Another week and another Razor Watch, but this time we’re checking out the All Blacks Rugby Championship team.

Planet Rugby has already picked the winners and losers, but this week we delve deeper into the details of the selection and what Scott Robertson thinks of it all.

The Return of Sam Cane

The former captain was going to be named in the squad anyway, having missed the first group through injury. Cane has 95 caps to his name and has certainly earned his place on the Test scene, but it does beg the question why would a player who is retiring at the end of the year be selected?

The simple answer is leadership. Whatever you may think of Cane, he is still a leader of men and when he led the All Blacks all the noise came from outside the camp, with his teammates often vouching for their captain. He is clearly respected and has a wealth of intellectual property to pass on to the upcoming generation. His leadership could play a greater role if Scott Barrett misses the start of the Rugby Championship and Cane is selected.

That’s all well and good, but it also feels like the All Blacks want to reward the veteran with a century of caps. Of course, that narrative will be dismissed by management, but it’s certainly worth considering.

TJ and the rookies

Perhaps the biggest omission was Finlay Christie who lost out to rising stars Noah Hotham and Cortez Ratima, who will replace TJ Perenara. It may seem audacious at first glance, but it is fairly calculated.

Perenara returning from injury is worth his weight in gold for the All Blacks. The veteran has experienced this several times in his career, which seems to have rekindled after a long injury layoff last year. The scrum-half was at his most productive during Super Rugby Pacific and is the perfect man to propel New Zealand forward.

From him the promising duo with Ratima who shone in his first moments in black learn. His pace of play and sniping ability are excellent, he will only learn how to score more tries under Perenara’s guidance, while his partnership with DMAC (Damian McKenzie) certainly increases his value.

Hotham is an interesting one as he has even more running ability than the other two and Razor knows him very well having given him his Super Rugby debut during the Crusaders days. He looks classy in everything he does and it will be interesting to see how he does.

While these two learn from a great, Christie will experience a shock to the system by being left out and will work hard to get back into the fold. The Blues man will be back in black at some point.

What now for Will Jordan?

Razor clearly wants Jordan to play as a fullback, having already said that he sees him as such. The superstar’s return from injury makes for an interesting conversation about the composition of the backline.

If Jordan has a positive hit in the NPC, he could get a chance against Argentina to build up some testing minutes in his legs. There is a good chance that could be 15, meaning the composition of the back line could be quite different.

A lot of it comes down to what happens with Beauden Barrett. Are Razor likely to start him at possibly even 10 or is he going to be Mr Fix It off the bench? The centurion has arguably been the most influential player of the Razor era so far and has to be part of the picture.

It would be pretty brutal to drop DMAC, who has held his own in the 10 shirt but could also provide a significant injection of quality off the bench. We’re not sure that makes sense for the team’s long-term prospects, as McKenzie would benefit hugely from continuity at the pivot.

There is always a chance that Razor could select all three players, with Jordan replacing either Sevu Reece or Mark Tele’a on the wing, but given the manager’s comments about the Crusaders’ speed demon, that seems unlikely.

If we had to choose, it would be DMAC at 10th because he deserves to remain a regular, Jordan at 15th because everyone wants to see him in that role at Test level and Barrett as a substitute because he is a proven game changer and his sheer quality means he can make an impact as a fly-half or full-back if required.

All Blacks: Scott Robertson reveals where he will play against ‘world class’ Will Jordan

Second row is still in development

Captain Barrett’s injury has forced development in an area that needs it, with Sam Darry getting a full call-up in the second row. The rookie was solid for the All Blacks against Fiji and deserves more caps. Josh Lord also comes in as injury cover.

Fortunately for the All Blacks, they have smartly rested Patrick Tuipulotu for the Fiji Test, meaning he will get almost a month’s rest so he is ready to go. Tupou Vaa’i could do with some time in a starting role to break through his ceiling. It’s a perfect opportunity to really stamp his authority on the side.

In the meantime, Darry will gather all the information and learn what he can, every minute he gets is incredibly valuable.

Ultimately, the situation in the second row is being worked on and that requires time in the saddle for all parties.

READ MORE: The priceless ‘quality’ that ‘class’ Beauden Barrett offers the All Blacks coaches