Sam Cane should no longer captain the All Blacks, according to an English journalist
Sam Cane should no longer captain the All Blacks, according to an English journalist. Sam Cane has been labeled ‘not good enough to serve as the All Blacks captain by an opinionated English rugby columnist. Ardie Savea, Cane’s partner and fellow loose forward, would be a better choice to captain the All Blacks, according to Stuart Barnes of The Times.
Pic Source- https://www.planetrugby.com/sam-cane-back-as-skipper-for-new-zealand-against-italy-in-autumn-nations-series
Former England and British & Irish Lions first-five criticized Cane’s performance in his team’s 42-19 victory against Ireland at Eden Park in Auckland last weekend in an opinion article that appeared this week and had the headline ‘a liability’.
Barnes cited an All Blacks defensive error on Ireland center Garry Ringrose, which allowed the Irish to get into a scoring position, as an error that Savea would not have committed. Barnes stated the 28-year-old Savea ‘would not have missed that tackle.’ Cane, 30, neither shifts a ruck nor presses the ball carrier with the kind of magnificent blow he personally took at Ringrose’s shoulders earlier in the game.
Barnes continued by saying that Cane ‘makes his share of tackles but none of them are destructive,‘ a statement made despite the 78-test flanker’s devastating blow to Irish prop Tadhg Furlong near the end of the first half.
Barnes called Savea ‘one of the top back-row forwards in the world,’ but he also urged that Cane be removed from New Zealand’s back-row selection before the World Cup in France the following year.
Barnes stated, ‘On the basis of [Saturday’s] game, if New Zealand is to discover their best back-row combination before next year’s World Cup, the hard call has to be taken, with Cane pushed to the bench or rejected outright.’
Possibly the unsung hero of New Zealand is Cane. There just isn’t enough to sing about, which is the problem.
In contrast, despite his team’s struggles with Covid during that same week, All Blacks head coach Ian Foster was unreserved in his praise of Cane’s leadership.
Foster remarked after the opening game of the All Blacks and Ireland three-test series, ‘I really thought the work of Sam and our leaders this week was amazing.’
At the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin this weekend, the two teams will square off once more in a game that Ireland needs to win in order to maintain their chances of claiming the first-ever series victory in New Zealand.
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