James Parsons and Aaron Cruden have weighed in on Dave Rennie’s two standout bench selections for the All Blacks’ second Test against the Wallabies.
Rennie has limited changes to his matchday 23 for Bledisloe II, with Josh Moorby taking over on the wing for the injured Leroy Carter, while Fabian Holland and George Bower are tactical replacements for Josh Lord and Ethan de Groot, respectively.
The head coach hasn’t tinkered too much with the run-on team but has switched things up on his bench, which has gained the most attention, as Du’Plessis Kirifi is set to earn his first Test cap of the year, and the same is true for centre Timoci Tavatavanawai.
Du’Plessis Kirifi’s opportunity
Parsons and Cruden believe that this Bledisloe Cup fixture is a huge opportunity for the pair to move their way up the pecking order – even if they only get a handful of minutes in the latter stages of the encounter.
The duo have also been praised for the work they have done in training to force their way back into the All Blacks mix.
“His work started when he was left out. We saw his Instagram, and he just went back to work, and he’s a guy who is coachable. He would have taken, I suppose, the feedback on board, and he wants to make a statement. He wants to prove himself,” Parsons said of Kirifi on Sky Sports NZ’s Breakdown special reacting to the team announcement.
“People counted him out to even get back into the All Blacks, but he got there. He has performed at this level, and he knows he’s good enough. What he’s got to make sure of, though, is that when he does get on the field, although he might not have a lot of minutes, he has got to be accurate.
“If he’s accurate around the breakdown, he doesn’t give away the penalty and he shows this coaching group he’s made those shifts; they are not afraid of making changes and keeping him in the squad.”
“Yeah, absolutely,” Cruden replied.
“He would have impressed the coaches throughout the week to even be named in the 23, coming in as an injury replacement.
“The coaches would have been firm in regards to what they need from him, and a lot of it would probably be just around discipline when he gets his opportunity, being squeaky clean, not giving away any penalties, and then just bringing that fizz and energy that we all know he can.”
This is Kirifi’s opportunity to prove himself to Rennie and his coaching team and Parsons believes that even 20 minutes off the bench will be enough time for the flanker to stake a claim. He has warned the Hurricanes star of trying to overplay his hand but believes that the loose trio is a position where players can make an impact in Rennie’s structures.
“If you look at the way Anton Segner and Peter Lakai have impacted the game when they’ve played in this Dave Rennie style, the loose forwards, I thought Shannon Frizell was fantastic last week, so I think he’s got a massive opportunity, but you’ve got to be accurate,” the former hooker said.
“The big thing is you can make an impact, but you can’t chase the game; let it come to you. If it doesn’t come to you, it doesn’t come to you; just make sure you play your role within the system.”
‘Genuine game-breaker’ Timoci Tavatavanawai
The former All Blacks then turned their attention to Tavatavanawai, who was part of the squad for Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour but wasn’t able to crack the Test team despite impressive shifts against the URC sides.
Tavatavanawai has not only been tipped to be a game-changer in the latter stages of the Bledisloe Cup Test match but at the World Cup too.
“Oh, immensely and everyone has been waiting for it. Look at his leg drive, power and determination,” Cruden said when asked how much the Highlanders midfielder could change the game.
“These are just game-changing abilities and I think we all know the message that he’s been given from the coaches is go away and work on your double efforts. Work on your work rate and I truly believe he’s been doing that and now he’s been given the opportunity in the game day 23.
“This is almost set up perfectly for him to go out there, impress, and just keep doing what we know he can do on the rugby field.”
Parsons added: “I think he’s a genuine game-breaker. I think he could be our superpower weapon off the bench come World Cup time and look, they’ve worked hard on his fitness and he showed great improvement in South Africa when he got his opportunities in those mid-week games.
“Now, if he can execute under the pressure of a Test match and have the impact that we just saw, I think it’s hard to leave someone like him out because he can turn a game on its head.”
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