All Blacks 2024
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@bayimports Yes. MSR was sitting in front of me at a game and had his arm in a sling. My point was mainly related to the Chiefs, where Ah Kuoi usually replaced a lock not the 6. Everyone, myself included, expected him to play more at blindside. Again, that could have been due to squad injuries as well.
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@gt12 said in All Blacks 2024:
If the selectors are in love with Blackadder, IMO they'd be better to put him at 7 and let him do his stuff there. We could then carry Ardie at 8 and look for more size and power at 6.
My issue with the selections now is that they don't appear to be ideal for balance now and are clearly not building for the future. I don't get it at all.
I kinda agree that he'd be better at 7, but my assumption is that they think they have quality at 7 in Cane and Dalton, Ardie is locked in, and nobody else putting their hand up at 6. Blackadder should really be the 'cover all positions' bench guy.
I'd like to see them give Wallace (or Hoskins) a go at 8: Ardie may well not make it to the next WC as a starter, he may get injured, and it doesn't make sense for nobody at all to ever get a run there. Meanwhile we've tried three different 7s and three different 6s I think?
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@reprobate said in All Blacks 2024:
@antipodean that looks more like the problem with using chatGPT to interpret stats to me.
I know what I'm seeing - and that's a guy with a big work-rate making a heap of tackles and carries. That's backed up by the stats.
What you are seeing is an alleged 'ineffective' which can't really be backed up with any data publicly available, and anecdote of certain game situations where he's looked slow which frankly is worthless.
Firstly, maybe he was slow because he had just made 3 tackles and the other player hadn't?
> Secondly, I'm quicker than Jerry Collins, but I wouldn't have been a great selection ahead of him on the flank.
Some of rugby is a short sprint game, but loose forward play is more like a bronco test. EB won't do great at the former, but will do well at the latter.I doubt you could tackle like him though
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@gt12 said in All Blacks 2024:
If the selectors are in love with Blackadder, IMO they'd be better to put him at 7 and let him do his stuff there. We could then carry Ardie at 8 and look for more size and power at 6.
Personally, I think Blackadder < Papalii, and Lakai only looks a year away.
And looking towards 2027, EB will be 32 going on 33 and will likely have still only played another 20 odd more Super rugby games. I just don't quite see how his selection is really needed when we have older quality still available (they are still keeping Cane for this year), quality there in their prime (Papalii), and quality coming (Lakai).
So, in 2027, who will be our 6 and can we get 30-40 tests in them by then? Finau probably needs time - even our very best in Kaino took four years to nail down the jersey, and if they could make a decision about using Blackadder at 7. it would be one way of giving some tests to Finau to see if he can find his feet at this level.
Another player who may go well at the next level is Ah Kuoi - he certainly has the size but I wonder about his mindset. Then, there are others coming but none look ready.
My issue with the selections now is that they don't appear to be ideal for balance now and are clearly not building for the future. I don't get it at all.
So basically Ethan is wasting reps that could be used to find the actual 6 we will need in 2027
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@reprobate said in All Blacks 2024:
Blackadder should really be the 'cover all positions' bench guy.
Why don't they try that then? Bench loosie is a real problem. Perhaps Ethan could be the answer.
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@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2024:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2024:
Blackadder should really be the 'cover all positions' bench guy.
Why don't they try that then? Bench loosie is a real problem. Perhaps Ethan could be the answer.
Because Ethan starting gives Razor a massive horn
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@canefan said in All Blacks 2024:
@gt12 said in All Blacks 2024:
If the selectors are in love with Blackadder, IMO they'd be better to put him at 7 and let him do his stuff there. We could then carry Ardie at 8 and look for more size and power at 6.
Personally, I think Blackadder < Papalii, and Lakai only looks a year away.
And looking towards 2027, EB will be 32 going on 33 and will likely have still only played another 20 odd more Super rugby games. I just don't quite see how his selection is really needed when we have older quality still available (they are still keeping Cane for this year), quality there in their prime (Papalii), and quality coming (Lakai).
So, in 2027, who will be our 6 and can we get 30-40 tests in them by then? Finau probably needs time - even our very best in Kaino took four years to nail down the jersey, and if they could make a decision about using Blackadder at 7. it would be one way of giving some tests to Finau to see if he can find his feet at this level.
Another player who may go well at the next level is Ah Kuoi - he certainly has the size but I wonder about his mindset. Then, there are others coming but none look ready.
My issue with the selections now is that they don't appear to be ideal for balance now and are clearly not building for the future. I don't get it at all.
So basically Ethan is wasting reps that could be used to find the actual 6 we will need in 2027
Could say the same about Ardie who is older and certainly Cane who is leaving.
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@reprobate said in All Blacks 2024:
@canefan said in All Blacks 2024:
@gt12 said in All Blacks 2024:
If the selectors are in love with Blackadder, IMO they'd be better to put him at 7 and let him do his stuff there. We could then carry Ardie at 8 and look for more size and power at 6.
Personally, I think Blackadder < Papalii, and Lakai only looks a year away.
And looking towards 2027, EB will be 32 going on 33 and will likely have still only played another 20 odd more Super rugby games. I just don't quite see how his selection is really needed when we have older quality still available (they are still keeping Cane for this year), quality there in their prime (Papalii), and quality coming (Lakai).
