Ruben Love’s injury situation is disappointing on so many fronts.
First, we still don’t know if it’s any good. Bags of potential, sure, but far, far from being the finished article.
Love played longer on the first five-eighth for All black people this season, he was worse. That’s not necessarily a criticism, more a reflection of the unenviable job he had against the Springboks in South Africa.
A few top fives shine behind the beaten pack and Love was no exception.
He lacked the balance and precision that great playmakers possess, but then again, that’s inevitable. Love is mostly a beginner at rugby and the only place to learn is on the job.
And that’s a shame about the ankle problem that means we won’t see him until next year. There is no way for him to develop, no way to know if his experience is adverse South Africa was useful.
All in all, we are none the wiser as to whether he can lead the All Blacks through a Rugby World Cup campaign next year.
The whole thing was made worse by the vacuum that was created.
If I look at the ideal circumstance, it would be if Love was fit and available for the upcoming matches in Britain with Richie Mo’ung, an experienced reserve on hand to finish matches when needed.
Only, as we have clearly seen, age has worn Mo’unga down, along with years of semi-retirement in Japan. A calf strain is a classic injury for the old man and you have to have doubts about whether Mo’unga’s body will be able to handle the training load and the intensity of the test that is now being asked of him.
I think we’d all agree that was plan A for the All Blacks at 10 Love, with Mo’unga in support, with Damian McKenzie continuing at fullback.
Plan B has now been adopted and I understand why All Blacks coach Dave Rennie is talking about it.
It may be by accident rather than design, but McKenzie is now a top-five pick and Beauden Barrett is a fullback.
Now, and I don’t want to shock anyone here, this is not a combination I believe in. I’m not sure anyone really believes it, otherwise Love wouldn’t be playing or Mo’unga brought over from Japan.
Still, these are the cards Rennie was dealt, and he tried to speak positively about how well McKenzie and Barrett fared against Australia and what he expects from them in the coming weeks.
Well, they will hardly say that they are rubbish or improvised. Rennie has to express – and instill – confidence in the couple because, realistically, they’re all he has right now.
From what we’ve seen so far, you can’t rely on Mo’ungu to be fit every week, and Will Jordan’s days as a fullback are over. Josh Jacomb is on tour to gain more experience in the environment and, barring injury, is unlikely to jump to the top of the top five rankings.
What worries me is that, even when Love is fit again, there will be a belief that he hasn’t had enough time in the saddle to warrant being a 10th World Cup starter.
I was thinking about something Rennie said, after the All Blacks beat Australia 43-21 in Sydney, about not trying to beat the Springboks at their own game. He suggested free-flowing football, of the kind McKenzie inspired against the poor Wallabies, was the way forward.
It brought me back to 1995 and Laurie Mains plan to win the World Championship that year.
Mains had Jonah Lomu, for starters, regardless of Andrew Mehrtens, Walter Little and Frank Bance.
More importantly, Craig Dowd, Sean Fitzpatrick, Olo Brown, Ian Jones and Robin Brooke were a tight five, with Richard Loe providing support from the bench.
These were men who could win their own scrum and lineout ball against the Springboks far more reliably than Rennie’s team could.
Poisoned, or just outplayed, the 1995 All Blacks did not win the World Cup final, but returned to South Africa the following year and recorded a series victory over the Springboks.
I really can’t stress enough that Barrett, McKenzie and Mo’unga have failed in their World Cup campaign, a series defeat at home to Ireland both home and away defeats against Argentina in their resumes.
Love’s choice this season was an acknowledgment that something had to change. Retaining the Bledisloe Cup should not change that.