All Blacks 2024
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@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@booboo said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
. Still wating for Lakai to impress. Goes ok at this level admittedly... but otherwise unimpressive.
Interesting observation, Lakai isn't really renowned as a 7 and has done an adequate job of stepping into that role for the Canes. He was very impressive playing number 8 in the first two rounds which is his proper position and the position that he'll play most of his rugby in the future.
For a 21 year old to be the top ball carrier and the third best tackler in the competition to me is pretty impressive, especially considering he's still only finding his feet at this level. He's dominated both Under 20 rugby (age grade player of the year in 2022) and NPC rugby thus far in his career, but it will take him a couple years (like it does for most players) to begin to make a mark at Super.
It's too early to put Lakai in the frame for the All Blacks but he'll be there or there abouts by the next World Cup, especially if he forms a combination with Ardie (7) and Roigard (9) at the Canes from next year.
You only have to look at someone like Segner, he's only now starting to dominate at this level after taking a few years to find his feet. Lakai has made a good start and is far from the finished product. He's only going to get better especially considering who he's learning from at the Canes.
So "goes ok ... otherwise unimpressive" is fair?
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
that's two 10s he's taken out in 3 weeks
Victor Matfield would be proud…
Finau will be in the squad no doubt about it.
For me a big problem to solve is who plays at openside. We need to settle on a player that we can build a combination with our other loose forwards (whoever they are).
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
have a read of this tripe
did i blink and miss where RM somehow turned in to this all-conquering test match 10 we desperately can't live without?
Even the rest of the list of names he references sounded like last year's news.
C’mon bro, you know not to read this rubbish.
Haven’t read the article and won’t, but all I’ll say is that the QF and Final were the two best tests I’ve seen RM play.
Doesn’t mean he is DC or any other extraordinary test player or that he hasn’t had highlight reel moments from other tests, but his control, defensive effort, awareness and doing the basics right along with the odd piece of brilliance was great.
Showed a far more rounded game that we have missed at 10 for a while, but I was pleased to see it come right on the biggest stage.
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@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
that's two 10s he's taken out in 3 weeks
Victor Matfield would be proud…
Finau will be in the squad no doubt about it.
For me a big problem to solve is who plays at openside. We need to settle on a player that we can build a combination with our other loose forwards (whoever they are).
Well, it starts with Ardie, work from there. He's really quite capable at 7, and just shove him on the back of any attacking scrum if required. But I am a fan boy, and think he plays in the position called the 'Savea' where he is almost always the best player on the pitch.
Seeing that he' been voted players player in the ABs, I think they know more than me
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There seems to be more than a few articles at the moment in the media on tweaking the eligibility rules, many focussing on Mo'unga. Almost as if there was a campaign or something.
Robertson has 4 years to the next RWC and a good base to work from. Time to build.
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@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
that's two 10s he's taken out in 3 weeks
Victor Matfield would be proud…
Finau will be in the squad no doubt about it.
For me a big problem to solve is who plays at openside. We need to settle on a player that we can build a combination with our other loose forwards (whoever they are).
It's not easy. Savea being savea adds a bit of a balance problem. I can sort of see why they persisted with cane and needed Frizzell.
I hope surf jesus doesn't just pick a bunch of 6.5s again.
The Blues Boys will protest, but I feel DP is best suited to a bench role. I reckon he's a bit slow to play openside, and provide that turnover heat.
But, there has to be a reason he's got bigger in thr off-season, and I doubt that reason is the Blues.We're all guessing because we have no clue how surf jesus wants to play and therefore what players he needs
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@ACT-Crusader it's the constant theme that RM is being excluded unfairly despite the fact that he, you know, signed a fucking contract overseas. That's what pissed me off.
Also fuck Frizzell, did.we.give that spud a sabbatical? Also cane is old news (no mafia I will not be surrendering my membership card)
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
Also fuck Frizzell, did.we.give that spud a sabbatical?
No, just bad writing. He is gone.
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
I reckon he's a bit slow to play openside
I'd there a position to pick an out and out openside any more?
There's no "fetcher" anymore. The early McCaw type role I reckon has been superseded.
I'm having a debate with myself here, and keep contradicting myself.
Like the idea of a brute at 6 (Finau fanboi), a ball carrier at 8 and a complementary player at 7. But that dude isn't my idea of a traditional 7.
He's not first at the breakdown anymore as breakdowns are set up differently, and we can't wait for him like we used to.
I know what I mean, just don't words goodly.
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All I know is we haven't been a big turnover team for a while, we don't put huge pressure on the other teams' ruck, I wouldn't mind a different approach
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
All I know is we haven't been a big turnover team for a while, we don't put huge pressure on the other teams' ruck, I wouldn't mind a different approach
Probably didn't help given our defensive structure giving up ground.
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I got the impression our turnovers were (eidt)
usuallyoften Taylor or Savea -
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Don't know if this has been said. I think the best NZ 10 in 2023 and 2024 is/was DMac.
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@ACT-Crusader it's the constant theme that RM is being excluded unfairly despite the fact that he, you know, signed a fucking contract overseas. That's what pissed me off.
Also fuck Frizzell, did.we.give that spud a sabbatical? Also cane is old news (no mafia I will not be surrendering my membership card)
No seems he signed for a year? Similar to DMac a couple of years back, has to actually play in NZ before he is considered etc. Not a sabbatical (where they still under contract to NZR, and can be picked as soon as they step off plane)
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@BerniesCorner Completely untested ...
Not that there are any dominant figures now.
Perofeta is good around the field, but can't kick goals to save himself.
Lets see DMac against England. Only other option is Perofeta with another goalkicker.
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I think the game has moved on from an out an out fetcher, instead all 15 players now have the ability to gain turnover ball. It’s the players having the skill to identify an isolated player and act in that. It would be very interesting to see the stats on holding on penalties and see what number jersey is getting those penalties. From memory Savea got us a lot of clutch holding on penalties last season. But I think many other players did too.
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You still need at least one loose forward who can be a pest at the breakdown. He doesn't need to win turnovers all the time but just slow the opposition ball down enough to give your defence time to realign. As always, the loosies need to complement each other. We've seen enough examples of what an unbalanced loose forward trio looks like.
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@Tim said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
What are the stats?
I only have individual game stats. It would be a bitch to add them all up
Looks like I can get some good SR info though
- Top 10 players in ~50 stats
- Top 10 players in the same stats but averaged by minutes
- Top 10 performances by players in a single stat in a single game
- Team rankings on those ~50 stats
I won't be able to just dump them all here but I'll be able to post some interesting ones
Probably a couple off weeks before I look at this. By then the numbers will mean more anyway
