AB RWC squad

Crucial

@Gunner said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:

@ACT-Crusader said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:

About the right time to name my 31

Hookers - C. Taylor, C. Flynn, M. Hammett
Props - J. Moody, W. Crockett, B. Franks, O. Franks, G. Somerville
Locks - S. Whitelock, L. Romano, B. Thorn, C. Jack
Loose forwards - K. Read, R. McCaw, R. Thorne, S. Robertson, M. Brewer, A. Earl
Halfbacks - A. Ellis, J. Marshall, G. Bachop
1s 5s - D. Carter, A. Mehrtens, C. Slade
Midfield - A. Mauger, D. Gibson, W. Taylor
Outside backs - I. Dagg, C. Ralph, L. MacDonald, B. Blair

Come on now, we all know Slade is a winger.

Which is good because someone has to make up for Caleb Ralph

kiwiinmelb

@Bovidae said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:

@Chris-B This team will be a closely guarded secret so I doubt the media will know too much before the live announcement.

Speaking of which, to watch the live broadcast on Wed do you need to be subscribed to Spark Sport or can we see it if you have signed up to the RWC pass only?

4 years ago there was a leak , cant remember exactly where it came from , but we were hearing NMS and Naholo were in and dagg was out, before it was announced

Jailbreak7

I think -given Hansen's penchant for him (did that sound wrong?) - that Squire will be on the plane to Japan
I'm also predicting that as early as 2020, Rayasi will be the new R Ioane.....and if that happens - both Ioane's will be goneburger overseas...

African Monkey

@kiwiinmelb Weren't people taking photos at Wellington airport of all the non-Wellington residents arriving and putting it all over social media before the announcement?

mofitzy_

What was Squires best game in black? I can't recall ever being impressed. It would be one thing if he had some solid performances under his belt for the ABs but he has been found lacking in my opinion (I was a fan pre-ABs), then turning down the ABs (could be non rugby-related in which case he has my sympathy but regardless) combined with him ruling himself out of the ABs for the next 2 years makes picking him a headscratcher.

gt12

@mofitzy_

He’s gone well against Aussie a few times, and then somewhat shit the bed against SA.

I’d pick him and hope he has a point to prove, which really only speaks to the lack of quality we have at six.

mofitzy_

@gt12
I agree that there is no clear answer but I'd pick Hemopo over him if it was a straight shoot out between the 2. I'd even prefer Frizzell, Jacobson or Papali'i but can see the arguments against any of them - Frizzell not tight enough, Jacobson and Papali'i too green.

Higgins

Maybe the real problem is that Jerome Kaino has set the bar so high that all subsequent players will struggle to match and will be compared unfavourably as we have been treated to the forthright play of Kaino for such a decent length of time and anything less is a bit of a letdown.

pukunui

@mofitzy_ said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:

What was Squires best game in black? I can't recall ever being impressed. It would be one thing if he had some solid performances under his belt for the ABs but he has been found lacking in my opinion (I was a fan pre-ABs), then turning down the ABs (could be non rugby-related in which case he has my sympathy but regardless) combined with him ruling himself out of the ABs for the next 2 years makes picking him a headscratcher.

I ageee. It seems the longer he doesn’t play the better he was. But there is a reason the 6 problem has remained unsolved since Kaino left and that reason is Liam Squire being underwhelming and often injured. That plus the fact that he has hardly played all year and hasn’t been with the team at all and is fucking off next season means he would miss out if i was picking the team. I would take Hemopo which gives you an extra lock too or take a gamble that one of Frizell, Papalii or Jacobsen step up.

Bovidae

@kiwiinmelb said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:

4 years ago there was a leak , cant remember exactly where it came from , but we were hearing NMS and Naholo were in and dagg was out, before it was announced

I'm not saying there won't be a leak, and some journos will probably make an educated guess in the hope of looking smart (or stupid). People will be on airport watch too for flights to Auckland. A mate of mine working at Hamilton airport told me who from the Chiefs was leaving for Wellington on that Sunday morning 4 years ago.

But some of the leaks are due to embargos on team announcements that will appear in morning newspapers but that won't be the case this time.

So @Chris-B needs to be stalking Nelson airport from tomorrow night to see if Squire and Moli are there.

Bovidae

@mofitzy_ said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:

What was Squires best game in black? I can't recall ever being impressed.

I remember Squire having a strong game vs SA a year or so back.

ACT Crusader

@Higgins said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:

Disappointed Shayne Philpott and/or Craig Green have missed out on selection. THey must have gone seriously close to ousting C Ralph.

Very close. But management needed a player to draw the females in the post game celebrations and Caleb came up trumps...

Nepia

@taniwharugby said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:

@nzzp no way will they not take Ioane!

Just taking a bit longer than normal to wash the Blues off him

Considering he clocked up more metres and more line breaks than Reece from similar runs I think it's the AB camp we need to wash off him.

ACT Crusader

@Bovidae said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:

@mofitzy_ said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:

What was Squires best game in black? I can't recall ever being impressed.

I remember Squire having a strong game vs SA a year or so back.

The game I remember was back in 2017 in Cape Town. The one we won by a whisker. I thought he actually looked the part. Put in a strong 80 minute effort, played the tight game and tackled well.

sparky

Naholo's inclusion in the squad last time was an enormous surprise. Almost everyone presumed his broken leg would keep him out of the tournament.

Bones

@pukunui yeah to be honest I'm pretty stumped as to what they don't see in Hemopo.

pakman

@Chris-B said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:

@Machpants Yeah - that's what I think they'll take too.

At prop, Franks gives insurance against Nepo being potentially a one-hit wonder vs Australia (we'll see how he goes vs SA), while Ta'avao gives emergency loosehead cover and can play a couple of minnow games there.

Drums seem to be beating for Squire, though who really knows what the selectors are thinking there. Pretty sure we will be fielding Ardie, Cane and Read in the big tests - though I'd not be unhappy to see Liam slot in at 6 and one of the others back to the bench.

I'd take Josh Ioane and leave Jordie on the call-up list, but no-one much seems to think that's happening.

Probably commented on before, but I doubt BC2 will be as big a factor as history/training when selecting TH props. I expect Cron has a ranking and that's unlikely to shift much on one game, unlike no 1. World ranking.

Amazing to think team spanked by Poms Saturday could have been 1 this morning!!!