Japan is the land of opportunity for fringe All Blacks.
That theme rings true this week as the All Blacks make their first stop on a gruelling five-match northern tour that will shape the complexion of Scott Robertson’s precariously balanced maiden season at the helm.
While the All Blacks are expected to win, and win well, against Eddie Jones’ Japan who have slipped to 14th in the world rankings, Robertson is clearly juggling multiple ideals.
Playing in Japan is lucrative business for the All Blacks – a venture that will become second nature for New Zealand rugby players in the coming years after the national bodies signed a memorandum of understanding last year.
Off the field, tapping into Japan’s commercial might is a motivation. On the field, Japan offers the All Blacks the chance to expose non-starters and rookies to the international scene.
Robertson has, as expected, seized that opportunity by ushering in 11 changes to the team that defeated the Wallabies in Wellington to promote many of those lacking game time for the All Blacks this season.
Injuries to three loose forwards, with Luke Jacobson, Dalton Papali’i and Ethan Blackadder left at home to recover for now, altered Robertson’s plans by forcing him to start former captain Sam Cane at openside flanker and switch Wallace Sititi to No. 8 this weekend.
Patrick Tuipulotu leads the All Blacks for the first time from lock, and Anton Lienert-Brown starts at second five-eighth to allow Jordie Barrett another week to recover from his knee injury.
For this week at least, Damian McKenzie regains the reins at first-five but Beauden Barrett will now be expected to start against England at Twickenham next week.
Otherwise, though, Robertson is very much keeping his starters on ice for England. That a core of senior players will leave before the All Blacks kickoff against Japan to travel to London and begin preparations for England tells you everything about where the next true test lies.
Jones may have something up his sleeve, sure, but Japan have gone backwards on his watch, losing their final Pacific Nations Cup match 41-17 to Fiji in Osaka last month.
The All Blacks last venture to Tokyo proved more tense than expected as another second-string side emerged with a fraught 38-31 victory after a 65th minute Bordie Retallick red card forced Ian Foster’s men to cling on.
This time, though, Robertson’s All Blacks should boast too much size, particularly with their monster pack that includes hulking props Tamaiti Williams and Pasilio Tosi, and power for Japan to get within touching distance.
While much of the starting team to face England next week will be largely set there is plenty for those on the fringe to gain by stating their cases against Japan.
Peter Lakai, the 21-year-old Hurricanes loose forward, leads that queue. Lakai was called into the All Blacks northern tour squad following setbacks to Jacobson, Papali’i, Blackadder and Blues No. 8 Hoskins Sotutu, the latter ruled out for the remainder of the year with a knee injury.
A Test debut off the bench, alongside uncapped fullback Ruben Love, now awaits Lakai. With minimal options in the loose forwards Lakai has everything to play for. At this stage he has rapidly moved to third in the available openside ranks behind Cane and Ardie Savea. A compelling cameo would propel Lakai, one of the most dynamic ball carriers in New Zealand rugby, further in the frame for more minutes on tour.
Fellow loose forward Samipeni Finau is something of a forgotten man after falling out of favour on the side of the scrum.
Finau is a notorious hit man and was, therefore, expected to assume the enforcer role but he struggled to carry that impact from the Chiefs to the All Blacks. A start at blindside this weekend, his first since England in July, presents an opportunity to remind Robertson of his physicality and lineout ability.
Cam Roigard will be hungry to impress in his first appearance for the All Blacks since last year’s World Cup, too.
The Hurricanes halfback missed the bulk of the Super Rugby season after tearing his patella and has since played 100 minutes in his comeback for Counties Manukau. That was enough for Robertson to throw Roigard straight into start against Japan to signal the esteem his lethal running threat and booming left boot is held in.
Roigard has featured in five Tests, starting two of those, but a strong performance this weekend will place immediate pressure on Cortez Ratima who stole the march in his absence.
Classy centre Billy Proctor finally gets another chance. Proctor, the form midfielder in Super Rugby this season, impressed on debut against Fiji in July but, in one of the major frustrations of the Robertson era, was then unsighted throughout the Rugby Championship.
While Rieko Ioane will start at centre against England, Proctor’s distribution offers a notable point of difference.
Sevu Reece and Mark Tele’a could also be contesting one wing role. Caleb Clarke, with eight tries from his last six Test starts, has locked down the left wing but the right edge remains up for grabs.
Robertson has heavily favoured Reece this season, despite some indifferent performances, but starting on the right wing against Japan gives him the inside running to retain that role.
Clarke’s form has pushed Tele’a to the fringe, with his last All Blacks appearance coming against the Springboks in Cape Town in early September. An open, expansive spectacle against Japan should provide the ideal platform to reignite Tele’a’s finishing prowess.
Individual aspirations aside, the All Blacks objectives this week are to bank a win and cash windfall; hand fringe prospects valuable exposure to fuel internal competition and move onto the brutal three game stretch against England, Ireland and France largely unscathed.