All Blacks 2025
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2025:
@brodean Ethan's bigger and with more endurance.
190 cm; 109kg
Liam Messam
Explore the complete profile of Liam Messam, featuring career stats, a player bio, and a full list of all matches played. Discover key achievements, total points, tries, and more from this legendary player!
190cm 111kg
Ethan Blackadder
Explore the complete profile of Ethan Blackadder, featuring career stats, a player bio, and a full list of all matches played. Discover key achievements, total points, tries, and more from this legendary player!
2kg? That's just Ethan's bandages!
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@Frank said in All Blacks 2025:
Not buying the criticisms of Scott Barrett.
He was the best lock we had in 2023, being seen as more valuable than Whitelock and Retallick.
I am confident he will produce good form for the ABs this year.I get the impression he is on a McCaw esque style conditioning trajectory.
Warming into the season as it goes on with a view to be fully motoring come test season. -
@Tim said in All Blacks 2025:
Top three are clear: Vaa'i, Barrett, Tuipulotu. Darry is injured, and Lord hasn't played much in recent seasons, so 4th spot is wide open.
Holland is my pick/tip for 4th lock.
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@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks 2025:
@gt12 Barrett has certainly got more active in the latter half of the season. I do think that his program was a little different given what is to come later this year for the AB captain. Not too dissimilar to what I saw from McCaw and Read previously with how they built during super rugby.
I think the coaches will keep the faith with Vaa’i but I would really like to see Barrett and Holland get a couple of starts together.
If they go with 5 locks then add Tuipoluto and Darry to above 3.
fucking hell. Wrote that myself and then read your post.
It definitely looks like that on the eye test.
He is noticeably busier these days. -
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2025:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2025:
@brodean Ethan's bigger and with more endurance.
190 cm; 109kg
Liam Messam
Explore the complete profile of Liam Messam, featuring career stats, a player bio, and a full list of all matches played. Discover key achievements, total points, tries, and more from this legendary player!
190cm 111kg
Ethan Blackadder
Explore the complete profile of Ethan Blackadder, featuring career stats, a player bio, and a full list of all matches played. Discover key achievements, total points, tries, and more from this legendary player!
2kg? That's just Ethan's bandages!
I would have thought, my impression, messam was more impactful in contact, Blackadder more mobile getting to the next contest
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Justin Marshall believes Sotutu and Papaili's AB ship has sailed, in no small part because the Blues style of play is not the way that Razor wants his All blacks to play. If true, this makes me unhappy. Here I was thinking it was the job of the coach to pick players and mold them to play the style he wanted.....
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@canefan not necessarily, I think if there are players 'incapable' of playing the patterns you need, then they dont fit...that said, I think most players are more than capable of playing varying styles, and when you have some players with an array of talents, you need to fit them...hell, look at Ardie, absolute star, yet has affected the balance of our loose trio for years, but they made it work for th emost part.
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@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2025:
@canefan not necessarily, I think if there are players 'incapable' of playing the patterns you need, then they dont fit...that said, I think most players are more than capable of playing varying styles, and when you have some players with an array of talents, you need to fit them...hell, look at Ardie, absolute star, yet has affected the balance of our loose trio for years, but they made it work for th emost part.
For me it's about exploiting the various talents of players. As you suggest, these guys have a capacity to adapt. The coaches should too
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@canefan said in All Blacks 2025:
Justin Marshall believes Sotutu and Papaili's AB ship has sailed, in no small part because the Blues style of play is not the way that Razor wants his All blacks to play. If true, this makes me unhappy. Here I was thinking it was the job of the coach to pick players and mold them to play the style he wanted.....
Playing their part to weaken the Blues 😉
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@canefan said in All Blacks 2025:
Justin Marshall believes Sotutu and Papaili's AB ship has sailed, in no small part because the Blues style of play is not the way that Razor wants his All blacks to play. If true, this makes me unhappy. Here I was thinking it was the job of the coach to pick players and mold them to play the style he wanted.....
Just in spouts a lot of piffle about various Crusaders, and those competing for same places. Sotutu was criticised last year for not being physical enough on defence and for shirking hard carries. He seems to have remedied that this year. Skill set still wider than other NZ 8s.
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@pakman said in All Blacks 2025:
@canefan said in All Blacks 2025:
Justin Marshall believes Sotutu and Papaili's AB ship has sailed, in no small part because the Blues style of play is not the way that Razor wants his All blacks to play. If true, this makes me unhappy. Here I was thinking it was the job of the coach to pick players and mold them to play the style he wanted.....
Just in spouts a lot of piffle about various Crusaders, and those competing for same places. Sotutu was criticised last year for not being physical enough on defence and for shirking hard carries. He seems to have remedied that this year. Skill set still wider than other NZ 8s.
The reasons given for Sotutu were frankly rubbish. Ryan just didn't like him and I also suspect there was an element of bias due to the past losses against the Crusaders in finals.
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@Frank said in All Blacks 2025:
Not buying the criticisms of Scott Barrett.
He was the best lock we had in 2023, being seen as more valuable than Whitelock and Retallick.
I am confident he will produce good form for the ABs this year.The criticisms are hardly harsh - he's a really good player in just about every facet, but he's not really a world class lineout target / attacker of opposition ball. We also don't have great lineout loosies at present, which increases the emphasis on our locks' lineout work.
He also wasn't as good last year as he was in 2023, whereas Vaai improved a lot in 2024, and Holland has been eye-catching in 2025.
There's no doubt he'll be deservedly selected, and be captain. -
I thought it was interesting that they went straight back to Cane after the French test last year. Apart from Williams, and Savea out wide, our forwards struggled to get over the advantage line against France and secure the breakdown at crucial times.
The French pack also made easy metres against us.
This might play into Papali'is favour but honestly I wouldn't be surprised to see Sotutu and Papali'i missing out.
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@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks 2025:
I think the coaches will keep the faith with Vaa’i but I would really like to see Barrett and Holland get a couple of starts together.
bro you're better than this. Vaa'i has been the premier lock at both levels for the past 12-15 months. If anything SB is the one who should be giving way.
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i realise we are all shouting opinions in to the wind, and nothing we say has any basis in reality. So here is mine:
I don't think you can play Savea and Sititi in the same starting loose trio and hope to be effective at the top end of test rugby.
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@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2025:
@canefan said in All Blacks 2025:
Justin Marshall believes Sotutu and Papaili's AB ship has sailed, in no small part because the Blues style of play is not the way that Razor wants his All blacks to play. If true, this makes me unhappy. Here I was thinking it was the job of the coach to pick players and mold them to play the style he wanted.....
Playing their part to weaken the Blues 😉
Mate, I swear this is the underlining factor.
