Tomorrow, history will be made as for the first time in their lengthy rugby-playing story, the All Blacks will play a test on Samoan soil. Needless to say, in one of (if not the) most passionate rugby hotbeds on the planet, the locals are rather excited, as this brilliant video of them welcoming their visitors proves. Tomorrow is a public holiday and the country will quite literally come to a stanstill.
Much has been written recently of the problems that Samoan rugby players face, chiefly self-inflicted by their union. There is also the issue of the number of players of Samoan descent that have crossed the divide to wear the all black shirt, but the brilliant thing about this game is that we can leave all that controversy at the door, and for 80 minutes let the rugby do the talking.
SAMOA
There is plenty of talent in this Samoan squad that can cause the All Blacks problems. Chief amongst the mischief makers in the backline will be Tim Nanai-Williams, who makes his test debut after qualifying for Samoa on the sevens circuit. He has previously featured at age group and sevens levels for New Zealand, and regularly impresses in the Chiefs’ midfield.
Alofa Alofa and Alesana Tuilagi complete a dangerous back three although fans of the Premiership will rightly be wondering what Sinoti Sinoti has done to anger the selectors after an explosive season at Newcastle in which he surely outplayed Tuilagi.
Much focus will fall on Tusi Pisi, the ageing fly-half who must find a way of getting the best out of this enigmatic back-line, while also linking effectively with the effervescent Kahn Fotuali’i inside him.
In the pack it is brilliant to see Census Johnstone pulling on the Samoa shirt again, after his mysterious retirement earlier in the year. Lock Kane Thompson, flanker Alafoti Faosiliva and captain Ofisa Treviranus are three more with gnarled experience of the top end of European rugby and will make sure the Samoan forwards remain competitive.
Key player: Jack Lam
One area of the New Zealand team that most certainly is at full strength is their back row, with Kaino, McCaw and Read forming a familiar and irresistable partnership. For that reason the role of the precociously talented Jack Lam will be vitally important to Samoa. He has considerably more youthful exuberance than the aforementioned trio, and will have to use all of it to try to compete with them at the breakdown as well as utilising his vast talents in the loose; talents learnt at the Hurricanes and honed at Bristol.
NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand may have been shorn of anyone playing in the Super Rugby final at the weekend, but they can still call on plenty of talent. Their pack alone boasts 648 (yes, you read that right) caps, including exactly 200 amongst the front row trio of Woodcock, Mealamu and Owen Franks.
Richie McCaw needs a big performance from the openside, after a season in which he has arguably been overtaken by some of his contemporaries. He bleeds All Black, however, so expect a riposte – and similar can be said of Dan Carter at fly-half. With Lima Sopoaga and Beauden Barrett both showing well in the Super Rugby final, he knows he faces a fight for the World Cup 10 jersey.
Outside him, Israel Dagg gets the chance to impress after playing next to no rugby in the Super Rugby season, while George Moala – one of the few shining lights of the Blues’ season – makes his debut on the wing despite playing most of his club rugby at centre. Sonny Bill Williams – cousin of Tim Nanai-Williams – completes a robust centre partnership with Ryan Crotty.
Ulster-bound Charles Piutau completes the back three, while from the bench there will be potential debuts for prop Nepo Laulala, scrum-half Brad Weber and centre Charlie Ngatai. They are joined on the timber by World Player of the Year nominee Brodie Retallick.
Key player: Sam Whitelock
One of the irrefutable facts of this game is that Samoa will be nowhere near as well prepared as New Zealand, simply because they do not spend as much time together as a squad. The one area that affects the most is the set piece, and the lineout in particular is an area where Sam Whitelock can reign supreme. Like seemingly all Kiwi forwards, the giant Crusaders lock has insatiably good hands and a keen sense of where the ball will be before it gets there. Also, he can score tries like this.
PREDICTION
The last time these two sides met in 2008, New Zealand won 101-14 – an astonishing margin of victory by anyone’s standards. But in the seven years since then, Samoa have made remarkable improvements, if not off the pitch then most certainly on it, where they possess some of the most gifted athletes in the world.
Sadly, it is mightily unlikely that it will translate into a win tomorrow in Apia. The All Blacks, despite only arriving two days before kick-off in what is an entirely different climate, are a vastly more professional outfit and still have the core of a team that is hugely experienced. They should win, and reasonably comfortably. New Zealand by 20.
By Jamie Hosie
Follow Jamie on Twitter: @jhosie43
Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images
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Great occasion ! Hope all of Samoa enjoy!
JH states ‘There is also the issue of the number of players of Samoan descent that have crossed the divide to wear the all black shirt’.
What issue? JH himself has stated here that ALL teams have off shore players these days, therefore the issue is effectively a dead one. So why resurrect this most ancient of chestnuts? To sell space? Bit pathetic.
Besides, as JH well knows that the AB 1st team is mainly Pakeha now & in any event, almost all PI ABs emigrated to NZ as kids; e.g. Joe Roko @ 3 yrs of age, Jerome Kaino @ 4 etc. And as JH should also know, Auckland is the biggest Polynesian city in the world, with ‘immigration a fact of life’.
It seems to me that 1 of the problems of English rugby is characterised here. It keeps looking
backwards. It needs to look FORWARD. There’s a WC to win.
Regds Carter & McCaw, they’re EXP! Carter is likely in for match practice & to kick points, as the burgeoning Barrett blew 8 in the S15 final. And Ritchie still scored v England @ HQ last up when similar ?’s were asked about his being over the hill back then. Ho hum.