Former All Blacks flank Josh Kronfeld believes an obsession with big ball-carrying centres has changed the whole dynamic of the back row.
Kronfeld earned a reputation as one of the game’s finest ball-stealing openside flanks during his 54-Test career, but the role has evolved significantly since his playing days, with versatility increasingly valued over specialist skills.
That was highlighted when openside flank Du’Plessis Kirifi was a shock omission from Dave Rennie’s All Blacks squad for the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour of South Africa, with the coach preferring loose forwards capable of moving across the back row.
Kronfeld believes the shift can be traced back to changes in attacking approach.
“Rugby as it should be is to have a really good understanding of the beauty of passing before contact,” he told Betway. “It’s a skillset that was quite dominant in All Blacks rugby, but not like it used to be.
“It’s just shifting before the contact, changing the line of attack, and then shifting it again. I feel that sort of rugby used to exist all the time in the 1990s.
“But when Jonah [Lomu] came along, we moved on to the next lot of centres and midfielders like Tana Umaga, Ma’a Nonu and Sonny Bill Williams, who were all big ball players. But it was about shifting the ball in contact, not before it.
“I think we’ve got almost obsessed with that whole idea of the midfield having a big running dynamic [outside] centre or second five [inside centre] which became the key point for starting that next phase.”
Kronfeld believes that evolution in the midfield has had a knock-on effect.
“That’s changed the whole dynamic of the back row and loose forward play,” he said.
“Loose forwards now are all about retention at the breakdown to the extent you don’t have a genuine openside, or a six [blindside] or eight.
“The specialist thing has gone out the door, especially in New Zealand.
“A six, seven and eight now tend to be all the same style of player.”
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Kronfeld pointed to Luke Jacobson as an example of the modern versatile loose forward, but admitted he was frustrated to see him start at openside flank against the Stormers in Cape Town.
“Luke Jacobson has been unbelievable, his stats are off the chart in terms of ruck clear-outs and at the breakdown. He could play anywhere in the back row.
“But he’s not your typical openside and I was almost tearing my hair out when he was at seven against the Stormers.
“For New Zealand to leave behind Du’Plessis Kirifi after an amazing season with the Hurricanes says everything.
“He is a specialist openside, and he didn’t really fit into what they were thinking.”
MORE: Ex-All Blacks stunned by Kirifi omission
Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images
