All Blacks.com report that the All Blacks Coaches have named their team for the Test against Fiji at Carisbrook, Dunedin, on Friday 22 July, with Taranaki and Highlanders lock Jarrad Hoeata to make his Test debut and Colin Slade his first Test start.
Starting XV:
1. Wyatt Crockett (3)
2. Andrew Hore (50)
3. Ben Franks (7)
4. Jarrad Hoeata*
5. Ali Williams (61)
6. Adam Thomson (17)
7. Richie McCaw – captain (94)
8. Liam Messam (6)
9. Jimmy Cowan (44)
10. Colin Slade (1)
11. Sitiveni Sivivatu (43)
12. Ma’a Nonu (56)
13. Conrad Smith (45)
14. Zac Guildford (10)
15. Mils Muliaina (94)
Reserves:
16. Corey Flynn (12)
17. John Afoa (30)
18. Samuel Whitelock (13)
19. Jerome Kaino (37)
20. Piri Weepu (44)
21. Daniel Carter (79)
22. Ben Smith (1)
* Test debut
Number of Test caps in brackets
The key features of the squad are the naming of 27-year-old Hoeata in the second row, alongside 61-Test All Blacks veteran Ali Williams, who returns to the All Blacks Test side for the first time since November 2008. Williams will play his 62nd Test, becoming the joint third most capped All Blacks lock, alongside Robin Brooke.
It’s also a return to the All Blacks for Crusaders prop Wyatt Crockett and Highlanders wing Ben Smith who last played for the All Blacks on the 2009 Northern Hemisphere tour. Crockett is alongside 50–Test hooker Andrew Hore and tighthead prop Ben Franks in what will be an All Blacks debut for the front row combination.
The team will be captained by Richie McCaw who, together with fullback teammate Mils Muliaina, will extend their records as the most capped All Blacks. Joining McCaw in the loose forward trio are Liam Messam at number eight and Adam Thomson at blindside flanker.
In the backs, Jimmy Cowan will start at halfback while Slade makes his first run–on start at first five–eighth in his second Test. All Blacks midfielders Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith will play their 27th Test together, just one Test behind the record held by the famous midfield partnership of Walter Little and Frank Bunce. The starting wings are Sitiveni Sivivatu and Zac Guildford.
Cory Jane, who dislocated a finger in Wellington’s ITM Cup match against Taranaki on the weekend, was ruled out of contention, while other injured players not considered include Richard Kahui (hamstring), Tony Woodcock (foot), Isaia Toeava (hip), Hosea Gear (hamstring) and Israel Dagg (thigh muscle).
All Blacks Coach Graham Henry said: “This is an important Test for us as we kick off this year’s Test season. We have got some real competition for places and it’s exciting for those players picked and they will keen to put their best foot forward.”
While there are several new combinations in the All Blacks team, Henry said they would not be taking the Fijians lightly.
“They were competitive in the recent Pacific Nations Cup and will bring their unique style so we will have to be clinical in the way we play. You just need to look at how Fiji’s Pacific neighbours Samoa played against Australia on the weekend to know that if we underestimate Fiji, we do so at our peril, “Henry said.
The All Blacks squad has been out and about meeting fans ahead of Friday’s Test, which is a fund-raising Test for Christchurch, with the squad taking Under 14 Otago club players for a coaching clinic on Monday and signing autographs for an estimated two thousand fans at a public training at Carisbrook yesterday.
“It’s always fantastic to come to Dunedin for Test rugby and the All Blacks always get a great reception here so we hope that we get a good crowd along on Friday night to support the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal,” Henry added.
The All Blacks have played Fiji four times since 1987. The last Test was at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland in 2005.
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B-team anyone? 😉
@KSA Shark © (Comment 1) : ja, ever so slightly…. then again, they’re playing Fiji, not Australia 🙂
@KSA Shark © (Comment 1) : Well A- team maybe, but should still win by a fairly handsome margin
Very much a B Team with a few first choice backs… maybe 😕
@Hertford Highlander (Comment 4) : My thoughts exactly. I mean Crockett isn’t even in the WC squad and he is playing. 😉
IMO that is one of Mr. Henry’s biggest selection mistakes ever. Not including Crockett in the RWC squad.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 5) :
RWC Squad technically has not been named yet….named just before the last game of the Tri Series…I think before the game in South Africa in Port Elizabeth…… I think ❓
He is never going to get in ahead of Woodcock but if he falls over he will go straight in …the biggest thing he is up against is the fact that he is a specialist loosehead. 😕
B+ Team 😎
there are only 6 regular starters in this team, the rest are fringe players
@Megatron (Comment 8) :
Look at the number of test caps between Mils, Nonu, Conrad and Sivivatu.
