All Blacks depth tracking OK for 2027
Apparently they call it Project 4-4-4.
Scott Robertson wants to have four test-quality players in each position by the time the All Blacks roll up to the Rugby World Cup in Australia in 2027.
So the aim is to go four deep, all over the field, over four years in a bid to win a fourth World Cup.
Let us, then, go forth (sorry) and see how that mission is unfolding. I include players who are injured. You cannot take 60 players to a World Cup, but for this exercise, I have named four different men in each spot.
Loosehead prop: Tamaiti Williams, Ethan de Groot, Ollie Norris, George Bower. No issues at all. Xavier Numia another name.
Tighthead prop: Tyrel Lomax, Fletcher Newell, Pasilio Tosi, Ofa Tu'ungafasi. Two strong options but Tosi is still a project and Tu'ungafasi is not getting any younger.
Hooker: Codie Taylor, Samisoni Taukei'aho, Asafo Aumua, Brodie McAlister. Very decent quartet, and with George Bell, Bradley Slater and New Zealand under-20 hooker Manumaua Letiu in reserve.
Lock (naming eight to cover both starting spots): Scott Barrett, Tupou Vaa'i, Fabian Holland, Patrick Tuipolotu, Sam Darry, Naitoa Ah Kuoi, Josh Lord, Isaia Walker-Leawere. Very strong depth.
Blindside flanker: Samipeni Finau, Ethan Blackadder, Simon Parker, TK Howden. Still major question marks here.
Openside flanker: Ardie Savea, Du'Plessis Kirifi, Dalton Papali'i, Peter Lakai. Not the depth there used to be.
No 8: Wallace Sititi, Christian Lio-Willie, Luke Jacobson, Hoskins Sotutu. Fine if Sititi stays healthy. Jacobson and Sititi also options at No6, obviously. Cullen Grace in the loose mix somewhere.... is not bad
Halfback: Cam Roigard, Cortez Ratima, Noah Hotham, Finlay Christie. Strong, and with Folau Fakatava and Kyle Preston also around, though Roigard a very clear first-choice.
First five: Beauden Barrett, Damian McKenzie, Stephen Perofeta, Josh Jacomb. Not bad. But the reality is Richie Mo'unga may be the man come 2027.
Second five: Jordie Barrett, Quinn Tupaea, Timoci Tavatavanawai, Dallas McLeod. Decent.
Centre: Anton Lienert-Brown, Billy Proctor, Braydon Ennor, Bailyn Sullivan. Proctor needs to do more to put pressure on ALB.
Left wing: Rieko Ioane, Caleb Clarke, Leicester Fainga'anuku, Caleb Tangitau. Would not surprise to see the latter two be preferred by 2027.
Right wing: Sevu Reece, Emoni Narawa, Chay Fihaki, Leroy Carter. Work in progress.
Fullback: Will Jordan, Ruben Love, Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens, Callum Harkin. Had to reach for the fourth spot with Shaun Stevenson taking off.
Overall, I would say depth in most positions is tracking OK.
Perhaps the question is how many truly world-class players the All Blacks will have in their best XV by the time the 2027 Rugby World Cup kicks off.
Savea, Jordan, Jordie Barrett and Williams lead the way, and Roigard, Sititi and Holland are on track, but other positions are not so clear.
Lions by plenty
The Last Word a wee while ago: Yeah, nah, Wallabies are getting better and they will nick the first test.
The Last Word today: Er, good to see this column's predictions are as on point as ever. Wallabies are average. Lions could afford to blow some opportunities and still win comfortably. They will complete a 3-0 test series sweep with ease.
News of the week
The jaw dropped when I heard Sky TV had bought TV3 for a single gold coin.
That was immediately followed by the thought: what does this mean for sports fans in this country?
An assumption is that Sky will use TV3 for a chunk — small, but still significant — of its major sporting content, especially rugby, and that could be cracking news for Kiwi sports fans.
Free-to-air broadcasting remains an essential tool to get eyes on sports. Look at what the unexpected leap back to TVNZ did for cricket.
Modern cricket etc
Mitchell Owen is one of the new names to watch in world cricket.
The 23-year-old tyro made his debut for Australia in a T20 against the West Indies this week and promptly smacked a match-winning 50 off 27 balls.
But what I found most interesting was this paragraph on the Fox Sports website, highlighting the reality of modern cricket for players who pull on many different team shirts a year.
Owen "became one of T20 cricket's most in-demand talents after smacking a 39-ball century during January's Big Bash League final against the Sydney Thunder, helping the Hobart Hurricanes win their maiden title. The right-hander has since made cameos in South Africa's SA20, the Pakistan Super League, the Indian Premier League and the United States' Major League Cricket."
Basketball brouhaha
Anyone interested in the fight for women's athletes to get better resourced should be watching the WNBA right now.
The American basketball league is poised to explode with a US$2.2billion rights deal kicking in next year, and with Caitlin Clark — arguably the world's most marketable female athlete — attracting record crowds.
Yet WNBA players share just 9% of the league's revenue, a rather shocking figure when you consider NBA men's players share 49% of their league's revenue.
The WNBA players wore shirts with PAY US WHAT YOU OWE US on the front at their all-star game this week. This is going to be a fascinating story to watch.
Huge, huge, huge
It is not like Donald Trump to get involved in something that should not really concern his office.
The US President has threatened to derail a deal to build a new football stadium in Washington, DC, unless the NFL team ditches the Commanders nickname and goes back to Redskins, Reuters reports.
The Washington NFL dropped the Redskins name in 2020 after decades of criticism that it was a racial slur.
The team moved from Washington to suburban Landover, Maryland, in 1997, but earlier this year reached an agreement with the local District of Columbia government to return to the city with a new stadium expected to open in 2030.
"I may put a restriction on them that if they don't change the name back to the original 'Washington Redskins' and get rid of the ridiculous moniker 'Washington Commanders', Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
"I won't make a deal for them to build a stadium in Washington."
Made me think about the Crusaders cleverly avoiding that intense pressure to change their name six years ago.
Birthday of the week
Kees Junior Meeuws is 51 today.
A top bloke, a pioneer as a new breed of mobile prop with Otago, the Highlanders and the All Blacks, a lover of art, a real estate agent, a commentator, a family man. And I hope Wikipedia is correct about the middle name.
hayden.meikle@odt.co.nz
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