While The Breakdown spent the bulk of its weekly show debating the All Blacks captaincy and a loose-head crisis, the Aotearoa Rugby Pod went the other way. On their latest episode, hosts Brendon and Ross worked their way through what may be the deepest position group in the squad — the back-three — and ended up at a starting trio that would, even a few months ago, have raised eyebrows.
Their lock pick at fullback is the easy one. Both panellists agreed that, if Will Jordan is fit, the No. 15 jersey is his.
"Options are plenty," Ross said, "but I would say probably the only lock is Will Jordan. He's somewhere. Lock at fullback, in my opinion, I think he's probably the lock there at 15."
The interesting calls were on the wings. Caleb Clarke, the incumbent left wing, was effectively unchallenged. The Auckland power-winger has been playing in the form Dave Rennie has come to expect of him, and his sevens-bred aerial work makes him the kind of wing who solves problems in the high ball.
It was at right wing that the Aotearoa Pod made its boldest call. With Sevu Reece, Mark Telea and a clutch of established options notably absent from the conversation, both panellists pushed for Highlanders flyer Caleb Tangitau on the basis that the Highlanders have been deliberately playing him in the No. 14 jersey to stake his All Blacks claim.
"I think having Tangy in the way that he has played, and to Brendon's point, the Highlanders have put him in that 14 role whether deliberately or not, to be able to stake his claims to be in the All Blacks," Ross said. "That's a hell of a back-three if you're going to select Caleb Clarke, Caleb Tangitau, like you're talking around getting over the advantage and explosiveness with those two wingers."
The argument, the panel suggested, leans on three pillars. The first is aerial competence: both Tangitau and Clarke came through sevens, and the Aotearoa pod argued the high-ball work that arrives via that pathway is non-negotiable in modern Test rugby.
"Like Caleb Clarke's aerial ability came from sevens," Ross said. "Tangitau's aerial ability comes from sevens. It's not a place they're uncomfortable because they never have their escorts. It's just the way of the game."
The second pillar is form, and the urgency that comes with the short careers of explosive wingers.
"You've got to pick them while they're hot," Brendon said. "Like, Brendon, you got to pick a winger when he's hot because it's not always going to last. With the life expectancy of wingers, you do want to pick them while they're hot. So I think Caleb Tangitau, the way he has played, Caleb Clarke, with his skill set as well when it comes to international game around the high ball and with what is coming, you'd have to think he is not a lock in but would be definitely in a conversation to be on that left wing. Start them while they're hot."
The third pillar — and the one that makes the gamble work — is the safety net at fullback. The panel argued that any decision to play two power wingers against, say, the Springboks rests on Jordan's ability to mop up high balls and counter-attack from the back. The point was made via comparison to last year, when Jordie Barrett was repeatedly used at fullback specifically to provide aerial coverage.
"All of those 10 options you've got — Richie Mo'unga or Beauden Barrett or Damian McKenzie — they're all good under the high ball," Brendon said. "So I feel like you can make some sacrifices on the right wing and have two power wingers, considering that strength if you manipulate your backfield a little bit."
The panel did acknowledge the men they were leaving out. Sevu Reece's name is no longer being floated as it was last year. Rico Ioane is now playing most of his rugby on the wing for Leinster, but the panel suggested his place in the conversation is fading. Tavatavanawa from the Highlanders is on the periphery, hurt by the team's results. And Ruben Love, who debuted on the wing against Japan, is reframed as a maturity-of-game pick — possibly more useful at 10.
The back-three call also has midfield consequences. With Quinn Tupaea capable of covering wing, the panellists argued the No. 23 jersey may sit with Billy Proctor and the centre rotation can run Tupaea inside Jordie Barrett rather than the other way around.
It is a back-three built on aerial work and pace, not yardage or experience. Whether Rennie has the same appetite for risk as the Aotearoa Pod will be revealed when his first Test 23 is named for the Christchurch opener against France. Until then, the case for Caleb Tangitau in black is being made every weekend in the Highlanders' No. 14 jersey — and, it now appears, every Tuesday morning on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
Source: Aotearoa Rugby Pod YouTube, 'All Blacks Back 3 SOLVED? Clarke, Jordan & Tangitau', 5 May 2026.
