“World-class” – Five All Blacks who impressed against the Lions

Here are the five All Blacks who impressed most against the Lions.

Analysis by Bruno Freire.

As difficult as it is to be the son of a Crusader legend and former All Black, Blackadder has reached peaks for club and country that rival his father several times in his career.

Now, more than ever, he seems a complete world-class back-rower.

Against the Lions he was omnipresent in every facet of the game. His 16 carries topped the charts for both teams as he battered the Lions' defensive line.

What was particularly impressive was that he balanced carrying in the wide channels with carrying between the 15s. This range of carry location is a rare trait in Test teams, as many forwards are given designated areas where they carry the most during structured attacks.

Additionally, he was physical in defence for his three tackles, but he impacted the game the most at the breakdown.

He won two turnovers during the match and, perhaps more importantly, harried and harassed the Lions' breakdown, helping to slow their advancing attacks during key moments of the match.

His six-foot-three frame also makes him a good lineout option, which will be key in selection decisions as Rennie clearly values versatility from his flankers, as shown with Tupou Vaa’i.

Blackadder has certainly raised his hand for selection with Anton Segner out of the squad and Simon Parker not impressing on the weekend. There certainly may be a spot for Blackadder in the 20 or 21 shirts for the All Blacks.

The Highlander was the standout player in this All Black outfit today.

His physicality with the ball in hand is the best of any centre in world rugby since Josua Tuisova, and yet he can also make line breaks in the wide channels using a dummy and some footwork.

He also possesses the game IQ to often restart his carries when he is not held in the tackle, which puts a scrambling defence under even more pressure by putting more bodies on the ground as they are inexorably drawn to his rampaging form.

In defence, he is also a powerful tackler, but like Blackadder, he shines at the breakdown where he essentially acts as another back-rower.

He equalled his teammate’s tally of two turnovers won today – and I’m certain he won more, but he often rips the ball off a tackled player, which doesn’t result in a penalty won.

I’m now convinced that Rennie wants to include the Fijian-born back in his matchday Test squad, but in this All Black playstyle, he will unfortunately be relegated to the bench.

This is largely because the All Blacks thrive off Jordie Barrett often taking the reins as first receiver and allowing Ruben Love to act as the second ball-distributor in the attacking formation.

While Tavatavanawai is certainly an apt passer of the ball, he does not possess the same playmaking attributes that Barrett does, and nor should he play in the same role.

The debate now turns to Tavatavanawai or Tupaea, and unfortunately, the Chiefs 13 is so capable of defending wide channels that it could be difficult for the bruiser to get in ahead of him.

Now we should hold out hope for a double substitution of Aumua and Tavatavanawai in the second half of a Test, who form their own sub-six-foot bomb squad of pure, unadulterated violence.

While his wing partner Fineanganofo may have had one of the great Super Rugby seasons, Narawa was the better player today.

The Chiefs winger is one of the fastest players in world rugby and shouldered much of the attacking load in the wide channels during the first half.

His direct running style fits the mould of a Test winger, but his real X-factor is the trademark Fijian ability to offload out of any position that is so synonymous with his country of birth.

On several occasions today, Narawa made a half-break down the wing and was tackled 20 or 30 metres in. Instead of taking contact and going to ground, he stayed up and would unfurl an offload to one of his supporting players.

While he can do this at speed, he will also take the time to wait to make his pass. This can throw off a defence who have just had to run backwards for 20 metres before setting a defensive line, only to then be thrown into chaos by an off-beat pass out of contact.

The main weakness currently keeping him from the Test squad is that he is yet to master the style of aerial duel that Rennie is demanding from his wingers.

At the moment, Rennie is asking the New Zealand wingers to contest most box kicks that are kicked short by standing five to 10 metres back from the ruck and then running back to catch the ball.

Theoretically, their head start means they can approach the ball with less speed and, as a result, can time their jumps better.

Unfortunately, Will Jordan is the only winger in the All Black squad who has mastered this skill.

Even J. Barrett or Tupaea, who both lost multiple aerial duels off box kicks on Saturday, have yet to perfect this difficult manoeuvre.

If Narawa can refine this skill before the third or fourth Test, he may have a chance of cracking the bench, barring injuries.

It has been clear that the All Blacks’ props have not been performing extraordinarily well during this tour.

Tosi, Lomax, De Groot and Lauaki have been disappointing thus far and have largely been dominated in the scrum. Only Bower and Newell have matched the scrum challenges thrown at them in both midweek games and the Test match on Saturday.

Today, when the 26-year-old behemoth debutant was subbed on, the flow of the game completely changed in favour of the ascending All Blacks.

Firstly, he dominated Boan Venter during the scrum, with the opposing props having similar minutes and amount of fatigue during the match.

This is no mean feat, as Venter picked up a cap for SA ‘A’ this year and has been one of the best props in the URC during his time at Edinburgh.

Also, while he only carried a handful of times after his substitution, he was dominant on every occasion and uses his enormous frame well in the tight contact areas.

Moreover, his three carries matched Tosi’s count, despite the starter playing three times his minutes.

Overall, Mau brings a physical presence off the bench that Rennie could lean on if the Springbok ‘bomb squad’ changes the tide of the game.

He is powerful as a mauler and hardworking for a tighthead, which are traits desperately needed late in games.

It would be a real fairytale story for Mau to make a Test appearance during this series, and I am hoping that day may come in Baltimore.

Now, I understand what you may be thinking.

Yes, Lienert-Brown did play on the weekend for a short period, and yes, he did also come off the bench today.

But his performance today cemented for me that he will continue as the second back sub with Kyle Preston on the Test bench.

In fact, if Barrett or Tupaea were to get injured, he will not remain relegated to being an impact player like Tavatavanawai will be. He will likely take the place of either starting centre if an injury did befall them.

When he was substituted on today, the All Black attack was far more like the one they showed against South Africa on Saturday as he ferried the ball to his wingers at rapid pace, catching the tired Lions defence out multiple times.

He can be a first and second receiver in an attacking line, and this means that dynamic players like Mo’unga and Love can drift wider and come onto the ball with pace.

He is also a pass-first player, which means that when those distributors do drift wide, they are likely to receive the ball and have the opportunity to engineer a linebreak.

He also possesses the experience and game IQ to defend in the wide channels like Tupaea, and the Lions' attack looked more ineffective when he defended in the 13 channel compared to when Ioane was tasked with defending there earlier in the game.

All in all, the centre is certainly on good terms with Rennie, who brought him up through the academy at the Chiefs, and I would not be surprised if he started a Test during this series.