All Blacks 2022
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@Nepia said in All Blacks 2022:
@TheMojoman said in All Blacks 2022:
@Stag said in All Blacks 2022:
@KiwiMurph obviously Blackadder would have been there, Luke Jacobson should be there and Cullen Grace absolutely should be there
I agree. Not taking anything away from Sowakula but Jacobson is the incumbent plus a like for like swap with Blackadder. Selectors probably thought Papali’i could play all 3 back row spots as well meaning they could bet on the upside of Sowakula.
Cullen gives you a tall 8/6 which they don’t really have. You’d have to shift Va’ai there to give the necessary size. I would love to see a Robinson/Grace type loosie in there but I think at some stage they had to try Sowakula to see if he’s test match material. If not now when?
Grace is shorter than PGS and Akira. NB: if wiki is to be believed.
So he is? My bad I thought he’d played lock at some point.
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@Nepia said in All Blacks 2022:
Haven’t read the thread yet, but PGS - WTF. He’d already gone well off the boil this season before the abortion that was his 80 minutes on Friday.
MMT must be eyeing up the Samoan squad after seeing that selection.
That was my thought too ie, PGS had faded. The selectors must’ve thought he was overworked as the primary ball carrier at the Chiefs. I guess if they were ever going to try him now is the time, still some time before RWC and a spot opening up with Blackadder’s injury.
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Showing my bias here but Robinson has to be close now showing he can adequately cover lock in Super Rugby. We don’t have another player like him - 1.98cm tall, big engine, good over ball etc.
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@Frank said in All Blacks 2022:
I don't think he has a shit's show of starting , but RTS is very lucky in that he plays between the starting 1st five and starting center - COMBINATIONS!!!!!!!
If they do start Beaudy, I reckon RTS is almost as good a chance of starting as any of the other three midfielders for that combinations reason. If he has a good game this coming weekend, that will help.
He's a bit more experienced than your average newbie, so they won't be concerned about him being overawed.
Personally, I'd pick Jack Goodhue at 12, but he's really been selected as a centre so maybe they'll ask him to specialize..
RTS at 12 with Jack on the bench wouldn't be bad.
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@Stag said in All Blacks 2022:
@Nepia that would make his lineout prowess over those two even more impressive then
I’m not sure being used more correlates with prowess. Both Akira and the luckiest man in NZ rugby have been used as targets successfully as well, even if not as frequently.
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@TheMojoman said in All Blacks 2022:
Showing my bias here but Robinson has to be close now showing he can adequately cover lock in Super Rugby. We don’t have another player like him - 1.98cm tall, big engine, good over ball etc.
Fully agree and I was one of his early detractors when he was a looser version than now. He’s another in the long line of should have been there over PGS.
TBF, he probably missed out due to the fact Christie has already got the Ginga quota sewn up. (Auto correct just changed ginga to Bunga - so it allows me to be racist but not hairest. 😱)
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Foster said they're keen to use Papalii on the blindside, I bet that was Schmidt's idea, not his... Papallii has never had the pace to be a link player at 7, which is a pretty big factor in the ABs playing a fast paced game.
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2022:
Jack on the bench wouldn't be bad.
Not sure Jack offers anything off the bench.
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@TheMojoman said in All Blacks 2022:
Showing my bias here but Robinson has to be close now showing he can adequately cover lock in Super Rugby. We don’t have another player like him - 1.98cm tall, big engine, good over ball etc.
Its pretty obvious to me, he is not going to get selected as a loose forward. Robinson needs to put on 5-10kg and start playing at lock for Northland and the Blues to make the squad.
And I have to admit having him at lock a bit bigger would be a huge asset to any team.
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@Nepia said in All Blacks 2022:
@Crucial said in All Blacks 2022:
@Stargazer said in All Blacks 2022:
@Crucial said in All Blacks 2022:
@FakatavaAllBlack said in All Blacks 2022:
Happy for Folau! nothing else to really add
You do realise he needs to get a haircut? That stupid shit is OK at ITM and Super for comedy value but he has to wear the black jersey now
He's hardly the only one with a mullet. The blond noodles have long gone.
I know which of these looks better
Perfect illustration of what happens when a good Hastings Boys fellow gets corrupted in the South Island.
Do you really want me to post the “Hawkes Bay look”?
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@Crucial said in All Blacks 2022:
@Nepia said in All Blacks 2022:
@Crucial said in All Blacks 2022:
@Stargazer said in All Blacks 2022:
@Crucial said in All Blacks 2022:
@FakatavaAllBlack said in All Blacks 2022:
Happy for Folau! nothing else to really add
You do realise he needs to get a haircut? That stupid shit is OK at ITM and Super for comedy value but he has to wear the black jersey now
He's hardly the only one with a mullet. The blond noodles have long gone.
I know which of these looks better
Perfect illustration of what happens when a good Hastings Boys fellow gets corrupted in the South Island.
Do you really want me to post the “Hawkes Bay look”?
Look I can’t help what happens in Napier, Waipuk, and Dannevirke - they’re collectively known as the Counties-M of The Bay. 😏
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@chimoaus said in All Blacks 2022:
Robinson needs to put on 5-10kg and start playing at lock for Northland and the Blues to make the squad.
Not sure if it is physically possible for him, but a bigger Tom Robinson with his current workrate would be a shoe-in for the starting 15.
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2022:
He's a bit more experienced than your average newbie, so they won't be concerned about him being overawed.
Personally, I'd pick Jack Goodhue at 12, but he's really been selected as a centre so maybe they'll ask him to specialize..
RTS at 12 with Jack on the bench wouldn't be bad.
RTS is a big risk against the Irish midfield. Might come off, might wreck his career. Don't think the coaches will throw him in the deep end
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2022:
If they do start Beaudy, I reckon RTS is almost as good a chance of starting as any of the other three midfielders for that combinations reason. If he has a good game this coming weekend, that will help.
He's a bit more experienced than your average newbie, so they won't be concerned about him being overawed.Good point and.......1st test is at Eden Park.
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@Frank he doesnt look like he carries much fat, so I reckon he could put on 5 easily without compromising much to his game
That said, I think he will end up as one of those unlucky guys that just never quite makes it, without a doubt good enough, just in such a competitive position and unlucky timing (think if he hadnt been injured in 2020? he'd have made it)
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@Kirwan said in All Blacks 2022:
Was Papalii nursing the appendix area as he leaned forward to congratulate him?
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@Crucial said in All Blacks 2022:
Should have dropped McCaw too with all those injuries he used to get. And Papalii? appendicitis! Who the fuck gets that these days? Get rid of him.
Different situation. No-one was challenging McCaw for his AB slot. If Sam's fitness and its impact on the AB captaincy hasn't crossed management's mind, then they are even worse than their detractors claim
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@Nepia said in All Blacks 2022:
@Crucial said in All Blacks 2022:
@Stargazer said in All Blacks 2022:
@Crucial said in All Blacks 2022:
@FakatavaAllBlack said in All Blacks 2022:
Happy for Folau! nothing else to really add
You do realise he needs to get a haircut? That stupid shit is OK at ITM and Super for comedy value but he has to wear the black jersey now
He's hardly the only one with a mullet. The blond noodles have long gone.
I know which of these looks better
Perfect illustration of what happens when a good Hastings Boys fellow gets corrupted in the South Island.
I think you meant to say perfect example of a player not good enough for the ABs below one who earned an ABs spot. There's something in that mullay...
