All Blacks name Weepu, Ranger to start
BY DUNCAN JOHNSTONE
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All Blacks
Piri Weepu and Rene Ranger have been handed starting roles in the All Blacks team to play the Springboks in Wellington this Saturday.
Weepu comes off the bench to start at halfback in his 40th test, and Ranger, who made his test debut off the bench last month against Wales in Hamilton, gets his first test start on the left wing.
On the bench, Jimmy Cowan has recovered from his abdominal strain, while Israel Dagg, who played against Ireland and Wales, provides outside back cover.
Ranger's elevation comes after Joe Rokocoko was ruled out with his hamstring injury from last week's 32-12 demolition of the Boks in the Tri-Nations opener at Eden Park.
But with Cowan eventually judged fit enough to be involved his predicament can only be seen as a demotion.
In an outstanding All Blacks performance in Auckland he looked to be one player not quite up to the mark before he was eventually subbed.
Weepu has been lively in his efforts off the bench and will relish a start on home turf.
''We have stuck with the majority of players who played so well in last week's win at Eden Park and they are ready for what will be another major contest,'' All Blacks coach Graham Henry said.
"The players know that they will face a different, more physical Springboks side.''
The All Blacks forwards stood up to the Boks magnificently last week. They bristled in the loose where they controlled the breakdowns, they were dominant in the scrum and their lineout work was assured.
With no changes up front, the pack will take great confidence into the Cake Tin where the All Blacks have a grand opportunity to take control of the Tri-Nations as they look to wrestle the title away from the Springboks who were so impressive last year but appeared to lack both spark and imagination in Auckland.
All Blacks backs coach Wayne Smith is excited at Ranger's potential. He had made an impact in Hamilton and his fitness testing had been remarkable.
"He could go out and tear them apart, potentially, who knows because it [test rugby] does some funny things to people," Smith said.
While Ranger had the ability to play centre and fullback, the All Blacks saw wing as his best starting position for the moment their talent-stacked squad.
But he will certainly help cover centre on Saturday night as the All Blacks brace for the worst-case scenario with injured No 13 Richard Kahui who looks to be facing further surgery on a problematic shoulder and another lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Kahui will see a specialist on Monday for a further assessment on the extent of his injury from last week's win.
''It's hugely disappointing for Richard who has played extremely well for the All Blacks and contributed greatly to the team so far this year and he will be sorely missed,” Henry said.
''We will await advice from the medical team on how long he will be out for.''
NEW ZEALAND: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Rene Ranger, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock. Reserves: 16 Corey Flynn, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Sam Whitelock, 19 Liam Messam, 20 Jimmy Cowan, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Israel Dagg.
- © Fairfax NZ News
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Interesting how the armchair selectors and coaches were notable in their absence at congratulating the efforts of the ABs and coaches after lasts weekends excellent selection, effort and game plan.
And sure as night follows day all the whingers and whiners come out the closet again when it is the next team announcement (120+ comments vs about 20 for the AB team rating), win by not enough margin and/or dare I say it loss.
Just make sure to get down to the local club and take up coaching toi pass on this infinite wisdom and/or go support the new Messiah Dingo!
In the meantime I'm looking forward to seeing how Rene Ranger goes at this level particularly against 2nd 5 come wing come just looking for an interception Jean De Villiers.
Mike #75 is a hero (even though I'm a big fan of Gear). The structure of his comment was exceptional and factual and told all sides of the story. Fact #12 needs to be read and understood by all.
I love it how everyone comes on here and has a winge... MAY IT NEVER EVER STOP.. For those of you that don't like it have a good think of why it happens. It's because we're passionate about the game - it's the same reason we got up with our Dad's as kids to watch the All Blacks. It's the same reason I was playing rugby in barefeet as a five year old on frosty grass. It's the same reason I slept with my rugby ball. It's the same reason I stayed up all night to get ticket to super 12/14 finals. It's the same reason you put so much focus into training and playing the game...
You've earnt a vested interest in having an opinion of the game. This passion for the game is the very reason why we are the rugby playing nation we are today and have been for years...
Keep up the rants and wingeing guys - the day that stops the day our game becomes like the Aussies!! CRAP!
@ Mike # 75 - You sir are the boss! Great post. Players are chosen based on the range of skills they have rather than strength in one particular area. If a player has a particular weakness then that can be exploited all day by a highly analytical opposition team / coach.
At least we all still love the AB's! Fricken hate soccer - sorry guys tried to love it but can't :)
@ jared #119 wot are u on about jane,smith etc his super 14 team mates?
People keep forgetting, that to be selected, you MUST be in the squad, therefore Hosea cant be selected. He also needs to work on his work rate, high ball skills and basic skill set to be included(sure he can score trys but can he stop them or set them up? no). Joe has a much higher work rate, and as we've seen this year is solid under the high ball. And just to put it out there, Ranger is a wing playing center at super 14.
People keep forgetting, that to be selected, you MUST be in the squad, therefore Hosea cant be selected. He also needs to work on his work rate, high ball skills and basic skill set to be included(sure he can score trys but can he stop them or set them up? no). Joe has a much higher work rate, and as we've seen this year is solid under the high ball. And just to put it out there, Ranger is a wing playing center at super 14.
@ Steve currently #77. When I made the remark about true rugby fans I meant it as a reference to those fans who don't come on here whinging about the coaches or who they have picked or left out. What I am is a supporter of the All Blacks as a team. I don't support individuals within it. Therefore it doesn't matter to me too much who is wearing the black jersey as long as they play well as a team and hopefully win more than they lose. I will cheer for them when they win and I won't just sit and ridicule them if they lose.
Are people on here aware that Rene Ranger is in fact a winger, not a centre? He only played at centre for the Blues because they had Rokocoko and Wulf as their wingers and didn't have a lot of options at centre at the time.
the all black coaches did come out and say why gear wasnt being picked for the all blacks.
even though im a gear fan, im still going to say this. henry did say on the news exactly why hosea didnt make the cut.
the reason was that hosea dosnt work well with the back 3. he said gear needs to learn how to play of others and bring them into his plays as well.
so thats their reason. but i dont think that has any justification at all. if henry watched a hurricanes game then he wold see gear scoring tries from supporting corey jane, corey scoring tries by backing up gear and gear scoring tries when there are 15 men in front of him.
seriously when corey jane and gear work together, which they do all the time, then thats when the canes score amazing tries. and since corey jane is in the all blacks then gear and jane would be working together like they do in super 14.
get your facts straight henry you fool.
this is the guy who picked stephen donald for the all blacks, and we all know how that worked out.
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#115 Stevie boy u kid urself. "i support the team but i am sick of Henrys crap if they hold something against gear someone else on hear claimed it was something Gear did at one of the AB trainings well just come out and admit it so the guy can just move on in his career." they r claims dude get over it, unles u got proof that something did occur btwn Gear & the coach dnt come on here making it like it happened. think you are taking it too personal! think Gear would rather you leave his b@ll.s and let him get on with it. GO THE MIGHTY MIGHTY ALL BLACKS. BACK TO BACK WINS BAABBYY!!!