This is anything but a B team!! 🙄
@wpw (Comment 9) : um, those are the 6 regular starters i mentioned – guilford, crockett, williams, adam thomson, andrew hore have NOT worn the all black jersey in more than a YEAR, jarrad hoeata is on debut, colin slade has 1 cap – coming on as a sub against Oz, messam has 6 caps mostly as a sub or a starter against teams like England, Wales.
all of sivivatu, mccaw, mils, nonu & smith had either shitty super rugby seasons or had very little game time. this is a mix bag of 1st choice players who are recovering from injuries, had bad form, fringe players henry is trying and a rookie that had a fantastic season.
@wpw (Comment 9) : test caps me shit, especially when we know john smit has over a 100 and is up to shit form wise!
I think Colin Slade is their best hope after Carter. None of their other Flyhalves inspire any confidence, certainly not Brett or Donald – the possible exception being Nick Evans, but he’s up north or retired or somewhere in the wilderness.
@Megatron (Comment 11) :
Don’t be so hard on John boet. Just like Habana he needs to be respected for what he has done for rugby in SA.
He isn’t playing as well as he has previously but he will be an asset to the Boks at the RWC.
@wpw (Comment 13) : sorry i don’t believe that “asset at the RWC” rubbish, then he should go as team manager like monty is going as kicking coach. how did the sharks bet the bulls with john’s leadership & “aura” on the bench for 78 minutes?
put bismark, chiliboy, adrian strauss, craig burden & smit in one park and make them run, i bet you smit will be puffing WAY before the others, no team can afford a weak link and Plum knew it and didn’t gamble, why should the Boks?
@Megatron (Comment 14) : to be fair though, that was one game, the same could be said about the 2007 S14 final, where he watched his team lose the game from the sideline without any cool heads taking charge.
Also, he’s been played out of position alot, and has had minimal game time. He’s certainly not too old yet, so I wouldn’t write him off. His lineouts are better than Bissie’s, he offers more in the scrum than bissie, which, last time I checked (when everyone was slating Schalk Brits 2/3 years ago), was the main job of the hooker.
@molly (Comment 15) : how many scrums do we get in a game and how much time on the cloc do they amount to? deduct that time and then you have the bulk of the tme where john is useless. speaking of john’s lineout prowess, wasn’t it him who was throwing rubbish last year in the first game of tri-nations @ eden park?
Dance-off has begun.
Fiji won toss and chose to dance first and kick-off.
NZ 3 – 0 Fiji
4min
flip I forgot this was on. AND it’s on TV here. 😎
In Dunedin. I presume HH is there.
Fiji 4 penalties conceded in only 7min so far.
Scrum time a bit of a mess.
1st try Sivivatu.
NZ 8 – 0 Fiji
11min
NZ 8 – 0 Fiji
20min
Scrums an absolute shambles.
Fiji concede another penalty.
NZ 11 – 0 Fiji
21min
Slade try.
NZ 18 – 0 Fiji
23min
@KSA Shark © (Comment 21) : I forgot to set PVR, thought its only tomorrow 😳
NZ 18 – 0 Fiji
30min
Another penalty conceded by Fiji at scrum time. 🙄
Hore scores.
3rd try.
NZ 25 – 0 Fiji
37min
Thomson scores 4th try of the match.
NZ 32 – 0 Fiji
39min
HALF TIME
NZ 32 – 0 Fiji
NZ 32 – 0 Fiji
47min
Fiji try.
The B team is doing well 😈
NZ 32 – 7 Fiji
54min
Got NZ by 23 😎
NZ 32 – 7 Fiji
60min
Smith try.
NZ 39 – 7 Fiji
64min
Weepu try.
NZ 46 – 7 Fiji
70min
Fiji 2nd try.
Come on Fiji ❗ Score some tries! 😛
NZ 46 – 14 Fiji
72min
Lowest score ever against Fiji by NZ – 68.
Record breaking day for Fiji.
NZ 46 – 14 Fiji
75min
Penalty try NZ.
1 more try Fiji and I can get a margin point
NZ 53 – 14 Fiji
77min
@JarsonX (Comment 55) : Too late 🙁
Mils try.
NZ 60 – 14 Fiji
79min
FULL TIME
NZ 60 – 14 Fiji
@McLovin (Comment 52) : Wish I knew that before I made my pick 😈
Margin 46.
My SB prediction – NZ by 43. 😎
@McLovin (Comment 62) : I was exactly halfway there 😈
@JarsonX (Comment 61) : Last try came after a knock-on and forward pass by the All Blacks. 👿
Penalty try also a mystery. 😐
Dickenson take a bow. 🙄
@McLovin (Comment 64) : So take out 14 points from the 46 margin, I would have got a margin point 🙁
@McLovin (Comment 64) :
You just love racking up the points don’t you?? 😈 😕
@McLovin (Comment 64) : dickenson obviously had NZ by 40+ on his superbru… 😎 😐