All Blacks 2023
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At this moment, Smith is locked in as the starting 9, but the rest is anyone's guess. From memory, Weber and TJP had a bit of have a go between the As and Bs whilst Christie was parked in the stands because he wasn't quite up to scratch. My guess is one of Fakatava and Roigard will be in the 36-man squad, because Perenara won't be fit yet... could well be that there is four halfbacks, because my thinking is that the three positions will be a loose forward/lock, a prop and a miscellaneous back.
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@friedrugby said in All Blacks 2023:
At this moment, Smith is locked in as the starting 9, but the rest is anyone's guess. From memory, Weber and TJP had a bit of have a go between the As and Bs whilst Christie was parked in the stands because he wasn't quite up to scratch. My guess is one of Fakatava and Roigard will be in the 36-man squad, because Perenara won't be fit yet... could well be that there is four halfbacks, because my thinking is that the three positions will be a loose forward/lock, a prop and a miscellaneous back.
What seems logical to me (and therefore is probably well off the mark) is that you have your first choice halfback that you plan around (Smith), someone with a similar style as understudy (so you don't have to change if an injury happens) and someone that is a specialist sub.
In my mind that sub brings a point of difference so that the on field picture changes. That sub is ideally a territory gainer (good kick) a good defender AND (if behind) a runner that can identify weak tiring defenders and target them.
In the past we have had TJP and TKB in that role. Roigard seems to be the current option. Great boot, solid defender, eye for a chance, excellent support runner.
That understudy job will go to either of Weber or Christie. Both have their ups and downs but are the closest we have to a fast recycling, passing halfback. I don't think there's much in the decision.
I would be a bit disappointed if we took three and they were Smith, Christie and Weber.
Fakatava hasn't really shown a decent kicking game and probably hasn't had much opportunity recently to show much of support running. Not out of the picture by a long shot but probably hampered by being at the Highlanders. -
@Crucial said in All Blacks 2023:
I would be a bit disappointed if we took three and they were Smith, Christie and Weber.
Totally agree.
The sensible selection choices are:
- Smith
- Weber or Christie
- Fakatava or Roigard
As I said previously, Roigard is also left-footed so different to all the other halfbacks in contention.
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i'll say it (and probably get shouted down) id be tempted to thake smith, roigard and fakatava in that order
weber and christie have shown they can do it...but dont think either have had a real game breaking performance or a series of top draw games in a row
you have reliability in smith and then roll the dice on some excitement
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@Kiwiwomble said in All Blacks 2023:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2023:
@Steve said in All Blacks 2023:
Broke my fucking heart......
You don't know what pain is. I was in Cardiff for the 2007 QF.
me too, had had a few great nights in cardiff after AB's games....not that night, copped a bit of flak from the locals too which was a surprise
I had a TV camera from a NZ crew shoved in my face as I got just outside the stadium, asking how I felt. I must have looked in complete shock, don’t think the footage ever made it to air. What a shit show.
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@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2023:
@Crucial said in All Blacks 2023:
I would be a bit disappointed if we took three and they were Smith, Christie and Weber.
Totally agree.
The sensible selection choices are:
- Smith
- Weber or Christie
- Fakatava or Roigard
As I said previously, Roigard is also left-footed so different to all the other halfbacks in contention.
The only similarity of Weber with the other two is he gets to the ruck and clears quick. His running game and support play is quite different.
I like how Weber is playing this year and he's gone ahead of Christie for me, but I think Foster prefers Christie, who I think can be a real handbrake when the pressure goes up.
We really need to see Roigard pretty much straight away, to see what he brings to test rugby...I won't be in the least bit surprised if we don't find out until next year though.
But you know what? I won't be upset with any combination really. They can all do a good enough job at test level (including Fakatava).
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@Kiwiwomble said in All Blacks 2023:
me too, had had a few great nights in cardiff after AB's games....not that night, copped a bit of flak from the locals too which was a surprise
Locals were fine as ever - always found the Taffs great to share a beer with. Some fluffybunny in an England shirt was winding up AB supporters before getting decked.
Remember bumping into PdP before the game and agreeing to share a beer afterwards but we missed each other
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@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2023:
Locals were fine as ever - always found the Taffs great to share a beer with. Some fluffybunny in an England shirt was winding up AB supporters before getting decked.
Heard basically the same thing from a couple of friends who were separately there. Locals fine, some English dickhead immediately being a fluffybunny.
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@Victor-Meldrew yeah, i'd always found the welsh great out on the town the night after we'd beaten them before that, i always remember it being some welsh fans giving us shit "finally got what you deserve" kind of stuff, but i was definitely drunk and so it could have been anyone, either way i remember the bus leaving an hour early to get back to london and being very quiet
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The thing for me is the big stepdown between Nugget and Christie/Weber. Roigard bridges that gap better that Fakatava IMHO.
I'd give Roigard Test experience before RWC and see how he makes the step-up.
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@Victor-Meldrew i actually agree, as i said id have roigard as second behind smith assuming he can show the same or similar form in some TRC games, personally i think we can be too conservative with "experience" sometimes, some people just have loads of experience at being rubbish, its also less of a problem if we have experience around them
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Liked the way Christie stepped up to Test level when coming off the bench, but from what I've seen he's gone backwards a bit.
Weber to start in Smith's absence, but I'd like to see Roigard get some serious game-time as I think there's something a bit special about the bloke.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2023:
The thing for me is the big stepdown between Nugget and everyone
problem is, this has been an issue for several years, and the lack of trust to start big games in his understudies is why we see that chasm
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Can't say I disagree. Scott is also better than the great duo often, last season and this. When BBBR and SW are on song, they're amazing. But that has not been often last few years. If they are at peak for RWC, then they should start. But if they can't keep that up?
Scott Barrett doesn't belong at blindside but his World Cup role is crucial
There are a dozen exceptional eights that would be licking their lips at the prospect of targeting an inexperienced blindside.
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I totally agree with this article. SB is not a six. The main problem is : if SB is not a six, then who will wear that jersey ? Finau is the form blindside but has no international experience, while Frizell and Jacobson are << to Ollivon, Doris and PSdT. If Blackadder stays fit, he could fill that role but a LF trio of EB, AS and SC is too smallish at the highest level. I would give Akira a last chance at the RC as he was outstanding against the Tahs. But it was only the Tahs ...
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How long have we been looking for a new Kaino or have had a settled 6 - let alone a settled 6/7/8 combination? Beggars belief.
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@Bones said in All Blacks 2023:
People bemoan the loss of Luatua, but I reckon someone that we really missed out on and was coming into his own was Hemopo. Reckon he could have been the exact player we wanted.
I like his game and he had good size to be a combo player if we needed. The limited (very limited) AB game time he got, he didn’t do anything that didn’t warrant a further look. Problem with his selection is IIRC he was only bought in as an injury cover and therefore went back down the pecking order.
