All Blacks begin their global odyssey
Home comforts are now a distant memory for the All Blacks. As they left for Argentina on yesterday, they did so knowing the toughest stage of the season begins.
Over the course of the next two months the All Blacks play just one game on home soil. Buenos Aires, Durban, Auckland, Chicago, Rome, Dublin, Paris; that taxing schedule awaits.
The easy part of the year - six tests to this point at home - is well behind them.
For all their supreme dominance, the rest of this season will tell us exactly where this team is at. Their resilience and ability to overcome adversity will be tested.
Repetitive long-haul travel makes recovery more difficult, and only adds to the risk of fatigue.
To put it in perspective the All Blacks will travel 23 hours from Argentina to South Africa via Chile, leaving early Sunday morning and arriving Monday afternoon. Shaking off jet lag and backing up in foreign conditions, in hostile atmospheres, are additional challenges.
Injuries are inevitable; squad depth never more important than at this juncture.
‘‘It’s eight or nine weeks and round the world in seven test matches,’’ All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said.
‘‘We’re into our third year of it - it wasn’t so bad last year with the World Cup. We’re learning all the time about what we have to do. Clearly we can’t ask the same guys to front up each week so we’ll have to be smart about our selections; smart about how we travel.
‘‘You don’t want to use those things as excuses because they’re not. We’ve still got to get up and play well.’’
Managing the squad requires a fine balancing act, something Hansen and his coaching crew have become adept at over the past five years. The way they’ve held back the likes of Damian Mckenzie, who is yet to make his test debut despite largely being in the squad since June, emphasises the nurturing process.
With most new caps, the approach is usually to surround them with a core of experience. But their time to carry more of the load is now drawing near.
‘‘It’s something we’ve worked hard on since we started in 2012; to make sure when they come in they’re ready and confident,’’ Hansen said of his rookies. ‘‘We’ve selected them because we think they’re good players and we don’t want them to come in too early. ‘‘
The All Blacks departed from Auckland with a 31-man squad, minus Jerome Kaino who will join the team in South Africa. His absence opens the door at blindside flanker where either Liam Squire or Elliot Dixon will start against the Pumas next week.
Hansen was surprised to see Dixon play the full match in Southland’s win over Bay of Plenty on Wednesday night but confident he will bounce back swiftly.
‘‘A little bit but that’s what they asked him to do. He’s been asked to do something by his coach and they were pretty desperate for a win and they got one. The 80 minutes won’t hurt him. He’s just had a wee baby boy, their second child, so life is pretty good for him at the moment.’’