Donald’s move to pivot role shows All Blacks ready to attack

The naming of Chiefs’ first five Steven Donald in the pivot role for the final Bledisloe Cup test in Hong Kong ahead of Dan Carter has raised a few eyebrows, but the move shows coach Graham Henry is preparing to unleash an attacking bombardment on the Wallabies.

With Donald slotting in at first five, Carter gets moved out to inside centre, a position he has played at both Super 14 and international level with a great deal of success. The combination of Donald and Carter also gives the All Blacks a right or left foot kicking option.

But it’s not just the great skill of these players in these positions, but the fact that the All Blacks now have two playmaking options that signals a shift towards all out attack. This particular setup gives them the option to have a playmaker left and right on attacking scrums, or someone out wide who can set up the explosive backs outside them.

Carter admits the shift has been difficult to adjust to, particularly now as Donald will be calling the plays from the pivot position, leaving Carter with much less talking to do. “I’ve had to hold myself back a bit, it’s something I’ve been working on all week,” he said.

“I’ve had to sort of pull back from giving him feedback from set plays and let him run the ship,” said Carter, who last started in midfield four years ago.

“I have to sit back, he’s more than capable and does it extremely well for the Chiefs and Waikato.”

The main causalty of this shift is Ma’a Nonu, who played well at inside centre during the Tri-Nations, but is now relegated the bench. Coach Henry has gone for just three back reserves, who can cover any backline position bar fullback, so Nonu is likely to see action at centre or wing, rather than his prefered inside centre.

The addition of the Wellington pair of Conrad Smith and debutant Hosea Gear at centre and wing provides some excellent strike power out wide. Gear in particular was in magnificent form during the Air New Zealand Cup, setting a record for tries scored in a provincial season with his blistering pace and angled runs proving difficult to stop.

Up front, the All Blacks have named a powerful pack, sticking with the tested trio of Richie McCaw, Rodney So’oiala and Jerome Kaino in the loose, while Taranaki’s Andrew Hore gets the nod as first choice hooker. Exciting loose forward prospect Adam Thomson also retains his place in the side, securing a spot on the bench.

Interestingly, the Australians have not opted to match the All Blacks’ dual playmaker line up, putting hard running centre Stirling Mortlock into inside centre. This leaves the lineups the opposite of what they were when the two teams faced off in Sydney earlier in the year, and on that night it was the team with two playmakers who took the honors.

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The Donald’s move to pivot role shows All Blacks ready to attack by Hamish McBrearty, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.