All Blacks: Kieran Read makes blunt admission about back-row and reveals the player they should 'build loose trio around'

Kieran Read believes that Peter Lakai is the player who the All Blacks should build their back-row around for their upcoming Bledisloe Cup Tests.

New Zealand and Australia are set to face off in their Bledisloe Cup opener at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday before the teams meet in the corresponding fixture at the Accor Stadium in Sydney on October 17.

The All Blacks could unleash a new-look back-row this weekend as they try to extend their unbeaten streak at Eden Park to 54 Tests.

Experienced blindside flanker Shannon Frizell was added to New Zealand’s squad as one of the loose forwards alongside Lakai, Simon Parker, Anton Segner, Ethan Blackadder and Wallace Sititi while second-row Tupou Vaa’i is also a back-row option.

Key back-row duo sidelined due to injury

First-choice number eight and captain Ardie Savea as well as fellow loose forward Luke Jacobson are both sidelined due to injuries.

Savea and Jacobson wore the number eight and seven jerseys in the first three Tests in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against the Springboks recently, with Vaa’i, Parker and Lakai alternating as the starting blindside flankers for New Zealand in those respective encounters.

Lakai was shifted to number eight in the fourth Test against the Boks while Vaa’i was back in the number six jersey – after starting at lock in the previous two matches – and Blackadder packed down on the openside flank.

By contrast, the Wallabies have a settled back-row with captain Harry Wilson usually starting at number eight alongside Fraser McReight and Rob Valetini, who are the two flankers.

Although the All Blacks’ back-row is not as settled as the Wallabies‘, Read feels they still have a good mix of players to select from.

“Our loose forwards aren’t a general weakness for us. It’s potentially where we’re at as a team right now,” he told The Good, The Bad & Rugby Australia & New Zealand podcast.

“We don’t quite know our combination like maybe our backline (where) we’re settled on. Aside from a left winger, we’re pretty settled there.

‘We don’t quite know our best team’

“Our forward pack, we don’t quite know our best team and that’s probably a symptom of maybe the guys haven’t quite stepped up but also, they’re not quite getting long enough time to kind of nail their position and go, ‘This is how we play, it’s my role in the team and that’s what we do’.

“Whereas the Wallabies have got that sorted in terms of their starters and they’ve got some amazing guys to come off the bench.

“I feel our loose forwards have the ability to be a better loose forward trio and better players potentially when you look at them individually but sometimes it’s putting that combination together which is the most important thing, so it will be really interesting to see what they do.”

Read then revealed that Lakai is the player who is crucial to the All Blacks’ loose trio and also praised Segner, who was added to the Bledisloe Cup squad after leaving their recent South African tour prematurely due to injury.

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“For me, Lakai is the guy who starts at number eight and we probably build our loose forward trio around him,” he said. “Segner’s back. I know you love Segner, Marshy (ex-All Blacks scrum-half Justin Marshall) and I was impressed with him too before he got injured.

“Maybe he could come in straight away, but I do think Ethan Blackadder had a good game in that last Test so it’s whether he stays at seven and they probably put a big body again at six.

“So, look it’s an interesting combination for us to get right because it’s a need to figure out what it is and we have got to back them for the rest of this year.”