off. I spoke with him after the match; hopefully, it’s not too serious, just a little bruise on the Achilles. He looked very, very good on the outside.”
Clarke travelled with the team to Perth on Sunday, signalling he may be available for the tournament’s final round.
The wing partnership was also given the tick of approval by 2011 All Blacks hero Stephen Donald.
“They certainly aren’t going to get dropped from the next one. I thought they were a good combination, and it’s good to see busy wingers who are in form,” Donald said on The Aftermatch with Kirst and Beav.
“Leroy Carter has absolutely made every post a winner, and you think back to who’s previously been in those wing jerseys, and then you add Emoni Narawa, who had a fantastic five minutes against the Boks before he was cruelly injured.
“It’s not been entirely performance-based, the musical chairs, there have been injuries…
“(Carter) has been outstanding defensively. On Saturday night, there were a couple of times when he saw what was unfolding, knew he was outnumbered, and he took it upon himself to fly out and shut down their attack.
“I don’t know if the wingers have got that license under the All Blacks’ defensive set-up or if he’s just got a rugby brain on him and decided this has to get shut down or else we’re in trouble.
“There was a space of about 10 minutes there, around halfway, he’s clobbered a few people. He’s not a massive man when compared to what’s running around international rugby, but he was winning those contacts.
“So, Leroy Carter’s going from strength to strength. Caleb was obviously brought in because he’s a big, explosive winger first and foremost, but also for his aerial game, and it was by far our best game of the year as far as the aerial game goes.”