More serious casualties but the Bledisloe sweep reveals All Blacks supreme depth

By Liam Napier in Sydney

The benefits of the brutal, gruelling South African tour are beginning to emerge for the All Blacks.

Three successive defeats cast a dark cloud over the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against the Springboks but in the last two weeks, through their depth and sweeping game improvements, the All Blacks have reset and reinforced their threats.

Many other nations in world rugby, other than the Boks and France, would struggle to survive the mounting casualty ward the All Blacks have endured this season.

Shannon Frizell and Samisoni Taukei’aho are expected to be the latest troops to join Ardie Savea, Luke Jacobson, Leroy Carter, Caleb Clarke, Ruben Love, Billy Proctor and, potentially, Richie Mo’unga in suffering season-ending injuries in the 43-21 victory against the Wallabies in Sydney.

Using 48 players in South Africa allowed coach Dave Rennie to expand his depth pool and to expose that enlarged group to the ongoing quest for an uptempo attacking style that demands sharp skills and supreme conditioning.

Beauden Barrett had an impressive outing at fullback for the All Blacks in Sydney. Photo / Photosport

The spinoffs of the All Blacks’ growing depth are now widely evident.

Eight forwards who featured in the South Africa tests did not play in Sydney.

Against the Wallabies, the All Blacks also lost starting midfielders Jordie Barrett and Quinn Tupaea, with Timoci Tavatavanawai and Rieko Ioane promoted in their place.

Peter Lakai and Wallace Sititi continue to stand tall in the loose forwards without Savea and Jacobson.

Damian McKenzie, the All Blacks’ third-choice No 10, has seamlessly run the cutter.

Scott Barrett’s return has been invaluable – it looks as though he never left. And brother Beauden Barrett, who didn’t feature in July and played one of four tests against the Springboks off the bench, is savouring a form revival after excelling in the last two weeks from fullback.

As he approaches the 150-test milestone and closes in on Richie McCaw and Sam Whitelock, while moving into third on the All Blacks’ tryscoring stakes, one behind Doug Howlett and eight off Will Jordan, Barrett is reinvigorated.

“It’s been a tough team to crack and that’s a very good problem to have in terms of having to earn it and the depth we have,” he said after bagging two tries – one a 60m intercept – in Sydney. “It’s an honour being selected again. I’ve really enjoyed it.

“It was a tough Super [Rugby] season the way we [the Blues] went about things so to get a bit of energy from this team and start feeling myself again has been really rewarding.”

At this point, Cam Roigard, Jordie Barrett and, to a lesser extent, Will Jordan are the only players the All Blacks would battle to replace.

All Blacks midfielder Jordie Barrett missed the test in Sydney due to injury. Photo / Photosport

“It just highlights how fortunate we are,” Rennie said. “We’ve got a couple of 10s out and we’re playing Damian and Beauden together. Beauden’s experience, communication, the quality of his decision-making is excellent.

“You saw him under pressure last week and he managed to step out of three tackles. Picking off that try was reasonably important. If they score there, it’s 29-14. We feel like we’ve had total dominance but they’re in it. It’s great having him in the mix.

“We’ve used 50-odd players this year, creating depth and competition for places. We’re missing a few influential players but other guys step up.”

More evidence is required than locking away the Bledisloe Cup and dominating the depleted Wallabies twice.

Tougher tests await next month, with Scotland in Edinburgh and England at Twickenham certain to prove more challenging than the Bledisloe ties, before the Nations Championship finals weekend in London, but Rennie’s style is starting to click.

While the lineout remains a source of concern, the pace, attack, offloading, breakdown brutality and improved scrum platform evoke revived confidence for the November climax to the season.

“We had an honest look at ourselves after the greatest rivalry,” stand-in All Blacks captain Codie Taylor, another standout veteran in Sydney, said.

“We walked away from that pretty gutted, also knowing we’re playing a brand of rugby we can be proud of and grow on,” Taylor said.

Securing the Bledisloe Cup last weekend, and owning the demands to back that up, sets the tone for the remainder of the year.

Selecting the final squad of the year – 36 are expected to be named following the NPC final – won’t be easy as the All Blacks continue to count the cost of a torrid year.

But with Asafo Aumua and Anton Segner to return, while veterans and young talent find form to enhance internal competition, the All Blacks appear well placed to continue their resurgence.

“We’ve had discussions about what the [November] selection looks like and it’s had to change after tonight. We’ve lost a couple it would appear,” All Blacks assistant coach Neil Barnes said.

“With the injury toll, hooker is one [area]. We’ve lost a couple there and in the loose forwards with Shannon going down. In the midfield, we’ve taken some dings in the last 10 days. We’re unsure where all this is going to end. We’ll have to reassess in the next couple of days.

“We’re creating depth all the time, we’re trusting the next cab off the rank and people are stepping up. When you look at that crew who went out today, there’s a lot of changes in there and by the end of it holy hecka there were people all over the place.”

The All Blacks survived finishing the Sydney test with 13 men – and they’re sure to encounter more adversity before the year is complete.

Emerging through the battles with the Boks, though, and exposing a host of players to such hostile environments, suggests they are ready to meet those challenges head on.

Liam Napier is a Senior Sports Journalist and Rugby Correspondent for the New Zealand Herald. He is a co-host of the Rugby Direct podcast.