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3 years ago

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1:13 AM BST

  • Liam Napier

Strength in depth is a pillar that underpins the All Blacks, one set to be severely examined as they confront 12 Tests in the next 10 weeks.

Traditionally if the All Blacks don’t hurt opposition with their starting team they have an equally dynamic threat waiting on the bench.

Lose one front-line player to injury or other circumstance, and a seamless transition to the next cab off the rank is often achieved.

Consider the All Blacks injecting Beauden Barrett, Sonny Bill Williams and now injured captain Sam Cane off the pine in the 2015 World Cup final. That’s absurd depth of talent.

Much has changed in the six years since that global triumph yet this Test season Barrett, on return from his Japanese sabbatical, again found himself in that bench role alongside brothers Scott and Jordie.

With the All Blacks moving offshore for the remainder of the year, however, the global pandemic has complicated their stacked depth chart.

For the next three Tests – Sunday’s third Bledisloe Cup match in Perth and two Rugby Championship outings against the Pumas – the All Blacks are expected to be without three leading figures this season. And in many ways, that’s merely scratching the surface of the challenges Ian Foster will face in managing his squad for the rest of the year.

Stand-in captain Sam Whitelock, Richie Mo’unga and Aaron Smith, arguably the world’s best halfback, have been hugely influential for the All Blacks; a major reason why they remain unbeaten through five Tests in 2021 and, to this point at least, a vastly improved version of the team that stuttered to a 50% win record last year.

Unless Queensland changes its hard quarantine stipulations for New Zealand arrivals Whitelock, Mo’unga and Smith will be forced to spend two weeks in hotel quarantine – and at least another week rebuilding their frames – before returning to the Test arena. Injured All Blacks hooker Dane Coles and Cane – the skipper is not due to return until the end of year tour – are in the same situation.

In a non-pandemic consumed world Whitelock, Smith and Mo’unga would miss one Test to be present for the birth of their children, but New Zealand’s closed border status and quarantine complications significantly elongate their respective absences.

When inevitable injuries strike his initial 35-man squad in the coming weeks Foster faces something of a Rubik’s Cube scenario about whether to call up replacements. New Zealand’s national domestic competition has been halted for the past two weeks due to the nation-wide lockdown, leaving potential replacements in limbo.

Foster had hoped to ease senior props Joe Moody and Ofa Tuungafasi back through this avenue but when the latest COVID-19 outbreak hit, they were instead included in the squad and will return from injury – probably against the Pumas – on no recent game time.

Any replacement players called up will remain with the All Blacks for the rest of the season even if largely unused – and injured players are unlikely to return home, either – due to the lack of managed isolation facility availability in New Zealand.

As it stands, the All Blacks have a set number of spots booked from November 23 and no ability to send anyone back early. Scott Barrett, for example, is expecting his first child before then but there are no guarantees he will be able to return for the birth.

The upshot for Foster is the luxury of boasting three, in some cases four, contenders in each position could be fast eroded.

Mo’unga absence already shines a light on significantly declining depth with the All Blacks carrying only two first-fives in Beauden Barrett and Damian McKenzie, the latter option predominately a fullback and unproven as a Test No. 10.

To ensure all bases are covered flexibility and versatility will be vital within the All Blacks squad. In this regard, it would not surprise to see loose forwards covering lock, halfbacks covering first-five and outside backs covering midfield in the coming weeks.

Five Tests in as many weeks – two of those in succession against the world champion Springboks – is a gruelling stretch akin to a World Cup. Casualties are certain during that period, which will further test depth. A two-week break at the conclusion of the Rugby Championship will be welcomed but with that followed by another five Tests in a row on the end of year tour, the All Blacks will be battered, and carrying a bloated squad, by the time they return home.

In attempting to strike the rotation balance between not disrupting cohesion by making too many changes each week and needing to manage fatigue, Foster has a tricky juggling act ahead.

Adding to the immediate challenge against the Wallabies is the anointing of first time All Blacks captain Ardie Savea. Codie Taylor and Anton Lienert-Brown have replaced Whitelock and Smith in the leadership group, with Beauden Barrett and Brodie Retallick named vice-captains.

For the All Blacks to succeed on this arduous, complex tour it’s imperative that new-look leadership guides the team to a prosperous start because complications are such that it promises to only get more difficult from here.

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Sources: Verlander, Giants agree to 1-year deal

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2 hours ago

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January 8, 2025

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Sources: Verlander, Giants agree to 1-year deal

  • Jeff Passan

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    Jeff Passan

    Senior MLB Insider

      ESPN MLB insider
      Author of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports”

  • Jesse Rogers

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    Jesse Rogers

    ESPN Staff Writer

      Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com.

Jan 7, 2025, 07:32 PM ET

Right-hander Justin Verlander and the San Francisco Giants are in agreement on a one-year, $15 million contract, sources told ESPN on Tuesday, continuing the future Hall of Famer’s career at age 42 in one of the pitcher-friendliest stadiums in baseball.

