All Blacks Squad for France
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On Akira's selection, I'm wondering whether they've had one of those strange "Group Think" committee discussions, where someone has a downer on him and they eventually talk themselves around to a point where, beyond logic, they're not going to pick him.
I wonder if you got Hansen in a closed room with a few expert interrogators and asked him to defend Frizzell over Akira whether he could do a convincing job.
Frankly, there would have to be something beyond the playing field IMO - even if it's just that they think he needs a rest.
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@nzzp I will say that it's a good thing they looked beyond Kaino at the EoYT, so that's a head start. The problem is replacing Read who is a shadow of his PoTY version. I'll be astonished if following back surgery he attains those heights again.
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@antipodean said in All Blacks Squad for France:
@nzzp I will say that it's a good thing they looked beyond Kaino at the EoYT, so that's a head start. The problem is replacing Read who is a shadow of his PoTY version. I'll be astonished if following back surgery he attains those heights again.
One more reason why I don't get no Akira.
He's pretty clearly the young 8 with most potential. Even Squire is already 27, so will be 28 at the next WC and won't be around in 2023.
@Chris-B could be right in that they may just want him to have a rest (which I'd be happy about if that is true, because he'll get the benefit of the camp and a rest) but my feeling is that there is a no dickheads, training, or work-rate problem that he has not addressed to their happiness.
My guess is that they'll hold off on him until he shows enough change there, then he'll get plenty of time. I'm wondering if that is going to happen before the WC though. Now seems the time to get him involved, if you think he is part of that campaign.
I'd love to see Read back and at his best, but few have come back to even play at a high level after that type of surgery... for that reason alone, we should be stacking up 8s.
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@gt12 I saw a snippet of Rieko's interview at the squad announcement. He was asked if it was bitter sweet and said Akira was happy to be there, knew what he had to work on and once he got some planning around that, he'd be fine.
So it seems there definitely is something missing and publicly at least, his younger brother agrees.
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@gt12 If it was the no dickheads rule, you'd think they wouldn't have him in the camp - unless the non-selection is sending him a pointed message to sharpen up, while they still want to have him in their plans.
I guess there's a fair amount of utility among the loosies selected - with Whitelock, Taufua and Squire all able to play both 6 and 8, but I'm tending to think they'll use Whitelock and Taufua as their No. 8s (and Ardie) - in which case I can see them being chosen over Akira. And Squire and Fifita were already ahead in the pecking order at six.
It's Frizzell over Akira that I find inexplicable. I guess Shannon can play lock at a pinch (I'm pretty sure he's started there for the Mako), but it's a fucking big stretch that he could do so in international rugby.
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@chris-b said in All Blacks Squad for France:
On Akira's selection, I'm wondering whether they've had one of those strange "Group Think" committee discussions, where someone has a downer on him and they eventually talk themselves around to a point where, beyond logic, they're not going to pick him.
I wonder if you got Hansen in a closed room with a few expert interrogators and asked him to defend Frizzell over Akira whether he could do a convincing job.
Frankly, there would have to be something beyond the playing field IMO - even if it's just that they think he needs a rest.
Chris or any other NZ based ferners, did the guys on Sky ask Shag about the rationale behind Frizzell's selection? I have only listened to Devlin interviewing Shag and Foster and he was more keen to ask them about the silly royal wedding than any meaningful questions relating to the squad.
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I'm reading that Shannon Frizell is Welsh-qualified through his dad, as his brother Tyson played League for Wales.
The Welsh-qualified sensation being tipped for the All Blacks
Shannon Frizell has impressed for the Highlanders - and he could play for Wales now
Tipped as a New Zealand Test star in the making, the physical back-rower has already made an impression in a handful of starts for the Highlanders in Super Rugby after staring for Ta$man at provincial level.
Yet, he is also eligible to play for Tonga, his country of birth, and Wales, through his dad Andrew - who hails from Swansea.
The younger brother of Rugby League World Cup winner Tyson, who played for Wales before switching allegiances to Australia, Shannon has already made a mark on the national stage in New Zealand.
But I'm also reading that Tyson and Shannon Frizell are adopted/step brothers.
So something doesn't compute .....
NRL star Tyson Frizell has revealed how immigration laws stopped him from growing up with his younger brother.
That younger sibling is Highlanders flanker Shannon Frizell.
Tyson Frizell, 26, grew up in Australia with his parents but Shannon, 24, spent his childhood in Tonga.
Immigration laws prevented Shannon from settling in Australia with his adopted family.
"It is something that is pretty common in Tongan culture, to adopt a kid from another family, but he wasn't able to come over and live with us," Tyson Frizell told NRL.com.
I'd be shocked, shocked, that WoL would bang out an un-researched story .....
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From a Stuff article:
Hansen admitted Frizell was in this group because of what they saw in his future, rather than necessarily his present. "We've lost Jerome Kaino who has been around a long time, and provided a lot of positive intent when he carried, when he cleared rucks and tackled. If you think back to Jerry Collins, Jamie Joseph, Cowboy Shaw in that 6 role, they are the type of players we've had."Shannon comes in with a similar style. He's very energetic and he wants to be in your grill in a positive way with his intentions when he's tackling and cleaning. We have to take our time developing him and see where we get to."
