It is official; Waisake Naholo will be available to play for the All Blacks midway through the World Cup.
According to All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, Naholo’s recovery from a broken leg has been quicker than expected. Originally, Naholo had been ruled out for the entire World Cup, but now it seems that the try-scoring machine out of Highlanders rugby will be ready to go by the middle stages of All Blacks pool play at the World Cup.
Waisake Naholo adds more strain to All Blacks selectors
The All Black World Cup squad will be announced on August 31st; so now the question of Naholo’s selection becomes a major point of discussion.
You would have to seriously question the decision of taking Naholo to England, and the All Black selectors would be taking a big risk with this selection.
Despite his obvious talent and ability to score from any position on the field, if selected, Naholo would be stepping onto the field with absolutely zero game time under his belt since the injury occurred.
If Naholo goes, another player has to make way, and that would likely be either a specialist midfield option, a potential backup specialist on the wing, or a utility back.
Ben Smith has proven already that he can play to an elite standard on the wing, and Nehe Milner-Skudder looks to have solidified his place after a seriously impressive debut. If Naholo were to be selected, it would seriously jeopardize the place of either Charles Piutau or Isreal Dagg. Given the form of Dagg, his selection is questionable at this stage, but Piutau hasn’t been given enough chances to say he shouldn’t be getting on the plane, or is a viable certainty to select either.
Would the All Black selectors risk leaving one of these two players out in order to make way for Naholo?
Super Rugby form suggests yes, but with such a big injury and no game time since, it is just as likely that Naholo would under-perform on the big occasion, and in a knockout tournament this is a risk that could come back to bite the All Blacks.
Naholo isn’t needed in the All Blacks squad unless an injury occurs between now and the squad announcement. Injuries are highly unlikely because most All Blacks won’t be released to play provincial rugby over the next couple of weeks.
The best place for Naholo is to be waiting in the wings, if an injury to any of the utility backs or wingers were to occur. The All Blacks will have to wait 48 hours, but Naholo would be first on the plane to England if needed. There is no doubting that selecting Naholo wouldn’t ever be a ‘bad’ decision, his ability to perform in big games has already been proven, so it remains a big dilemma now for the All Black selectors.
Make no mistake about it, regardless of if Naholo is selected or not, some deserving players are going to miss the trip to the World Cup due to lack of spaces, the challenge for the All Black selectors is to take those with a good balance of recent form and proven pedigree.
