Rugby: explanation for the cruel omission of the North vs South Chiefs wing Lachlan Boshier

Lachlan Boshier’s cruel omission from the North team speaks to the rich and loose forward depth of New Zealand rugby and the desire of the All Blacks to take more advantage of the physicality in this area of ​​their game.

The Chiefs’ impressive flank Boshier was the main cause of the North and South teams being revealed for Saturday’s inter-island game in Wellington.

Halfbacks Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi and Mitchell Drummond; hookers Kurt Eklund and Andrew Makalio, props Alex Fidow and Daniel Lienert-Brown, Blues wing Mark Telea, Hurricanes wing Reed Prinsep and Highlanders midfielder Sio Tomkinson also missed the cut.

Of that group, however, Boshier’s absence is the main topic of conversation.

Boshier, often alongside All Blacks captain Sam Cane, was one of New Zealand’s loose forwards this season. He was a constant threat in the collapse where he frequently won by counting turnovers while his defensive work rate was out of bounds.

The fact that he stood out on a winless Chiefs team that went 0-9 to end his season says it all about his efforts.

Boshier ultimately lost Ardie Savea and Akira Ioane, who start with seven and six, respectively, and Dalton Papalii, who will come off the bench for the north side. Hoskins Sotutu is also returning from a knee injury to start at No. 8. That dynamic foursome should have the advantage over Shannon Frizell, Tom Christie, Tom Sanders and Dillon Hunt of the South.

New All Blacks coach and North Island head coach John Plumtree admitted that leaving Boshier out was one of his toughest decisions.

“I put Lachlan aside and told him he’s not at 23 and he’s rightly disappointed by the way he’s played consistently for the Chiefs this year,” Plumtree said of the 25-year-old Taranaki product. “If you look at the group, it’s a loose trio of strikers that is difficult to break and that can happen.

“He has a couple of things that he’s going to work on and he’s got a bit of direction on that. I’m sure he’s going to have a lot of opportunities above Super level in the future.

“Anything can happen to loose forwards, there’s a high injury rate at that position. Lachlan is in that mix. When we talk about sevens in this country, his name is mentioned among the selectors all the time and that’s the right place. for him to be.

“It’s similar with Du’Plessis Kirifi and Dillon Hunt. In this country we always develop good sevens through our franchises, so it’s a tough position to be in.

“It was a difficult decision, but there were many difficult decisions and many good players are not here.”

While Plumtree declined to elaborate on specific items Boshier was asked to work on, he will likely add more size and physique to his repertoire.

England exposed the All Blacks in the World Cup semi-final last year by mastering physical collisions. That loss, and the way it comes, still hurts. The lessons will be absorbed.

In that match, the All Blacks were crushed up front. To avoid a repeat, they recognize the need to take advantage of the big brutal men in their loose forwards. With Savea and Cane locked in people like Frizell, Sotutu, Ioane, and Papalii they bring significant volume and power to their domains.

All are capable of fulfilling the enforcer roles that the All Blacks need from their pack.

Sotutu has not played for a month after a knee injury excluded him from the backend of the Blues season but, before that, his post-scrum form caught the eye, so much so that England coach Eddie Jones and his Fiji’s counterpart Vern Cotter was eager to lure him into his national setups.

The showdown between Beauden Barrett and Richie Mo’unga at No. 10 will continue to make headlines, but for Plumtree, a loose and tough former striker, there is no hiding which area he’s eager to witness.

“Those guys haven’t played together so I’m looking forward to seeing what that looks like,” Plumtree said of his loose forwards. “Hoskins has a lot of natural ability. He’s really strong and also has a good work rhythm. We are really impressed.

“He hasn’t played in a while so he’s going to be a little rusty. He’s a calm but confident character too. I told him ‘you’ll be fine by half a game’ and he said ‘no, I want some.’ more than that ‘. He wants to raise his hand and impress and play a game that will probably have a higher intensity level than Super Rugby. “