New Zealand’s injury crisis at scrum-half is such that fly-half Damian McKenzie might be a better option, according to All Blacks great Jeff Wilson.
Scott Robertson goes into the Rugby Championship without the services of two of his nines, who have suffered injuries that will keep them out for at least the next few weeks.
Among the two that have gone down is first choice half-back Cam Roigard, a player that has set himself apart from his rivals for the All Blacks shirt.
Talented youngster Noah Hotham is also out, which means that Cortez Ratima is very much the favourite to start against Los Pumas in two weeks’ time.
All Blacks scrum-half cover
Finlay Christie and Kyle Preston have been called up to the training squad as injury cover, but Wilson feels that New Zealand could easily head to Argentina with just two scrum-halves and McKenzie covering.
“I wouldn’t be surprised, and they’ve done this at a Rugby World Cup, if they use Damian McKenzie to cover half-back as an option,” he said on The Breakdown.
“If he’s your third on tour – you’re only going away for two Test matches – if you feel as though you’re comfortable going into the first, you will start Cortez and Finlay’s on the bench, and they might play both Test matches.
“If you don’t feel like you need to take anyone else, I think Damian McKenzie could do the job quite easily; understand the plays, understand the calls. He’s fit enough, conditioned enough and his passing game’s good.
“I know it’s a bit left-field but they’ve been prepared to do it in a Rugby World Cup. To be fair, I think it’s been against a minnow, but they’ve still had the faith in the skill set.
“It is an option, one I’m not sure they might take, but you never know.”
Should Robertson take on board Wilson’s proposal, it would follow the example set by the Springboks with Cheslin Kolbe.
The South Africa wing has played at scrum-half at Test level and was the cover in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final if Faf de Klerk was forced off.
Wilson’s other concern
Half-back is not the main thing worrying Wilson, however, with players set to make their return to the Test arena against Argentina.
Wallace Sititi, Tamaiti Williams and Peter Lakai are back in the squad after missing the July series against France through injury.
And if they only have limited game time in the double header versus Los Pumas, the ex-All Black has questioned whether they will be match fit for the massive Springboks clash at Eden Park.
“For me, it’s how ready is a Wallace Sititi going to be? Some of these guys who get on the plane but don’t play the first Test, maybe play a bit of the second, are they going to be ready for South Africa at Eden Park?” Wilson added.