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@akan004 said in All Blacks Squad for France:
@rapido I don't think they are step brothers. Same parents. Tyson moved to Australia with the folks and Shannon was adopted by his aunty I think and remained in Tonga.
Ah, ok. I had read it as being the othr way round . That makes some sense.
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That article is confusing, was he adopted in or out of the family? If he was adopted in then he wouldn't be eligible for Wales would he? If he was adopted out then I assume his birth certificate was changed to remove the birth parents (which I wouldn't thought would have been a high priority in the culture) which would be why he couldn't travel to Oz?
Hopefully, if he is adopted in, which doesn't seem the case according to @akan004 then we find out that he has a NZ parent so he's not another poach.
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"While his 26-year-old brother grew up with his parents in Australia, Shannon grew up in Tonga with his adopted family, and started playing rugby."
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From the NZH article below:
Shannon Frizell 1) The explosive Frizell has had just three starts in his first season for the Highlanders, making him a true bolter in the All Black side. He is essentially a tight-loose forward but at 1.95m he could cover lock. 2) Frizell was born and raised in Tonga, the homeland of his mother Sophia, and raised there by his adopted family. Shannon's schoolmates included Warriors centre Solomone Kata and Warrior-turned-Titan Konrad Hurrell. 3) Shannon grew up separated from his Wollongong-born brother Tyson who is a league star for the NRL's St George-Illawarra Dragons, New South Wales and Australia. Australian immigration laws prevented Shannon from joining his birth family there. 4) Tyson Frizell played for Wales in the 2013 league World Cup, and Shannon could have played rugby for Wales. Their father Andrew is from Swansea and he helped Shannon obtain a British passport. Tyson played rugby for Australian Schools and was chased by the NSW Waratahs. 5) Shannon signed for the Ta$man Mako$ as a 22-year-old in 2016. He announced his potential on the big stage with three tries and a brilliant offload for another against the hapless Blues at Eden Park last month..
The same article also has info about TTT and Taufua:
Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi 1) The rising Chiefs star has something unusual in common with fellow All Black halfback TJ Perenara — both were in the sights of NRL super club Melbourne Storm. Tahuriorangi played both codes as a youngster and was in a NZ under-18 league side alongside future NRL players Tui Lolohea, Bunty Afoa, Nathaniel Roche and Toa Sipley. 2) Tahuriorangi entered the Chiefs system while still at Rotorua Boys High school, and was in the 2015 New Zealand world under-20 title winning side. He made his NPC debut for Taranaki in 2014, and backed up Perenara at the Hurricanes for two years. 3) Ex-Taranaki coach Colin Cooper brought Tahuriorangi to the Chiefs from the Hurricanes this season, in a swap involving Finlay Christie. Pundits thought Chiefs halfback Brad Weber would get the third All Black spot but Tahuriorangi made his charge when Weber suffered a wrist injury. Tahuriorangi is noted for his swift passing and will now be seen as the man who can replicate the way Aaron Smith's speed drives the All Blacks. 4) After leaving Rotorua Boys High, he studied for an engineering diploma. Last year, he returned to Rotorua with the Maori All Blacks to play the Lions and said: "At high school I was always that person people looked up to and to come back and see all the rangatahi (youth) from Rotorua Boys' High has made it special for me." 5) When Tahuriorangi joined the Hurricanes in 2016, established test halfback Perenara told Maori Television: "His speed of ball, his vision out on the field is excellent especially for a young kid, just his mannerism out there he looks like he's been out there for a long time..
Jordan Taufua 1) The Crusaders hard man was born in Otahuhu and went to Alfriston and Sacred Heart colleges. Taufua captained the SHC first XV, and represented Counties Manukau in the under-14s and under-16s. 2) The well-travelled Taufua has had a slightly unusual path in the game, which includes aiming to play for a Japanese club rather than in the next NPC. He also quit Canterbury for Counties Manukau when he felt his path was blocked, and is currently in his second spell at Ta$man. He played in last year's NPC final against Canterbury, breaking his arm and enduring surgery followed by a three month layoff. 3) All Blacks coach Steve Hansen indicated Taufua could play all three loose forward positions. 4) The 26-year-old Taufua revealed if he wasn't a rugby player he would be a primary school teacher. Taufua headed into the Crusaders via a well-worn education path - Lincoln University. Other Lincoln rugby scholarship winners include Richie McCaw plus current All Blacks Sam Whitelock, Jack Goodhue and Barrett brothers Jordie and Scott. 5) Taufua played for Samoan under-20s who won the 2011 second tier world junior trophy in Georgia. He then played against Samoa for New Zealand under-20s at the elite 2012 World Cup in South Africa.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12055441
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@nepia said in All Blacks Squad for France:
@akan004 Cheers for that follow up article, so I wonder why he couldn't get into Oz?
Also, it's funny that Frizell is being spoken of as a new tight loosie but these articles hype his try scoring in one match and his running out wide.
No worries. Just read the NZHerald article posted by Stargazer. If that's accurate, then Australia has some ridiculous laws.
"Australian immigration laws prevented Shannon from joining his birth family there."
Edit: I was wrong about Tyson's place of birth. He was born in Australia.
