When you lose the All Blacks captain to injury for the rest of the Test series, you would forgive some people who are panicking over who would replace such an important role in the All Blacks jigsaw puzzle.
Not All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson, who is clearly satisfied with the amount of experience he has in his 33-man squad, as well as leadership experience in the matchday squad for the second France Test this weekend in Wellington.
51-Test All Black lock Patrick Tuipulotu is named to slot straight into the starting lock role for Barrett, joined by the first Dutch-born All Black Fabian Holland, while Tupou Vaa’i is also in the mix, but at blindside flanker.
This selection by Robertson and his coaching staff keeps the Vaa’i experiment going, while also giving the All Blacks a considerable amount of size with the three specialist locks in the starting forward pack.
Robertson, who tells the media in Wellington that the All Blacks will announce a timeline for Barrett’s injury later next week, admits that the inclusion of Tuipulotu injects a bit of Test match experience.
“Yeah, Patty (Tuipulotu), he has experience, 52 tests now, he’s a good line-out caller and physical.
“He’s got a beautiful bit of mana and calmness about him, so yeah, we’re pleased with the selection.”
Robertson explains that it’s a positive to be able to bring in someone who is in good physical form and fit to go.
“We’re pleased, you know that we can bring in someone like Patty, for him to be in the form he is in, and his body’s in good nick.
“When your captain goes down, it’s pleasing [to be able to bring in someone like this],” Robertson said.
Tuipulotu wasn’t selected for the first Test in Dunedin by Robertson, but there were also reports he was playing through a slight shoulder niggle.
Tuipulotu tells reporters in Wellington that he is feeling ready to go this weekend after watching last week’s Test match from the sidelines.
“Yeah, feeling pretty good, had a good rest first week and got some excellent work done following last week around the training intensity of Test match footy,” Tuipulotu said.
“So the body’s feeling pretty good and looking forward to doing on the field this weekend against France.”
When asked about what he noticed from last weekend’s 31-27 narrow victory over the French, Tuipulotu was quick to credit how well the set piece went.
“Yeah, I think we did a lot of good things with the set piece, and it went pretty well last week, but also probably a bit rusty.
“Around some skill errors, running and handling the ball, I think another week together will put us in good stead.
The Blues captain admits that the weather could be a factor in the way they play on Saturday, as the forecast predicts there could be some wet weather around.
“We don’t know what the weather will be like at Wellington, so the skill execution will be pretty important on Saturday at the Cake Tin.”
