Following the All Blacks’ 64-19 victory over Japan, we look at who enhanced their Test claims and who harmed them looking towards their European tour.
Scott Robertson selected a makeshift 23 for Saturday’s encounter in Yokohama, giving a number of fringe players an opportunity ahead of their big games against England, Ireland and France next month.
Some players stood up to the challenge while others faltered, so with all that in mind, here are our winners and losers from New Zealand’s win against Eddie Jones’ Brave Blossoms.
Winners
Wallace Sititi
Just unstoppable at the moment, the back-rower has taken to Test rugby very easily. Once again, Sititi was one of their best players on the field against Japan and, if there was any doubt, cemented his starting spot for the European tour. He will surely line up against England next weekend, although it is likely to come at blindside rather than at number eight, which is where he played on Saturday.
Sititi has all the athletic traits needed to succeed but arguably his most impressive facet, especially for one so young, is his decision-making. The back-rower has a superb rugby brain and that enables him to excel in many of technical aspects, such as lineout and breakdown. A wonderful talent who should have a very long Test career.
Billy Proctor
We can’t see Scott Robertson dropping Rieko Ioane just at this moment in time but Proctor is certainly doing enough to put pressure on the flyer. After showing up well in his debut Test against Fiji, the Hurricanes star once again impressed on his second appearance.
There is a lot to like about the centre, who has an excellent all-round skill set. He links play nicely with ball in hand and will add balance to that midfield if selected. Proctor also reads the game well defensively, as shown by that superb breakdown turnover in the first half.
Patrick Tuipulotu
It was a mammoth performance from the lock, who returned to the All Blacks starting line-up for the first time since July and was named captain. Tuipulotu has not had an easy few months, with injury restricting him to just three Tests in 2024 so far, but the second-row made up for lost time on Saturday.
The 31-year-old was a ubiquitous presence against Japan and, as a result, may force his way back into the XV. Although Tupou Vaa’i impressed in the Rugby Championship, Robertson may think the extra physicality and weight of Tuipulotu will be more suited to the heavier pitches they will encounter in Europe.
Cam Roigard
It wasn’t perfect from the returning scrum-half, who was playing his first Test since the 2023 Rugby World Cup, but there were plenty of positive signs. Roigard was certainly rusty early on, with the playmaker not quite getting his kicking game right, but he grew into the contest.
In particular, his support lines were excellent and his performance would have pleased Robertson, who has a very difficult decision to make next weekend. Cortez Ratima has been superb since coming into the squad, while TJ Perenara offers that experience.
Given the conservative nature of the head coach’s selections so far, you would think that Perenara is a guarantee in the 23, especially for next weekend’s huge Test, but Ratima and Roigard are very much the future at scrum-half for the All Blacks and he could make the bold choice.
Samipeni Finau
After the disappointment of the England series, the Chiefs flanker was given another shot in the team and this was much more like it from the talented blindside. There were a number of good things from the back-rower, who showed his power and athleticism throughout the 80 minutes, while he also put in a number of big hits on defence.
As a result, Finau did not do his chances of getting back into the squad for the England Test any harm at all. With Ethan Blackadder, Luke Jacobson and Dalton Papali’i all injured, he should at least make the 23 for the Twickenham clash. Hopefully the flanker will take his opportunity this time around, although there is still that nagging doubt that his close quarter work is not quite up to top level standard at the moment.
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Losers
Damian McKenzie
This was the fly-half’s chance to prove to Robertson that he could boss a game at Test level, but he failed. Even against lesser opposition, McKenzie didn’t manage the match well enough. There were just far too many errors and poor decisions, particularly in the second half, as Japan battled back after the break.
Granted, there were some good things too, especially the 20 minutes before the interval, but it will surely not be enough to convince Robertson to hand him the reins for the England encounter. By not playing, Beauden Barrett simply strengthened his grip on the fly-half jersey.
Stephen Perofeta
Another player that started the year in the team but who now finds himself on the fringes, albeit injury has had a part to play in that. In his first Test since July, Perofeta was solid and showed some decent touches but it’s very unlikely to be enough to force his way into the side.
Currently, Beauden Barrett is a guarantee at fly-half and that means Will Jordan will likely line-up at full-back. Although McKenzie didn’t do himself any favours against Japan, his versatility and ability to impact the game off the bench probably sees him take that spot in the 23 from Perofeta.
Sam Darry
Like Perofeta, Darry didn’t do anything wrong as such, but the lock needed a spectacular showing to usurp either Tupou Vaa’i or Patrick Tuipulotu. Unfortunately for him, that didn’t happen and he will probably have to bide his time before getting another chance.
Darry has settled into Test rugby nicely after making his debut earlier this year but his performances have stagnated in contrast to Vaa’i’s, whose have improved significantly. In a position that concerned Robertson at the start of the year, they now have a pretty solid quartet, but the Blues man is ultimately fourth in the pecking order.
Pasilio Tosi
After an impressive cameo against the Wallabies in the final Rugby Championship clash, this was an opportunity for the tighthead to really stamp his mark on the team, but it did not happen. Tyrel Lomax is the guaranteed starter but, with Fletcher Newell only just returning from injury, Tosi could have forced his way into the squad for the Twickenham Test with an outstanding performance.
However, the gargantuan prop failed to get any traction at the scrum as an impressive Japanese front-row trio held firm. To compound matters, the returning Newell came onto the field and the All Blacks began to gain set-piece dominance, which probably nailed down in Robertson’s mind the two tightheads for next weekend’s clash.
Bench impact
The All Blacks thought they had solved their second-half issues in the Bledisloe Cup, but they produced yet another unconvincing final 40 minutes against Japan after the replacements came on. There were some exceptions – two-try debutant Ruben Love did well and the props improved the set-piece – but the rest were fairly mediocre.
For whatever reason, instead of increasing the physicality and tempo, the All Blacks seem to lose continuity when they look towards the bench. There are obvious caveats from this game in that it was a makeshift 23 and they were already well ahead, so the intensity can naturally drop, but it will be a slight concern looking towards England.
READ MORE: All Blacks overcome sluggish start to begin tour with convincing victory over Eddie Jones’ Japan
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