Verlander, entering his 20th major league season, is considered perhaps the best pitcher of his generation, with the most innings pitched, strikeouts and wins among active players. A three-time Cy Young Award winner, Verlander is coming off the worst season of his career and joins a Giants team likewise looking for better results than 2024. The deal is pending a physical.

Shoulder and neck injuries limited Verlander to 17 starts, and over his last seven he posted an 8.10 ERA. With a falling strikeout rate and climbing home run rate, Verlander began to show signs of aging after a career in which he seemed impervious to it.

After a dominant 13-year stretch with the Detroit Tigers, Verlander found a second life after joining the Houston Astros in 2017. He won Cy Youngs in 2019 and 2022 — and after the latter signed a two-year, $86.6 million contract with the New York Mets. Verlander spent 16 starts with the Mets before being traded back to the Astros in August 2023.

Over his career, Verlander is 262-147 with a 3.30 ERA over 3,415⅔ innings. He has struck out 3,416 batters, walked 952 and won a pair of World Series with the Astros.

Returning to Houston wasn’t an option for 2025. With Oracle Park a dream for pitchers, Verlander gravitated toward the Giants, whose rotation includes right-hander Logan Webb, left-handers Robbie Ray and Kyle Harrison, and a number of other options for the fifth spot, with right-hander Hayden Birdsong seen as the likeliest candidate.

The Giants had spent a month with limited action before signing Verlander. A month ago to the day, they agreed with shortstop Willy Adames on a seven-year, $182 million contract.

San Francisco, which hired former star catcher Buster Posey as its president of baseball operations in September, went 80-82 last season and finished in fourth place in the National League West, which is arguably the best division in baseball.

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Mtn. West adds N. Illinois as football-only in ’26

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5 hours ago

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January 7, 2025

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Mtn. West adds N. Illinois as football-only in '26

  • Kyle Bonagura, ESPN Staff WriterJan 7, 2025, 04:12 PM ET

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    • Covers college football.
    • Joined ESPN in 2014.
    • Attended Washington State University.

Northern Illinois will join the Mountain West as a football-only member in 2026, the school and conference announced Tuesday.

“What a great opportunity for NIU Athletics as we expand our horizons, adapt to this new national model of college athletics and prepare to start a new chapter in the history of NIU Football,” NIU athletic director Sean T. Frazier said in a statement.

In addition to NIU, the Mountain West will include Air Force, Hawai’i, UNLV, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State and Wyoming in 2026.

The move is another fallen domino in college sports’ ongoing conference realignment process that caught up to the Mountain West in the fall, when Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State announced they were leaving for the new-look Pac-12, which collapsed in 2023.

“We are excited about adding Northern Illinois football to the Mountain West,” commissioner Gloria Nevarez said in a statement. “In evaluating NIU, the MW Board of Directors and Directors of Athletics carefully considered and were impressed by its history of football success and its commitment to academic excellence.”

It is unclear what conference NIU’s remaining sports will compete in once it moves to the Mountain West for football. The school said it will continue discussions with the Mid-American Conference — where it has participated since 1997 — but will also review opportunities in “several of the regionally based multi-sport conferences.”

The Mountain West also recently announced the additions of Grand Canyon and UC Davis for sports other than football (Grand Canyon does not have football; Davis will remain at the FCS level).

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Georgia lands Texas A&M WR Thomas from portal

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5 hours ago

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January 7, 2025

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Georgia lands Texas A&M WR Thomas from portal

  • Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior WriterJan 7, 2025, 05:23 PM ET

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    • Senior college football writer
    • Author of seven books on college football
    • Graduate of the University of Georgia

Georgia added another potential playmaker to its receiving corps on Tuesday, as former Texas A&M standout Noah Thomas committed to play for the Bulldogs in 2025.

Thomas, who has one season of eligibility remaining, led the Aggies with 39 catches for 574 yards and eight touchdowns this past season.

On Sunday, the Bulldogs added former USC receiver/kick returner Zachariah Branch, who was the No. 9 overall player and No. 4 receiver in ESPN’s transfer portal rankings. He had 1,863 all-purpose yards with the Trojans in two seasons and returned two kickoffs for scores in 2023.

At 6-foot-6, Thomas gives the Bulldogs a much-needed target in the red zone, which they were lacking this past season. His best performance came in a 43-41 loss in four overtimes at Auburn on Nov. 23, with five catches for 124 yards with two scores. He had six receptions for 109 yards and one score in a 21-17 victory over Arkansas on Sept. 28.

Earlier Tuesday, receiver Dillon Bell announced that he’ll return to Georgia for one more season. The junior had 43 catches for 466 yards with four touchdowns in 2024.

The Bulldogs are expected to lose their top two receivers: Dominic Lovett, who has exhausted his eligibility, and Arian Smith, who announced he’s forgoing his senior season to enter the NFL draft. Receiver Anthony Evans III also entered the transfer portal.

The Bulldogs led all FBS teams with 36 receiver drops this season, according to ESPN Research.

Georgia also landed two safeties from the transfer portal on Tuesday: Miami’s Jaden Harris and UAB’s Adrian Maddox, who had committed to Florida on Sunday. Harris started 13 games for the Hurricanes this past season and had 40 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 1 interception.

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