All Blacks 2025
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@frugby said in All Blacks 2025:
Ofa out for the season (having been fairly shit), EDG struggling for the Highlanders, Numia hardly setting the world alight… loosehead prop shaping as one of the more intriguing selection dilemmas.
no issues
William,bower and who ever is Crusaders 3rd loosehead -
@frugby said in All Blacks 2025:
Ofa out for the season (having been fairly shit), EDG struggling for the Highlanders, Numia hardly setting the world alight… loosehead prop shaping as one of the more intriguing selection dilemmas.
Both of who you mentioned will be fine. It’s a long season and EDG’s last game was his best one. Numia coming off a bad leg injury, takes time for the big boys. Tamaiti Williams hasn’t been shit hot either but not concerned.
An injury forcing the coach to finally get some new blood in there, at least we know that should happen now. Numia over Bower for sure.
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Over halfway through the season now so going to have a go at what a 34-man All Blacks squad might look like...
Hookers - Codie Taylor, Asafo Aumua, Samisoni Taukei'aho
Props - Ethan de Groot, Tamaiti Williams, Tyrel Lomax, Fletcher Newell, Pasilio Tosi
Locks - Scott Barrett, Tupou Vaa'i, two of Josh Lord, Patrick Tuipulotu and Josh Beehre*
Loose forwards - Ardie Savea, Ethan Blackadder, Wallace Sititi, Luke Jacobson, Peter Lakai, Cam Christie*
Halfbacks - Cam Roigard, Cortez Ratima, Noah Hotham
First fives - Damian McKenzie, Beauden Barrett, Xavi Taele*
Midfield - Jordie Barrett, Rieko Ioane, Anton Lienert-Brown, Quinn Tupaea
Outside backs - Will Jordan, Caleb Clarke, Ruben Love, Mark Tele'a, Sevu ReecePossibly another prop or loose forward instead of a midfielder/outside back. Obviously still a lot of time for players to get injured/come into form/lose form completely.
Feels a bit absurd to pick three Blues as the only debutants but think they've all been pretty good (in the case of Beehre/Christie) or shown immense promise - I can see Taele being a long-term option at 10.
Reece probably the luckiest of the bunch based on last year's form, this year's form, and the strength that NZ has in the outside backs but he's a Razor-favourite. Tangitau needs to back up next year (or in the NPC) to win a spot for my mind.
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For the sake of giving him a shot should Kirifi be in the squad? And also maybe Shaun Stevenson?
I'm thinking more from the point of view of giving them a chance to see what they can do in an All Black environment because that way it's not a closed shop.
I say that on the basis of two players (not to pick on them) who have been meh this season are Telea and Blackadder and it seems a tad unfair for them to be shoe ins to the squad when there are players out there who have never really been given a chance. In Stevenson's case one cap ofc.
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@nonpartizan Stevenson is off to Japan at the end of the year so don't think Razor will bother investing in him now (different story if he were an established All Black).
I'm not sure Kirifi will ever be an All Black. He's playing well and is obviously excellent at the breakdown but I don't think he offers enough with ball in hand to justify how unbalanced any loose forward trio would end up being (and it's already unbalanced). A Sititi/Kirifi/Savea combo is incredibly undersized so until Razor gets his hands on a hulking 6, I can't see Kirifi getting the call up.
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@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks 2025:
@nonpartizan Stevenson is off to Japan at the end of the year so don't think Razor will bother investing in him now (different story if he were an established All Black).
I'm not sure Kirifi will ever be an All Black. He's playing well and is obviously excellent at the breakdown but I don't think he offers enough with ball in hand to justify how unbalanced any loose forward trio would end up being (and it's already unbalanced). A Sititi/Kirifi/Savea combo is incredibly undersized so until Razor gets his hands on a hulking 6, I can't see Kirifi getting the call up.
Understood on Stevenson.
For Kirifi I see the drawbacks about the balance of the team and sauad but I just don't see how coaches aren't curious enough to see him in their training sessions and in their environments doing their drills. It just seems a defeating mindset to write players off before they have been given a shot especially since it also messages non All Blacks that you might be dismissed without being ever really given a chance.
IMHO I think it's better to experiment and fail than to preemptively assume but never satisfy your curiosity.
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@nonpartizan said in All Blacks 2025:
@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks 2025:
@nonpartizan Stevenson is off to Japan at the end of the year so don't think Razor will bother investing in him now (different story if he were an established All Black).
I'm not sure Kirifi will ever be an All Black. He's playing well and is obviously excellent at the breakdown but I don't think he offers enough with ball in hand to justify how unbalanced any loose forward trio would end up being (and it's already unbalanced). A Sititi/Kirifi/Savea combo is incredibly undersized so until Razor gets his hands on a hulking 6, I can't see Kirifi getting the call up.
Understood on Stevenson.
