Aisle be Back: Winger-go-round and Laumape returning to Hurricanes

Ngani Laumape is returning to the Hurricanes next year.

• By Kevin McCarthy 

World Rugby has given the All Blacks permission to field a revolutionary 19-man starting lineup for the blockbuster test at Eden Park next week. There’ll be eight forwards as usual, a halfback and first five and fullback. And five wingers and three centres. Selection will be by Facebook likes.

In short, in the space of a week and last weekend’s loss to Argentina, the focus has switched from Billy Proctor’s future, to the All Black wings, specifically, and to the wider backline.

Indeed, it is not operating well and should not escape scrutiny. Good cases can be made that Reiko Ioane and Sevu Reece may not be the future. If so, time for change.

The ability to handle the high ball seems to wax and wane. The kicking tactics similarly.

And if Will Jordan, who is only human, has a bad day, then maybe that’s the key to whether the backline functions or not.

On the other hand, it’s got to be accepted the All Black forwards were beaten on the day. In test one, they were not and indeed, mauled the life out of the Argentinians. We didn’t see that much in test two – either the Argentinians had shored up that area, or the All Blacks inexplicably chose not to go that tool in the toolbox.

I’ve harped on it before, but the narrative around the team is increasingly bipolar. Either they’ve turned the corner  – found their mojo – or the wheels are falling off.

In wider terms, suddenly Australia are hot, maybe a threat. Either they are on the rise, or the Springboks are in a slow decline. Or the Boks are forgiven two tests where they were less than stellar, because they never hew too far from their winning template.

Take your pick. But I don’t think we’ll know that much until the dust settles on the Rugby Championship later this year, and every team has faced the different challenges each pose.

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My heart briefly soared when I read that Ngani Laumape was returning to the Hurricanes next season. Wow! I read it on one of those global wire services that tend to pop up in one’s doomscroll feed.

But it seemed rather odd. After all, Laumape last year was signed up as returning to New Zealand, but to Moana Pasifika.

So, I went to the Hurricanes page – where an admittedly clumsy media release had mentioned how Laumape was returning to Wellington, except in Mona Pasifika colours, as the Canes opened their home season.

It did leave me wondering whether this was a bad day out for an AI robot, who misread the release. So, I put it into ChatGpt and asked that it turn out a news story. Which it did – making it quite clear and correct in what context Laumape was returning to Wellington.

No way of knowing the original sin of the original story was committed by a different bot. Or by a human writer misreading the press release. It does remind me of how people are hypervigilant about self-drive cars killing anyone accidentally, but more blasé about real drivers killing real people.

Perhaps the safest thing to have front of mind is that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

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No team will welcome back its four All Blacks this weekend than the struggling Wellington Lions.

A 38 to 28 victory by Manawatu was a game which Wellington were always chasing after the first 20, and there can be no complaints that the better team won. With one Ngani Laumape definitively lighting up the show for the Turbos.

Frustratingly, when they’re hot, Wellington can look very good. It just wasn’t often enough last week.

The All Blacks won’t be a panacea. But perhaps a circuit breaker.

Auckland at home would normally be looked forward to for any number of reasons. Now  its 10 v 11 on the table, and desperate times.