So, in 2027, who will be our 6 and can we get 30-40 tests in them by then? Finau probably needs time - even our very best in Kaino took four years to nail down the jersey, and if they could make a decision about using Blackadder at 7. it would be one way of giving some tests to Finau to see if he can find his feet at this level.
Another player who may go well at the next level is Ah Kuoi - he certainly has the size but I wonder about his mindset. Then, there are others coming but none look ready.
My issue with the selections now is that they don't appear to be ideal for balance now and are clearly not building for the future. I don't get it at all.
So basically Ethan is wasting reps that could be used to find the actual 6 we will need in 2027
Could say the same about Ardie who is older and certainly Cane who is leaving.
Sure. He's living off reputation, but at least he has a reputation
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How the All Blacks were caught up after 'golden decade'
New Zealand must seek incremental gains having seen the rest of the rugby world reduce their advantage.
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@canefan said in All Blacks 2024:
I don't know what purpose having Jacobson serves. He's been anonymous in black to date. This coaching group love their middling loose forwards
Jacobson is a good player, but selecting him as well as SC, DP, EB is silly. It's kinda like selecting 4 short power locks who all jump at 2.
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@reprobate said in All Blacks 2024:
@canefan said in All Blacks 2024:
I don't know what purpose having Jacobson serves. He's been anonymous in black to date. This coaching group love their middling loose forwards
Jacobson is a good player, but selecting him as well as SC, DP, EB is silly. It's kinda like selecting 4 short power locks who all jump at 2.
And meanwhile a little boy waits
He may not ultimately be the answer. But he is a point of difference and should have been picked. Selection could end up biting this coaching group
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@reprobate said in All Blacks 2024:
@gt12 said in All Blacks 2024:
If the selectors are in love with Blackadder, IMO they'd be better to put him at 7 and let him do his stuff there. We could then carry Ardie at 8 and look for more size and power at 6.
My issue with the selections now is that they don't appear to be ideal for balance now and are clearly not building for the future. I don't get it at all.
I kinda agree that he'd be better at 7, but my assumption is that they think they have quality at 7 in Cane and Dalton, Ardie is locked in, and nobody else putting their hand up at 6. Blackadder should really be the 'cover all positions' bench guy.
I'd like to see them give Wallace (or Hoskins) a go at 8: Ardie may well not make it to the next WC as a starter, he may get injured, and it doesn't make sense for nobody at all to ever get a run there. Meanwhile we've tried three different 7s and three different 6s I think?
we're back in the same scenario we had with Read after 2011 - was never as good as his early days - but there was either no one coming through or no one getting a decent crack so he was there for years after.
Can't make size - just keep working with Finau. If it's alright for Rieko to learn how to centre on the job do the same for the guy that's got the physical attributes.
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@gt12 said in All Blacks 2024:
You’ll see in the Chiefs threads that Jacobson is basically now our best Cane replacement and goes better at 7, so he’s just one more 7.5 in the squad. I have no idea why we have 4 of them (and that’s not counting Ardie or Sititi) in the squad.
I think it's a fair argument that Sititi and Savea are both best suited to 7 too, though they do at least play different styles.
Finau is the only one with any size.
Other than (ugh) Scott Barrett I guess, who I personally wouldnt count as an option, and certainly not when you have to replace your two best locks. -
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2024:
@canefan said in All Blacks 2024:
@gt12 said in All Blacks 2024:
If the selectors are in love with Blackadder, IMO they'd be better to put him at 7 and let him do his stuff there. We could then carry Ardie at 8 and look for more size and power at 6.
Personally, I think Blackadder < Papalii, and Lakai only looks a year away.
And looking towards 2027, EB will be 32 going on 33 and will likely have still only played another 20 odd more Super rugby games. I just don't quite see how his selection is really needed when we have older quality still available (they are still keeping Cane for this year), quality there in their prime (Papalii), and quality coming (Lakai).
So, in 2027, who will be our 6 and can we get 30-40 tests in them by then? Finau probably needs time - even our very best in Kaino took four years to nail down the jersey, and if they could make a decision about using Blackadder at 7. it would be one way of giving some tests to Finau to see if he can find his feet at this level.
Another player who may go well at the next level is Ah Kuoi - he certainly has the size but I wonder about his mindset. Then, there are others coming but none look ready.
My issue with the selections now is that they don't appear to be ideal for balance now and are clearly not building for the future. I don't get it at all.
So basically Ethan is wasting reps that could be used to find the actual 6 we will need in 2027
Could say the same about Ardie who is older and certainly Cane who is leaving.
No, because they have both been excellent All Blacks.
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@Trig said in All Blacks 2024:
I wouldn't mind seeing Vaa'i at 6 with the form he's been in with a Darry/Barrett or a returning Tuipulotu locking combo to balance our loose trio
He could be the answer, but on the other hand, he seems to have just got things going at lock and is probably our best Scott Barrett replacement. However, it could be worth a shot if they want to get Lord / Darry out there with Barrett.
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@gt12 When does Holland become eligible?
A lock roster of Barrett, Va'ai, Darry, Lord (assuming he can get over his injury niggles) and Holland is reasonably healthy.
Which frees up trying Va'ai (or Barrett) at 6. Agree that Va'ai has just started to come into his own in the team at lock, but a lock/6 is invaluable in a RWC squad.
Of course, the other option to get height into the AB backrow is to pick a no 8 with height. Know any players like that?