For Kirifi I see the drawbacks about the balance of the team and sauad but I just don't see how coaches aren't curious enough to see him in their training sessions and in their environments doing their drills. It just seems a defeating mindset to write players off before they have been given a shot especially since it also messages non All Blacks that you might be dismissed without being ever really given a chance.
IMHO I think it's better to experiment and fail than to preemptively assume but never satisfy your curiosity.
I don't necessarily disagree but players are written off at all levels of the game for lacking the raw attributes needed to meet that level of play.
Who would you partner Kirifi with in the loose forwards?
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@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks 2025:
@nonpartizan said in All Blacks 2025:
@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks 2025:
@nonpartizan Stevenson is off to Japan at the end of the year so don't think Razor will bother investing in him now (different story if he were an established All Black).
I'm not sure Kirifi will ever be an All Black. He's playing well and is obviously excellent at the breakdown but I don't think he offers enough with ball in hand to justify how unbalanced any loose forward trio would end up being (and it's already unbalanced). A Sititi/Kirifi/Savea combo is incredibly undersized so until Razor gets his hands on a hulking 6, I can't see Kirifi getting the call up.
Understood on Stevenson.
For Kirifi I see the drawbacks about the balance of the team and sauad but I just don't see how coaches aren't curious enough to see him in their training sessions and in their environments doing their drills. It just seems a defeating mindset to write players off before they have been given a shot especially since it also messages non All Blacks that you might be dismissed without being ever really given a chance.
IMHO I think it's better to experiment and fail than to preemptively assume but never satisfy your curiosity.
I don't necessarily disagree but players are written off at all levels of the game for lacking the raw attributes needed to meet that level of play.
Who would you partner Kirifi with in the loose forwards?
They are but there must be a decent amount of talent wasted at all levels because coaches were too conservative in their approach and lacked the curiosity to give players a chance.
I would look to bring him off the bench to start with.
If you were going to start him I recognize it's a conumdrum for balance and if you were being experimental you could pick him, Savea/Jacobson at 8 and Blackadder at 6. Or go with the undersized unit you mentioned.Not to look too far ahead but there are potentially two lower stakes games for the All Blacks this year - 3rd test v France (iif it's not a decider) and Wales, just based on their recent form. I would be targeting those games to play a fringe player or two like Kirifi.
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@Mr-Fish About right.
I think Fabian Holland, Samipeni Finau and Stephen Perofeta will be there ahead of the three Blues debutants you suggest, but the rest looks correct at the moment.
It wouldn't surprised me if there are no new All Blacks at all in the July Squad.
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@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks 2025:
@nonpartizan said in All Blacks 2025:
@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks 2025:
@nonpartizan Stevenson is off to Japan at the end of the year so don't think Razor will bother investing in him now (different story if he were an established All Black).
I'm not sure Kirifi will ever be an All Black. He's playing well and is obviously excellent at the breakdown but I don't think he offers enough with ball in hand to justify how unbalanced any loose forward trio would end up being (and it's already unbalanced). A Sititi/Kirifi/Savea combo is incredibly undersized so until Razor gets his hands on a hulking 6, I can't see Kirifi getting the call up.
Understood on Stevenson.
For Kirifi I see the drawbacks about the balance of the team and sauad but I just don't see how coaches aren't curious enough to see him in their training sessions and in their environments doing their drills. It just seems a defeating mindset to write players off before they have been given a shot especially since it also messages non All Blacks that you might be dismissed without being ever really given a chance.
IMHO I think it's better to experiment and fail than to preemptively assume but never satisfy your curiosity.
I don't necessarily disagree but players are written off at all levels of the game for lacking the raw attributes needed to meet that level of play.
Who would you partner Kirifi with in the loose forwards?
Not sure you can have Kirifi and Savea in the same loose forward trio. One has to come off the bench for the other
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Kirifi is much more robust now than he was a couple of years ago. I used to think that he was undersized but you regularly see him charge into contact and bust through tackles now. And if he is over the ball he is very difficult to move. There was a recent article saying he has had conversations with the AB coaches, which is a positive.
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@Bones said in All Blacks 2025:
I fully expect him to be picked, but Blackadder is looking even more average than I thought he would in SR. I really don't get the attraction.
Arguably an attraction for the AB selectors in both Jacobson and Blackadder is that they can cover all three positions in the back row. So it could be argued that they are good players to have on the bench.
But yeah, Blackadder's an average Super Player at best and would be nowhere near my AB squad on current form.
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So who is our 7 once Blackadder goes down? I wouldnt have him there, but we know he will be until injury, so who's the backup? I don't think they're keen on Papali'i, Lakai ended up there last year but Kirifi gets preferred at club level, Ardie started there against France but had to move out of there quickly and we all know he ain't a 7, so who is 2nd choice?
My choice is Lakai.
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Savea then Lakai then Papalii for me.
Finau at 6. Sititi at 8. Lakai or Jacobson on the bench.
