Rugby Union
1 year ago
Razor makes 'powerful statement' by dropping Christie in favour of rookie Hotham
By STEPHEN FOOTE
One of the most notable omissions from Scott Robertson's first All Blacks Rugby Championship squad is Blues halfback Finlay Christie.
Since his 2021 debut, the Mako stalwart has been a fixture in and around the All Blacks group. He was a part of last year's World Cup runners-up in France and earned caps in both tests against England earlier this month, one of them as the starter.
But Christie isn't a part of the halfback trio that will defend the Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship, with Noah Hotham elevated alongside veteran TJ Perenara and recent debutant Cortez Ratima.
Perenara's knee injury opened the door for Hotham to be called into the squad to travel to San Diego and face Fiji, where he made his debut with an impressive 40 minutes from the bench.
That appears to have been all Robertson and his staff needed to see, bringing him into the squad fulltime for the next two months of test action.
While it's a move that's surprised many, SENZ Breakfast host Scotty Stevenson views it as a "powerful statement" from Razor, who he believes is drawing a line in the sand as to what he expects from players in his stable.
With likely future starter Cam Roigard still working his way back from his torn patella, Christie was given a chance to prove what he was capable of but failed to take that opportunity, according to Stevenson, which ultimately resulted in his ousting.
"I think that this is a signal that Scott Robertson is going to make this his own team," Stevenson said on Monday morning.
"Finlay Christie is a player he inherited in that All Blacks mix… I just wonder if Finlay Christie has taken his opportunity.
"He came into the side this year, as senior statesman alongside TJ Perenara, who always felt like that was a stopgap measure. No offence to TJ Perenara, but he's not the future for the All Blacks.
"Christie has had a lot of time in that black jersey, so it seemed like he had a chance to grab that starting spot with both hands and hasn't done that."
Robertson has been vocal about his intention to reward players who add as much value to the squad off the field as they do on it, and Stevenson notes that may have been an area where Christie also fell short of the standard.
"Robertson and certainly (assistant) Jason Ryan and Scott Hanson too, they're the kind of coaches who will look around every single thing you do during a training week," he added. "That is going to give them a better indication about your selection opportunities than anything you do on the field.
"I think Scott Robertson said, 'these guys who have really performed and training around the environment, they're the ones we're giving an opportunity to'.
"I feel for Finlay Christie, but I think it's a statement from Robertson and his selectors to say, 'if you're not pulling your weight here, you're not having this jersey by right' and I think that's a really powerful statement to make."
Former U20s star Hotham, 21, was one of few shining lights during the Crusaders' abysmal 2024 Super Rugby Pacific campaign, usurping veteran Mitchell Drummond in the No. 9 jersey with some show-stealing outings down the stretch.
His explosive game - predicated on speed and guile around the fringes of ruck - fits precisely the brand of halfback the All Blacks are searching for, adds co-host Israel Dagg.
While his rapid promotion has come as a surprise to many, Stevenson believes it's simply the next natural step in Hotham's evolution as the archetypal product of the NZR system.
"Noah Hotham has been ordained," he said.
"He is that prototype player who's come through school, was identified early, was put in academies, was stipended around provinces. He was tapped on the shoulder as a 16-year-old saying, 'you're going to be an All Black'.
"This is the development pathway that New Zealand Rugby is so keen to follow. Get him straight out of school, straight into the academy, straight into Super Rugby academies and then, hope for the best."
The All Blacks play their Rugby Championship opener against Argentina in Wellington on August 10.
