All Blacks 2023
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@Bones Oh, was just gonna tell you about Fletcher Newell's father flying to South Africa for his test debut and the story behind it. You may shed a tear or 2 after hearing it.......
Meanwhile, there is a Blackadder shaped hole in the ABs squad incase you didn't know.
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@African-Monkey Only sunshine boys cry.
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@African-Monkey Steve and the vanilla sunshine band!
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Apologies if it’s already been discussed somewhere,
Who will be the replacement for narewa ? Has to be a forward surely .
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@kiwiinmelb hasn't been any announcement that I have seen, but you'd think they have already been in the phone to someone...Finau or Blackadder surely, an opportunity to right a wrong without admitting it.
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@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2023:
@kiwiinmelb hasn't been any announcement that I have seen, but you'd think they have already been in the phone to someone...Finau or Blackadder surely, an opportunity to right a wrong without admitting it.
Stevenson is meant to potentially being playing a round of golf with Izzy Dagg today. If he does, then you can be certain it is a forward - and if that is the case, it will be Blackadder, because if they liked Finau enough, they'd have taken him in the first place.
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They were just saying on the news that Frizzell isn't getting back to speed as early as they'd have liked, tinfoil hat says they say that so it makes the walk back on selections around loosie / wing less of an issue, but regardless, definitely looks like one of the 2 loosies likely to get call up.
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Finau seems the like for like replacement for frizzel if that’s what they are after ,
If they go Blackadder that might suggest he was a guy they wanted in the squad to begin with , but injured .
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Here's what I said when the squad was named
@Duluth said in AB RWC Squad:
There might be some shenanigans with Narawa?
His niggly injury is taking ages to recover from. I wonder if the AB's a still paid by which squads they make? (it used to be three chunks - June Tests, 3N, EOYT)
Narawa gets paid, pulls out and replaced by Blackadder, who they keep talking about -
I hope to see Blackadder...he's a cut above Finau and Frizzle in my opinion...
But hey Fozzie might double down and bring another back in...😭
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@Mattasaurus said in All Blacks 2023:
I hope to see Blackadder...he's a cut above Finau and Frizzle in my opinion...
But hey Fozzie might double down and bring another back in...😭
No doubt in my mind at least they will bring in Blackadder, as he was a guy crucial to their original plans.
Big call to say he is a cut above Frizzell though. This is a guy who has been very good for the ABs this year v a guy who has spent the majority of the past 18 months sidelined with injury, and has only played 380 minutes of test footy.
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Geez this hype about Blackadder is OTT. He's played 9 tests 2 years ago which included the likes of Fiji, Tonga C, the USA etc. played about 35 Super Rugby games in 7 seasons yet somehow has this rep of being one of the first names on the teamsheet every time an ABs squad is about to be named. I think he had 1 good test against SA in Townsville, and was solid, without being spectacular in the rest of his outings in Black.
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I'm probably the biggest Finau cheerleader on this site, bit i can see why he didn't get picked
He's super inexperienced, as recently as this season he was still a bench player for the Chiefs. And because he hasn't racked up big minutes, i don't think he's fit enough for lots of test rugby yet. If he goes now, and has to play 3 play off games in a row (in a perfect world) i don't know how he is going to go.
He's a good raw talent with the right physical and metal attributes, but i think the World Cup was a year early for him.
That being said, we are desperately short of guys like him in NZ rugby. Most are too small (hybrid 7s like every loose forward we selected), or too slow (small locks). Or we've never been able to unlock their potential when they do have the physical gifts.
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@mariner4life All of that is true, but the most important part is 'desperately short'. We need that type of player if we are going to pick Cane (or Dalton) and Savea. So whether Finau is ready or not, I think we know Jacobsen and Dalton - as good as they are - will never be ready to be that player. The other option is to change other players to fix the balance, but I think we know Foster is not going to do that. At the very least Finau should have played against the boks, and should have been training with the squad ahead of a winger - but that's been done to death.
Akira and Luatua are two big missed opportunities, for whatever reason. could even include Fifita and Sowakula in that too I guess. -
Luatua wasn't wanted for some ungodly reason
I know why they wanted Fifita, incredibly gifted, but they couldn't get the balance right. Akira very similar. PGS should never have been picked.
I am very interested in what the side looks like next year.
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See here.
