All Blacks centurion Mils Muliaina has urged Scott Robertson to pick Rieko Ioane for this weekend’s crucial game against England.
New Zealand are looking to claim a rare Grand Slam success on this northern hemisphere tour and have so far defeated Ireland in Chicago and Scotland at Murrayfield.
Next up is England, who are seen as their biggest obstacle on their way to four successive victories in November which would see them achieve that Grand Slam feat.
Steve Borthwick’s men have won their last nine matches and warmed up for the visit of the All Blacks with triumphs over the Wallabies and Fiji.
England’s aerial bombardment
Having picked George Ford at fly-half and Tom Roebuck, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Freddie Steward in the back three, they will no doubt target the tourists aerially.
It has been a weakness of New Zealand this year and they will be without Caleb Clarke, one of their best under the high ball, after the wing suffered a concussion last Saturday.
Head coach Scott Robertson has a few options at his disposal, including moving centre Leicester Fainga’anuku or full-back Will Jordan onto the wing, and filling those gaps with either Billy Proctor or Damian McKenzie.
Muliaina would indeed switch Jordan out wide and bring in McKenzie at 15, but he also feels that Ioane should be selected ahead of Leroy Carter.
“This is a Grand Slam. We spoke to Razor Robertson before they left and he said they’re going to pick the best players,” he said on The Breakdown.
“I think this is the time now for Rieko Ioane to get a start. I would start him and put McKenzie at full-back.
“I think in the last couple of weeks he’s (Carter) just started to dip a little bit and he (Ioane) brings energy. We’re not talking about a 10-Test All Black here, we’re talking about 87 Tests, 38 tries – that’s not a risk.
“When you’ve got experience like that and you’re going into a massive game and a guy of his calibre, I just think with the energy he now can bring, I think it’s the chance for Rieko Ioane to start with DMac at the back and Ruben Love off the bench.
“Don’t wait for Wales, why do we need to wait for Wales to bring Ruben Love into the fold?”
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McKenzie backed to start
McKenzie was the match-winner after coming off the bench for the All Blacks in their victory over Scotland and Muliaina believes that he deserves a start in London.
“I think that would be their best team. You’ve got a Damian McKenzie that’s playing the house down. He’s come off the bench, he’s showing maturity right there,” he said.
“He brings a bit of energy and a bit of experience and then I think, why can’t Ruben Love do that job? He can come off the bench.
“He hasn’t played a lot this year, he will come off the bench and do exactly what Damian McKenzie brings.
“A Rieko Ioane will spark things up.”
Fellow ex-All Black Stephen Donald would also have Ioane in the XV but not at the expense of Carter, with the former fly-half preferring to keep McKenzie among the replacements.
“I’m starting Leroy Carter and I’m bringing Rieko in and I’m leaving Damian there. We’re slowly starting to get that last 20 or 30 minutes firing and I can’t get away from the fact that first half was as good as we’ve seen this year,” Donald said.
“Will Jordan’s a part of that at 15, an important part, and Damian, I’m his biggest fan but I just think that at last we’re starting to get some real punch off the bench.”