All Blacks: The best XV players in the Rugby Championship
Winston Aldworth picks the best XV from all the players on show during the Rugby Championship.
A return to his threatening best for the All Blacks’ switch-hitting fullback-flyhalf. Just as they looka better side when he comes off the bench, the ABs looked most dangerous in recent weeks when their No 15 came into first receiver.
You’d want him on your side in a game of aerial ping-pong, and you’d definitely be grateful for having him on your side when he isolates and skins slower defenders.
Unlucky: Mark Nawaqanitawase was involved in many of the Wallabies’ decent moments.
Without ever really delivering a standout performance during the Rugby Championship, the All Blacks centre was slick and accurate. And there was certainly no one in a No 13 jersey opposite him that made a clearer case for selection.
Springboks midfield powerhouse lacks the subtle touches of Jordie Barrett, but he brings constant forward momentum to collisions in those cluttered inside channels.
Unlucky: Jordie Barrett; New Zealand journalists compiling team lists like this and trying to find reasons not to stack it with All Blacks.
An odd one to pick, with debutant Emoni Narawa shining against Argentina in the All Blacks opener and Kurt-Lee Arendse having a blinder for the Boks against the Wallabies. The former had no further action and the later made plenty of errors since. Meanwhile, Telea was solid against the Boks and blistering against the Wallabies – poor old Marika Koroibete might still be looking for him around Melbourne. The defences of northern hemisphere teams are unlikely to be so generous at the World Cup.
Unlucky: Hat-trick hero Arendse.
The one-two combo with Beauden Barrett stepping forward has found its rhythm – the understanding between the two of them seems key to their side’s fluidity in France. When Mo’unga is nearer the pack, the ball stays tighter and the runners target closer channels. He’s a smart kicker, savvy game manager and solid points-gatherer. Also, slick and quick when a gap is available.
The Rugby Championship was marked by big loosies and locks belting each other – not a great time for wee men to shine. Nonetheless, the Barbie-coiffured Bok made the most of his moments and quickly asserts himself into matches where the focus is on duelling packs. Scraps like a little tiger, kicks accurately and retains a devilishly sharp eye for quick breaks. Southern hemisphere rugby is waiting for its next generation of great halfbacks to step forward.
Unlucky: Long-toothed Aaron Smith is unflappable and accurate.
A classic “bitsa” loosie in the Kiwi fashion – skillful with the ball, devastating on the charge, snappy on the jackal and always alert to opportunities. Savea is the All Blacks forward most able to bring a winning impact to any area on the field.
Unlucky: Big Bok Duane Vermeulen wouldn’t let us down and it would be great to see Rob Valetini running at the back of a powerhouse pack.
The All Blacks skipper’s game has lifted along with that of his team. He’s a very effective tackler and linkman, and generally seemed most likely to get his mitts on the pill to interrupt or steal. Other opensiders were an odd bag of mostly big bashers, so the solid fundamentals of Cane shone for our selection panel.
Bok-slaying effort in opening stanzas of their Auckland clash will live longest in the memory, but it’s the consistent work everywhere else that has sealed Frizzell’s hold on the No 6 black jersey. The clear outs, the short carries, the midriff-melting body checks. Efficient and brutal, and with an explosive edge other loosies can seldom match. Unlucky: Boks in Auckland
Did everything in Melbourne that you could want from a second rower (short of winning the ball on the opposition throw). He’s the best lock in the southern hemisphere right now, but the big test for Barrett Prime will come when he stands alongside the giant rigs of France and possibly Ireland at the Rugby World Cup.
Among the best of a beaten pack in Auckland and the dominant figure against the up-for-it Pumas, the hard-nosed veteran sets the standard for his world champion side. Aerial target, key ball carrier and a rangy racer in space.
Big props work in the tight was a known factor, but the tidy touches with ball in hand and smart use of space when running in support make for a well-rounded package. Running against the Wallabies he looked every inch the son of John Lomax. In a position which is still ultimately judged by inches won in mauls and mash-ups, he was on the right side of the ledger. Unlucky: Frans Malherbe
Did all the things against the Pumas that his All Blacks opposite was doing against the Wallabies – hitting lineout marks, running and passes, clearing bodies at breakdowns. But the Bok gets the edge on selection here for sheer barrel-chested brutishness through the series. Macho selection gambit of starting him on the bench might well have been buried in the Mt Smart turf. Unlucky: Codie Taylor
Not the first name to be penned on Ian Foster’s teamsheet, but certainly first of the front rowers in what was a problem position just 12 months ago. Throughout the competition, de Groot has consistently had the better of his opponents with displays of set-piece power, breakdown brutality and surprising deftness in close quarters running and passing. As with his teammates who have looked good over the past month, the true benchmark awaits in France. Unlucky: Steven Kitshoff
