Scott Robertson defends picking departing Cane & Perenara for northern tour

By Alex Powell

All Blacks coach Scott Robertson has defended picking experience over youth, after naming his 36-man squad to head to Japan and Europe for the end-of-year tour.

Despite the temptation of building for the future with his first trip to the Northern Hemisphere, Robertson has opted to include the departing duo of Sam Cane and TJ Perenara in his main squad.

Cane, 32, is playing his final season with the All Blacks before he takes up a contract with Japanese side Suntory Sungoliath next year. Meanwhile, 32-year-old Perenara will do the same when he joins Black Rams Tokyo.

Under previous coaching regimes, the All Blacks have been swift to discard players whose futures lie outside of New Zealand.

However, having weighed up every aspect of selection, Robertson maintains the inclusion of both Cane and Perenara was the best thing for the All Blacks in their current state.

“It was a deep conversation,” said Robertson. “It’s always a balance between having experience, guys who are test-fit, balance of leadership and what it takes to win up north.

“They’ve got a lot of those qualities. They’re in a test team playing good footy still. That was part of it.

“They can build, they can be a big part of helping the next players come through, and building for the future.

“On the balance of it, that’s why they’re coming.”

Perhaps offsetting Robertson’s opportunity cost is the fact that the All Blacks tour will run concurrently with the All Blacks XV, who play games against Irish club side Munster and the Georgian national side.

A handful of players from the All Blacks XV will link up with the senior side for a one-off test against Japan at the end of October. The All Blacks made a similar selection move in 2018, which resulted in eight debutants to face the Brave Blossoms.

And while this instance will unlikely see the same number of new faces, it does give Robertson the chance to look at players like Peter Lakai and Noah Hotham – both of whom could have been selected in Cane and Perenara’s places.

As far as Robertson goes, though, Cane and Perenara’s roles on tour extend far beyond what they do on the pitch.

Since his return to the starting XV in South Africa, Cane now has complete stranglehold of the No 7 jersey, despite the challenge of the likes of Dalton Papali’i, who was considered the frontrunner for the job under Robertson.

But because of the All Blacks’ selection policy around overseas players, Cane’s international career will come to an end over the coming weeks.

Asked over if he had any regrets over losing the former captain, though, Robertson maintained he won’t stand in senior players’ way, and will instead look to maximise their experience while he can.

“I had a good conversation with him and TJ about their roles on tour,” he continued.

“How does it look? How do we get the best out of them, but how do they get the best out of the next young All Blacks so they can see them come through?

“Spend a bit of time with them, and show them what test football and touring is all about.

“Sam’s got a couple of roles on the field, and being a good mentor off.”

Overall, this All Blacks squad has just one change from the one that contested the Rugby Championship.

The returning Cam Roigard is the only new addition, as Robertson and his fellow selectors opt for consistency over any radical change.

As they build towards the 2027 Rugby World Cup, it’s not out of the question that the bulk of what will be a 33-man squad will travel north this year.

“As we know, as I’ve said before, everything is new. The squad and the members that have been in know our test week, they know how it works.

“Cohesion is really important as we go north. All those combinations and relationships count.

“We’ve kept a tried combination.”

The All Blacks begin their northern tour against Japan on October 26, before heading to Europe to face England, Ireland, France and Italy in consecutive weeks.

Meanwhile, the All Blacks XV have matches against Irish club side Munster, and the Georgian national team in Montpellier.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission