All Blacks squad: Ethan Blackadder call underlines Dave Rennie’s selection strategy
You have to hand it to Dave Rennie. He’s done what few All Blacks coaches have: quell the critics. So far, anyway.
Forty-four All Blacks chosen for the tough tour of South Africa provoked barely a squeak of protest. Fingers poised over keyboards have mostly stayed still in social media and in the comments boxes of mainstream media. The posse of opinion had no one to pursue; the witch hunt had prepared the bonfire but had no matches.
Any announcement of an All Blacks team carries an opportunity for opprobrium, and fans’ discontent – more easily expressed these days than ever – hits home more often that you’d think.
Think back to 2011 when one radio broadcaster ran a list of the biggest “teacher’s pets” in sport – those benefiting from benevolent assessments of their abilities by selectors, coaches or influential people. Top of the list was an All Black, Shayne Philpott.
He copped it on two fronts when selected in 1988 (he played two tests and 12 games across four All Blacks teams between then and 1991). A utility back, he was widely labelled as lucky; many of rugby’s spiteful armchair selectors pointed to a perceived family link to then All Blacks coach Alex Wyllie.
The blowback got so bad that Philpott listed his All Blacks cap on Trade Me, citing comments he’d had to endure for 20 years as the reason: “I had tended to disassociate myself with the fact that I ever was an All Black, although I do get reminded from time to time ... I didn’t go to the capping ceremony [in 2009] to be presented my cap amongst other All Blacks, I had it posted to me,” he said.
“Radio jibes and internet insults have been constant. The occasional beat-ups on talk radio and the odd newspaper article always get back to me. Stuff written on the net about you suggesting you are crap or stuff that isn’t even true.” There’s probably never been a sadder postscript to an All Blacks career, save possibly for the fact that Philpott died a couple of years ago at 58.
Which brings us back to Rennie and his achievement in selecting approximately 50% more players than Wyllie 35 years ago with almost nil disapproval. Winning your first three tests, the last quite persuasively, helps – but media and the social media mob are notoriously fickle.
His early achievements don’t end with suppressing potential discontent from fans. His escalation of fringe players – we’re talking Luke Jacobson – into confirmed first-teamers has earned him admiration for his rugby nous. The selection of Josh Jacomb as the fourth first five-eighths is a smart fail-safe and forward-planning move.
The most obvious exclusion was Hurricanes flanker Du’Plessis Kirifi, yet it’s easy to see how many players in that squad can play No 7. Utility players like Philpott always have an advantage in squad selection; specialists sometimes suffer.
That said, it was still a surprise to see Ethan Blackadder’s name among the loose forwards even though he can play all three positions. This column has robustly argued against Blackadder at All Blacks level for a few years now, on the basis he does not offer enough on attack.
Again, however, Rennie’s rationale survives scrutiny. If you looked on his clipboard of qualities required for loose forwards, it might read something like: Big engine. Tick. High work rate. Tick. Non-stop defence. Tick. Impact at the breakdowns. Tick. You can see how Blackadder might appeal as a midweek stalwart, others doing more of the heavy lifting on attack.
In addition, the squad for the All Blacks’ 1996 tour of South Africa (when ”The Incomparables” pulled off the first series win in South Africa) includes the name Todd Blackadder – so maybe there is some good omen symmetry there.
Mention of Blackadder brings to mind another Cantabrian All Black – a captain, no less – who also received consistent, trenchant criticism: Reuben Thorne. He had to put up with the “Captain Invisible” and “non-playing captain” taunts from the armchairs.
Like Blackadder, he was a hard worker, a grafter without the explosive power of fellow loose forwards like Jerry Collins. He offered less in terms of ball-carrying but, also like Blackadder, his value was in his work rate, defence and influence in the rucks and mauls. Part of the problem was the regional divide – he was Canterbury and a large slice of the North Island felt he wasn’t up to it, even though his All Blacks teammates made it clear they respected him and wanted him there.
Provincial bias was also evident south-north. Remember the bile spat at Auckland flanker Mark Carter in his first year, in 1991, and when he was recalled in 1998? There have been plenty of other examples, even including Justin Marshall, the much-decorated halfback skilled in offensive and defensive modes. However, his career was always punctuated by jibes that he was the worst-passing halfback in recent memory – despite stats from the time showing he actually had the fastest pass.
So the comparative silence after Rennie’s team announcements is priceless. Even though there will be some delineation between test and midweek teams, they will be focusing hugely on the ethic the ’96 All Blacks called “One Team”. Whoever was playing didn’t matter; the team did.
It succeeded and Rennie and the players will be working hard on the ties that bind and the results that accrue.
Paul Lewis writes about rugby, cricket, league, football, yachting, golf, the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.