TWO BARRETTS THAT ‘SHOULD NOT BE NEAR’ THE ALL BLACKS AFTER RUGBY WORLD CUP FAILURE – MAILBOX

Every squad announcement comes with the inevitable debate over selections and how the team might line up, with the All Blacks being no different having confirmed their players last week.

The game of rugby union is nothing without its fans so we opened the door for anyone to share their thoughts on the squad and this week All Blacks fan Lionel Appollis reached out with his thoughts in our Mailbox.

This is Planet Rugby Fan Mail. Share your thoughts, reaction or opinions at [email protected].

Start with Sotutu

The first point of order for Appollis was to address the heavily debated snub of in-form number eight Hoskins Sotutu from the squad, even going as far as to suggest former All Blacks boss Ian Foster is at fault.

“Scott Robertson will regret it dearly if he doesn’t select Hoskins Sotutu in the near future. There is not much time left before the 2027 World Cup. He must drop (Ethan) Blackadder who is a huge liability for not playing much rugby and struggled with injuries. Also, (Luke) Jacobson was less effective and an average player this year,” Appollis wrote.

“Jason Ryan (forwards coach) was influenced by Ian Foster to not pick Sotutu in their squad and Ryan has now brainwashed Scott Robertson to not pick Sotutu. They should just include him and work on his shortcomings, that’s it.”

England captain Jamie George expects All Blacks to follow a certain team’s blueprint

Barrett time

Appollis then turned his attention to two of the Barretts, Jordie And Beauden, who he felt came up short in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final.

“Jordie and Beauden Barrett should not be near any All Black team anymore. In the World Cup final they were exposed and slaughtered under pressure. Jordie couldn’t even kick far and also missed a vital penalty. You could see that in the Super Rugby semi-final also. The Boks loosies and backline have shown that he is not up to a world-class level. Jordie must be replaced by (Salesi) Rayasi and Beauden by Ruben Love.”

Despite believing the oldest of the Barretts shouldn’t be near the squad, Appollis expects him to start at 15 while also making some bold calls throughout.

Appollis’ predicted All Blacks team for first England Test

All Blacks: 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Billy Proctor, 11 Mark Tele’a, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Finlay Christie, 8 Wallace Sititi, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Samipeni Finau, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Asafo Aumua, 1 Ethan de Groot

Replacements: 16 Codie Taylor, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Palisio Tosi, 19 Tupou Vaa’i, 20 Dalton Papalii, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Anton Leinert-Brown, 23 Stephen Perofeta

READ MORE: Ian Foster: New Zealand ‘still a level below’ northern hemisphere as Sir Steve Hansen urges NZR to ‘stop the internal bickering’

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