Midfield boost for All Blacks
NOVEMBER SPOTLIGHT: All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster revealed that centre Jack Goodhue could make his return to the All Blacks’ starting team against England at Twickenham on Saturday.
Goodhue, who missed the All Blacks final Bledisloe Cup match against Australia in Yokohama because of glandular fever, could form a formidable midfield combination with Sonny Bill Williams against England.
“There was a bit of fatigue at the end of last week, so he’s [Goddhue] had a couple of really good days of training and looks like he’s 100 percent,” said Foster
“He trained full on today [Tuesday] so if he recovers well that means we’ve got four midfielders ready and available.”
The combination of Goodhue and Williams is seen by some as the All Blacks first-choice midfield pairing at moment, despite the two stars only starting once together, which was back in June against France.
The All Blacks also have talented midfielders Ryan Crotty and Anton Lienert-Brown in their squad in England.
“Our midfield now is jumping out of their skin,” Foster added.
“The last two weeks we’ve probably seen the energy levels and work-rate in that group as good as it’s been all year. Then you put Ngani’s [Laumape] performance in Tokyo into that mix and that creates its own degree of pressure so it’s a nice place to be.
“Sonny has had the least rugby and is probably still finding his top form. I think that’s a fair thing to say. I’ve been delighted with the way the four of them are working well together. They spend a lot of time discussing the game and growing the collective part of the midfield.”
Source: New Zealand Herald
