Possible All Blacks 2020
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@Duluth said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
Tom Robinson is another option at 6.
I think he's more likely to make the squad as a bench 6/lock. There's other players I would prefer to start at 6 but he's an option if we need height
He'd be one of the contenders for my young buck punt
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@junior said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
My preference is to jettison S Barrett (as a 6) and Fifita and take a punt on a young buck (with Frizell as the "experienced" backup option).
Frizell is still pretty much just a young buck himself - turned 26 last week so he's about the same age as Kaino was when he made his proper start to test rugby. And he's not particularly experienced - having started Super rugby in 2018.
I don't think he's been bad in any of his tests and was very good vs Argentina in Nelson. Suffering a bit because he's been pulled a bit from left field, isn't who people from further north wanted to see and, like everyone else, he isn't Jerome Kaino.
Plenty of potential though.
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@Chris-B I have high hopes, and from what I've seen, has the ability. He just doesn't play enough. Why is he never first choice at the Highlanders?
I wish Fifita had a bit of blood in his nostrils.
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@Chris-B said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
Suffering a bit because he's been pulled a bit from left field, isn't who people from further north wanted to see
Further north than Nelson or Oamaru?
Don't think geographical has a lot to do with it. People usually just want the best players in the ABs, wherever they come from.
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@mariner4life said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
@Chris-B I have high hopes, and from what I've seen, has the ability. He just doesn't play enough. Why is he never first choice at the Highlanders?
I wish Fifita had a bit of blood in his nostrils.
Hammer's careful management
- but, I expect Shannon will be first choice at the Highlanders this year.But, he's previously been competing against the more experienced Whitelock, Squire, Dixon and others for game time - so jumped that pecking order to be picked for the ABs.
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@Chris-B said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
@Kirwan To be specific - I think pretty much everyone who has played in the 6 jersey in recent times has been marked hard by those who would rather have seen Akira there.
Two years ago he was absolutely carving it up. Frustration for a number of people was that there wasn't a lot of work being done to actually have him deliver his potential, where others (Frizzel) seemed to have a Santner-esque run in the side without really firing a shot.
Edit: 2-3 years ago...
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I think the way things have transpired, perhaps what the brains trust saw in Akira had some grounding.
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@Chris-B said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
@Kirwan To be specific - I think pretty much everyone who has played in the 6 jersey in recent times has been marked hard by those who would rather have seen Akira there.
At 6? Most people liking Akira wanted him at eight, with Read or Cane at 6.
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@antipodean said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
I think the way things have transpired, perhaps what the brains trust saw in Akira had some grounding.
Really? You don't think his physical gifts meant it was worth investing in his mental side? I dunno, from the outside seemed a very hands off approach. Honest question - would you rather have peak Luke Whitelock, or peak Akira?
Whitelock L got 8 caps....
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@antipodean said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
I think the way things have transpired, perhaps what the brains trust saw in Akira had some grounding.
At the end of last season, sure. The two years before that, not so much. Especially when they started trying to pull rabbits out hats with players like Fifta and Frizzell who were barely getting game time.
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@Kirwan said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
@antipodean said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
I think the way things have transpired, perhaps what the brains trust saw in Akira had some grounding.
At the end of last season, sure. The two years before that, not so much. Especially when they started trying to pull rabbits out hats with players like Fifta and Frizzell who were barely getting game time.
and Luke dubya as well (see my comment above).
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@nzzp said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
@Kirwan said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
@antipodean said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
I think the way things have transpired, perhaps what the brains trust saw in Akira had some grounding.
At the end of last season, sure. The two years before that, not so much. Especially when they started trying to pull rabbits out hats with players like Fifta and Frizzell who were barely getting game time.
and Luke dubya as well (see my comment above).
Yep. Definition of a journeyman, and all that time wasted on him and then - look a rabbit! - lets play Savea there.
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This is going to be a fascinating watch as the AB 2020 squad comes together.The activity on the fern may ramp up to a new extreme.
Always seems to be a bit of a bolter who has a big SR season and forces his way in under the last regime.
Loose Forward looks the space for that sort of selection.Is there a left field selection sitting somewhere who is going to claim the bolter's potential spot.?Robinson,Grace,Boshier,Sotutu,Tu'u. or someone else waiting for a chance.May have been Blackadder if not for injury
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@Chris said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
This is going to be a fascinating watch as the AB 2020 squad comes together.The activity on the fern may ramp up to a new extreme.
Always seems to be a bit of a bolter who has a big SR season and forces his way in under the last regime.
Loose Forward looks the space for that sort of selection.Is there a left field selection sitting somewhere who is going to claim the boaters potential spot.?Robinson,Grace,Boshier,Sotutu,Tu'u. or someone else waiting for a chance.May have been Blackadder if not for injury
Yeah, as the All Blacks have weakened the old provincial battlegrounds have opened up.
For a period there everyone pretty much agreed on all the selections. Now we seem to have dropped back to the Broomhall days with players like Bridge getting selected.
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I find it strange how people say that Akira didn't get chances. He's been in and out of ABs camps over the last few years. I'm sure the coaches have had a good look at him, worked with him and gave him work-ons. Apparently, he didn't deliver and didn't do what was expected of him. Also, we only know what we've seen or read via the media. Maybe they did work with him and we just don't know about it?
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@Stargazer said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
I find it strange how people say that Akira didn't get chances. He's been in and out of ABs camps over the last few years. I'm sure the coaches have had a good look at him, worked with him and gave him work-ons. Apparently, he didn't deliver and didn't do what was expected of him. Also, we only know what we've seen or read via the media. Maybe they did work with him and we just don't know about it?
You can only see so much in training, and he didn't get the same opportunities as the players mentioned above.
Some players need the carrot as well as the stick, so it might have been a limitation of the coaching staff. Henry mentioned in the past having to change his style to get the most out his players, maybe Hanson couldn't do that after being so long in the job?
At the very least, having a look at him against lessor teams would have been useful. They had no issue doing that with players not even starting for other teams (I'd love to know how measures they had met their workons when they were barely playing?)
