All Blacks 2021
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@mackerzzzz said in All Blacks 2021:
@bovidae said in All Blacks 2021:
@mackerzzzz said in All Blacks 2021:
Do people reckon retalick will walk straight into the all blacks squad?
Straight back into the starting XV. We missed his aggression and hard edge last year.
Who would you kick from the squad then?
I thought whitelock but he is likely to captan so...
Tuipulotu?Paddy or Vaa'i would be most at risk. Whitelock starts with BBBR, and Barrett would be their no.3 lock. It depends on the squad size as they could carry 5 locks.
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@bovidae said in All Blacks 2021:
It depends on the squad size as they could carry 5 locks.
That was my thought as well. I hope they move away from the lock / 6 compromise. Lock is a specialised position, but RWC, and limited numbers in squads, to accommodate smaller nations had us forced into looking for them (and "utility" backs). Every time that we do it we seem to lose something, somewhere, across the park. Whether it be mobility, strength, turnovers, dominant tackles. Just something, when guys have to try and cover two roles.
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@bovidae said in All Blacks 2021:
@mackerzzzz said in All Blacks 2021:
Do people reckon retalick will walk straight into the all blacks squad?
Straight back into the starting XV. We missed his aggression and hard edge last year.
Hasn't he lost 10 kgs over there? Surely he'd have to get heavier to be as effective as he was?
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@snowy I dont think they will ever totally do away with players that can cover lock/loosie given the attritional nature of the position.
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@kirwan said in All Blacks 2021:
@bovidae said in All Blacks 2021:
@mackerzzzz said in All Blacks 2021:
Do people reckon retalick will walk straight into the all blacks squad?
Straight back into the starting XV. We missed his aggression and hard edge last year.
Hasn't he lost 10 kgs over there? Surely he'd have to get heavier to be as effective as he was?
i thought i saw that too, will be interesting what difference that will make to his game
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@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2021:
@snowy I dont think they will ever totally do away with players that can cover lock/loosie given the attritional nature of the position.
Yeah. I meant in a whole squad rather than a match day 23. If you get forced into an injury replacement from the bench it's a bit tough, but I think that we should pick locks as locks, sixes as sixes in the bigger group (loosies can be a bit more moveable, still not ideal, but doable).
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@snowy yeah, aiming to have someone that is AB quality lock and 6 really just risks having someone thats not good enough at either
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@kiwiwomble dont think it is 'aiming' to have someone like that.
It is having players who are versatile enough to cover more than 1 spot, which probably only becomes more important in the RWC than TRC anyway.
Same as having a TH who can cover LH or vice versa.
You just dont want to be the player that gets tagged with that mr versitility label, otherwise can hinder your attempts at nailing a starting spot.
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@taniwharugby thats fair enough
i look at SB and start to think of him as equally as good a lock as 6...when i think i would like a 6 that was good enough to start at 6...but if needed play lock, does that make sense?
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@kirwan said in All Blacks 2021:
@bovidae said in All Blacks 2021:
@mackerzzzz said in All Blacks 2021:
Do people reckon retalick will walk straight into the all blacks squad?
Straight back into the starting XV. We missed his aggression and hard edge last year.
Hasn't he lost 10 kgs over there? Surely he'd have to get heavier to be as effective as he was?
Yes, and he looked a little leaner when I watched him in the Kobelco-Panasonic game last weekend but was still a menace in rucks/mauls. He's probably closer in weight to Whitelock now.
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@kiwiwomble said in All Blacks 2021:
i look at SB and start to think of him as equally as good a lock as 6...
And not great at either? Not having a go at him, good player, and we haven't been flush with locks but he shouldn't have played 6.
RWC has put the pressure on players to be versatile and coaches to pick them for it due to the restricted squad numbers.
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@snowy dont get me wrong, he's better than lots, but i think he's got starts when there are better players in that position...becuase he can cover lock, which im not a fan of
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@snowy see I'm not convinced he was the issue in 'that' game, more how we played, which made his inclusion all but pointless.
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@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2021:
@snowy see I'm not convinced he was the issue in 'that' game, more how we played, which made his inclusion all but pointless.
Multitude of sins.
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@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2021:
@kiwiwomble dont think it is 'aiming' to have someone like that.
It is having players who are versatile enough to cover more than 1 spot, which probably only becomes more important in the RWC than TRC anyway.
Same as having a TH who can cover LH or vice versa.
You just dont want to be the player that gets tagged with that mr versitility label, otherwise can hinder your attempts at nailing a starting spot.
RWC Squad sizes have increased. Should mean that we can avoid lock/6s that aren't top level at either.
(watch out Scott Barrett)
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@crucial said in All Blacks 2021:
RWC Squad sizes have increased. Should mean that we can avoid lock/6s that aren't top level at either.
(watch out Scott Barrett)Agreed. Which was the original point. We did need him as a lock at the time though too.
RWC squads still aren't big enough I reckon. To cover injuries throughout a 7 match tournament and still have the best players representing their country, in their best positions, I can see why, and how, it happened but if that is the pinnacle, it really should reflect that.
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@kirwan said in All Blacks 2021:
@bovidae said in All Blacks 2021:
@mackerzzzz said in All Blacks 2021:
Do people reckon retalick will walk straight into the all blacks squad?
Straight back into the starting XV. We missed his aggression and hard edge last year.
Hasn't he lost 10 kgs over there? Surely he'd have to get heavier to be as effective as he was?
He was on the farm in Central Hawkes Bay for quite some time - so he might the loss might have got him back to usual weight.
Seriously, I'm going to lock the sports section off like the politics section if we've got posters questioning whether BBBR comes back in.
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@crucial said in All Blacks 2021:
@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2021:
@kiwiwomble dont think it is 'aiming' to have someone like that.
It is having players who are versatile enough to cover more than 1 spot, which probably only becomes more important in the RWC than TRC anyway.
Same as having a TH who can cover LH or vice versa.
You just dont want to be the player that gets tagged with that mr versitility label, otherwise can hinder your attempts at nailing a starting spot.
RWC Squad sizes have increased. Should mean that we can avoid lock/6s that aren't top level at either.
(watch out Scott Barrett)
Why should he watch out? He's not a 6's asshole.
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@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
@crucial said in All Blacks 2021:
@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2021:
@kiwiwomble dont think it is 'aiming' to have someone like that.
It is having players who are versatile enough to cover more than 1 spot, which probably only becomes more important in the RWC than TRC anyway.
Same as having a TH who can cover LH or vice versa.
You just dont want to be the player that gets tagged with that mr versitility label, otherwise can hinder your attempts at nailing a starting spot.
RWC Squad sizes have increased. Should mean that we can avoid lock/6s that aren't top level at either.
(watch out Scott Barrett)
Why should he watch out? He's not a 6's asshole.
Exactly.
