AB "What could have been" XV
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I think Ron Cribb is a good contender for the team, if he didn't get injured at the wrong time, get caught up in Mitchell being an utter cock, and then in-advisedly take on the NZRU. He also shouldn't have returned to the Blues and stayed at the Crusaders (ugh, did I just write those words).
I think Leonard has a very low ceiling and hit it - his game was based around his speed and without he dropped out of the running pretty quickly. Hindsight would suggest Piri would have been a better option in 07.
@pukunui That backline (with Kahn at 9) in the OP is awesome.
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@Nepia nah Cribb was soft. Missing that tackle on Kefu takes him off the list.
@cgrant Koula Tukino
Team I believe you are referring to is at the bottom of this article.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=158761
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Yes, Tukino ! You are great !
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@cgrant said in AB "What could have been" XV:
@bones said in AB "What could have been" XV:
@mn5 said in AB "What could have been" XV:
@cgrant said in AB "What could have been" XV:
I have forgot the name of the blindside flanker who could have won the Jonah Lomu Lookalike Contest. He used to make some barnstorming runs. After a few games for the Junior All Blacks, he flew to Japan.
@Bones I'll let you handle this query
It's gotta be Hale TPole eh?
No, not Hale T-Pole. The guy I forgot the name of was a very big munter, who was bold.
I just remember a game when he was playing for the Junior All Blacks vs the French Barbarians in France. Mils Muliana was also in the team. It was in the early years of the century.Whoosh
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@kiwimurph I still find it weird how people get hung up on that - considering Kefu was one of the hardest to stop at full flight and a bunch of errors and poor play from other ABs led to it.
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@nepia said in AB "What could have been" XV:
@kiwimurph I still find it weird how people get hung up on that - considering Kefu was one of the hardest to stop at full flight and a bunch of errors and poor play from other ABs led to it.
I was never really sold on him before that tbh , him Flavell and Matua Parkinson would be one of the most penalty prone loose trios I’ve ever seen when they were together at North Harbour
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@jegga said in AB "What could have been" XV:
@nepia said in AB "What could have been" XV:
@kiwimurph I still find it weird how people get hung up on that - considering Kefu was one of the hardest to stop at full flight and a bunch of errors and poor play from other ABs led to it.
I was never really sold on him before that tbh , him Flavell and Matua Parkinson would be one of the most penalty prone loose trios I’ve ever seen when they were together at North Harbour
Bunch a flash Harry’s
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@act-crusader said in AB "What could have been" XV:
@jegga said in AB "What could have been" XV:
@nepia said in AB "What could have been" XV:
@kiwimurph I still find it weird how people get hung up on that - considering Kefu was one of the hardest to stop at full flight and a bunch of errors and poor play from other ABs led to it.
I was never really sold on him before that tbh , him Flavell and Matua Parkinson would be one of the most penalty prone loose trios I’ve ever seen when they were together at North Harbour
Bunch a flash Harry’s
Without Cribb being a flash harry you lot would have went down to, I guess, your other lot in the 2000 final.
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@mn5 said in AB "What could have been" XV:
@pukunui said in AB "What could have been" XV:
I would put Guildford in the "dud" or "how the hell did he get capped" XV
Absolutely. Very fast and ran like a spastic. That's about the extent of his abilities.
That was about the extent of Doug Howlett's abilities too, and he (still?) has the AB try scoring record...
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@gt12 said in AB "What could have been" XV:
I personally think Leonard went as far as would have, so I'm struggling to think of a better HB for the bench than Duggan?
In an Evans/Toeavaesque way Byron Kelleher is worth a shot. He got 64 caps so on first glance hard to include him, but for a 1999 debut he only started 10 games (over 25 total tests) in his five first season through 2003. Chopped, changed, dropped for the Cantablacks with three coaches over four years. This after being Super 12 player of the year and starting the semi-final (not well) in 1999.
In an alternate reality it's easy to see him picking up two dozen caps at the start of his career with more consistent coaching/selection and another two dozen at the end had he stayed through 2008-09. Another handful he missed out under Henry just through rotation.
In pure minutes on the field very few in this list potentially could have played more for the ABs than they did if we are playing "what-ifs".
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@rotated said in AB "What could have been" XV:
@gt12 said in AB "What could have been" XV:
I personally think Leonard went as far as would have, so I'm struggling to think of a better HB for the bench than Duggan?
In an Evans/Toeavaesque way Byron Kelleher is worth a shot. He got 64 caps so on first glance hard to include him, but for a 1999 debut he only started 10 games (over 25 total tests) in his five first season through 2003. Chopped, changed, dropped for the Cantablacks with three coaches over four years. This after being Super 12 player of the year and starting the semi-final (not well) in 1999.
In an alternate reality it's easy to see him picking up two dozen caps at the start of his career with more consistent coaching/selection and another two dozen at the end had he stayed through 2008-09. Another handful he missed out under Henry just through rotation.
In pure minutes on the field very few in this list potentially could have played more for the ABs than they did if we are playing "what-ifs".
He always struck me as being almost a functioning retard , the part in Mils book where decided to tell the team at halftime in the 2007 rwc quarter final that it felt like 1999 all over again confirmed it for me.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/opinion/2586739/Muliaina-helps-restore-faith
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@jegga think it was @WillieTheWaiter who got talking to some of the ABs when they were in London in 2001? and he was saying a few of the ABs, inc Kelleher were sitting in a bar and a dude came up to them and said hey, I heard the ABs are coming in here today, and Kelleher was like, 'nah bro, why would they come in here'
