Sports After Dark

What was once an embarrassment of riches for the All Black selectors is rapidly turning into a big problem as New Zealand begins to struggle for locks.

Back in Week Seven I picked my form All Blacks team and named James Ryan and Troy Flavell as my locks. Both of those players were in magnificent form and the immanent return of All Blacks Chris Jack, Jason Eaton and Ali Williams, New Zealand’s locking stocks looked extremely healthy.

Fast forward to today and both Ryan and Eaton are out for the year with knee injuries, Williams is struggling to get game time for the Blues and Jack has missed five weeks with a hamstring strain. Flavell continues to captain the Blues, but, like many of his team mates, he has suffered a dramatic loss of form in the past three weeks.

This leaves the All Black selectors with a bit of a headache and opens the door for a number of outside chance players, such as the Chiefs’ Keith Robinson and the Hurricanes’ Paul Tito. Robinson has previously played eight tests for the All Blacks, but is considered to be injury prone himself. Tito has never played a test match, but has played for the New Zealand Maori and is one of the beneficiaries of this spate of injuries.

Other players whose prospects of an All Black call up have improved are the Blues’ Greg Rawlinson, the Chiefs’ Jono Gibbs and the Crusaders’ Reuben Thorne. Thorne will likely make the All Blacks squad as a blind side flanker, but may also be needed to cover lock. Gibbs can also play on the flank as well as lock, but has played most of his rugby at lock lately.

Jack returns to the Crusaders’ line up this Friday night against the Chiefs and most All Blacks fans will be holding their collective breath hoping that he survives the encounter unscathed. The Crusaders are virtually assured a semi final, giving Jack an opportunity for at least one more game before the Tri-Nations, something that he will certainly need after missing almost the entire Super 14, first with the reconditioning squad, then with injury.

At the beginning of the season lock was one of the deepest positions in New Zealand rugby, now that depth will be sorely tested going into the World Cup. To win the World Cup the All Blacks will play seven games and injuries are going to happen. Fan can only hope that no more locks are struck down.

Similar Posts:

• All Blacks locking woes deepen
• Injuries expose All Blacks lack of depth at key positions
• Locks could be the key to victory at the World Cup
• Williams sent home from Blues
• Watch out Stormers, here come the All Blacks

The All Blacks Locking Woes by Hamish McBrearty, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.