All Blacks 2024
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@antipodean said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@sparky wtf has Grace done to deserve a start?
I'll give him one thing, it is the Canterblacks. Plus a bit of Ruben Love CIM.
Jesus christ, if Drummy is the future, we are well fucked.
Extra points for all the loosies out of their best position, including two who can hardly string more than 3 games together in a row.
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We probably can't dominate up front atm but hold our own.
I can see Savea, Blackadder, Roigard, DMac and JB carrying a lot. High tempo, fun times. -
Might be off-key for the Fern, but are we really happy with Jordie as our 12 for the next 4 years?
Don’t get me wrong, he was essential to our side last year. But let’s be realistic, the guy is pretty limited at that spot. He runs straight and fairly hard, but he doesn’t spot weak shoulders or target gaps, and he hasn’t put a single outside back into space in his career in black. He kicks ok, but surely that’s not the bar ?
So 2 questions for the Fern collective:
- Can we do better at 12 (if so, who?); and
- If so, what do we do with Jordie?
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I'm happy w JB at 12.
Big step up from what we had 3-4 years ago -
@BerniesCorner He needs to work on his goal kicking, but apart from that I thought he was generally excellent in RWC.
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@BerniesCorner said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
I'm happy w JB at 12.
Big step up from what we had 3-4 years agoI'm hoping he and the rest of the team will get clear instruction regarding their individual and collective responsibilities, and that we become more consistent and clinical as a result
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@voodoo said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
So 2 questions for the Fern collective:
Can we do better at 12 (if so, who?); and If so, what do we do with Jordie?You know JB is a bit of a conundrum of a player. He's got a lot of skills needed to be successful in several spots in the backline (bar the wing position), but there always seems to be a deficit in some area. At 15, he's good under the high ball and possesses a good boot, but he lacks the speed and cutting edge ito running. At 12, he has the size needed to get over the gain line (not quite Nonu or SBW level) and defensively he's ok, but lacks creativity. He can kick, but we hardly see him using that skillset these days. I also think his combination with Rieko isn't great tbh. Both are learning or relearning midfield play at test level, which isn't ideal.
So, either stick with JB at 12 and change his midfield partner sooner rather than later OR replace the whole midfield combo. More drastic would be to shift JB to 13, but I can't really remember how well he went at 13 back in the day. I only mention 13, bc JB has shown better judgement than Rieko (but that is admittedly a very low bar).
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I agree, I think m4L is overstating the fact we need to rebuild the pack.
We are looking pretty good outside of Locks. We have got 1 recognised test lock so we really need to develop 3/4 (including Lord/Vai’i ) up to test standard. The good news there are some promising young locks in the country.
At this point in time, the front row looks the strongest area for us. When you add S Barrett to it, we have 4 of our tight 5 in good Nick. It’s a pretty good foundation to build a pack around. And that’s before we mention we have the world player of the year behind them.
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Have a look at the back row that Razor picked for the 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa Final.
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One of the things I am excited about is the way Razor was able to take a fairly young group of players, along with some established stars to win his first super rugby title.
It was impressive that he was able to mould a squad and team and bring them together.
It’s not too dissimilar to the ABs this year, there will be more established stars but lots of new faces where he can essentially do the same thing as his first Crusader season.
That’s another reason where I was dissapointed the overseas players rule is the one impression he has made in his new job and before he has watched any domestic rugby as a selector/coach
I’m confident he will be a success though!
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@Snowy said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@sparky said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
Have a look at the back row that Razor picked for the 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa Final.
Grace was so good at 8 it's like there was two of him.
Can you imagine him AND Blackadder in the same loose trio ?
That’s the kind of team that could put 100 points on the Boks
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Crusaders' dynasty continues with Super Rugby Aotearoa title
