Former All Blacks World Cup-winning captain Kieran Read has shared his thoughts on the number 10 jersey this summer for the Rugby Nations Championship.
The All Blacks’ 10 jersey has been traditionally competed for by two players in recent years. Beauden Barrett and Damien McKenzie have been competing for the jersey, with McKenzie normally deputising for his Blues counterpart.
This season has seen the emergence of a new contender for the 10 jersey and one that the former Crusader, Read, believes should be competing for the starting shirt.
Ruben Love has been a key contributor to the success of the Hurricanes this year, and with the partnership that he has already developed with Cam Roigard, there is a reasonable justification that he is ready for the starting role.
Love, like McKenzie and Barrett, has a wide variety of skills that have seen him deployed at both 10 and full-back and has played five times for the All Blacks since his debut in October 2024.
What did Read say on the 10 debate?
When discussing the Super Rugby final, Read commented, “Those two (Love and McKenzie) are definitely going to be the guys leading the All Blacks around, which is great. Why wouldn’t you want those two guys in the team and doing what they do?” These comments were reported by RugbyPlanet after the Hurricanes won the Super Rugby final 60-5.
Noticeably the former All Black didn’t mention Beauden Barrett who has held the number 10 shirt most recently. The difficult second half of the season for the Blues may have played its part in this change in mindset. Barrett is heading towards 150 All Blacks caps and in doing so would become the most capped All Black in history. This is a milestone the out-half could reach by the end of the Greatest Rivalry series.
ReadRugbyUnion reacts:
The argument for the All Blacks 10 shirt for this summer is a difficult one. Barrett and McKenzie are in the latter stages of their career and Love has shown his form in Super Rugby this year. Ruben Love is the future of that shirt, but the question will be, when the right time to get him starting will be. Personally, I would prefer if Love got some gametime in this Rugby Nations Championship in preparation for the starting jersey this summer for the Greatest Rivalry tour. As a big admirer of Beauden Barrett, I would also like to see him get to 150 caps, so McKenzie may need to miss out.
