All Blacks 2024
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Yeah nah
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@KiwiInLondon said in All Blacks 2024:
@brodean said in All Blacks 2024:
I'll honestly be surprised if Sotutu makes the AB XV which is sad.
I think Haig has potential but anyone of Parker, Stodart, Finau, Ah Kuoi, Delaney, or Suafoa have just as much potential.
Haig is better than Parker, Stodart, Ah Kui, and Delaney. Finau, Suafoa, and Haig are the three with the most potential
Haven’t really seen enough of Haig to comment. Him Finau and Suafoa are the right (Kaino) size. -
Oli Haig will play international rugby. Just depends if it is for the All Blacks or England. I think for the fact there is threat of him leaving, he could be fast-tracked so they can get a proper look at him.
Thing I really like about him is he does the hard yards around the ruck, as well as offering skill in the wider channels. Also a good lineout target. As I have said before, once Cane leaves, more chance Sititi shuffles to either 7 or 8, leaving a gap.
Finau hasn't taken the chance, and I feel like being able to do the hard yards around the ruck, and being a good lineout target are going to be key in whoever we mesh with Sititi.
As Sititi has showed, right place, right time is often just as important as being good. I mean look at Proctor and Lakai - been bloody outstanding, but there are established guys parked in front of them.
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Cant wait to see Fihaki get his chance at 15, he’s really earned it
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Does anyone know if Ian Foster lost a Rugby Championship?
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@KiwiInLondon said in All Blacks 2024:
@pakman Haig and Aku are both far quicker than they look
Kaino was in 100m final at St. Kents. Winner was Joe Rocks.
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@kiwiinmelb said in All Blacks 2024:
Now they want him given the keys to the 10 jersey .
At least they've stopped bigging up Mo'unga as one of the all -time AB Greats....
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I've watched Haig closely at Super Rugby and I do think he has potential but he hasn't done anything more than those other guys imo. All of those guys mentioned are NZ XV level. The Highlanders are on an upward curve so he has the opportunity to keep improving.
As someone has implied none of those players have the raw athleticism of Jerome Kaino.
Guys like Squire, Ioane, Frizell, Fifita all had more raw athleticism than those current options mentioned including Haig. Haig could be more of a Luatua, Hemopo style player which can work at the top level.
You look at Pstd and he's a superior athlete to all those AB XV bigger options - and still he's bigger than them. Same applies to Ollivon.
That's why Finau can't be written off. He's the best raw athlete we have out of those bigger options. Finau did enough to help us secure our only wins so far this year against a top 5 team.
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@pakman said in All Blacks 2024:
@KiwiInLondon said in All Blacks 2024:
@pakman Haig and Aku are both far quicker than they look
Kaino was in 100m final at St. Kents. Winner was Joe Rocks.
Quick when he first started playing serious footy too, and not much of a blindside. Then he got bigger, brutal, and quite a bit slower.
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@frugby said in All Blacks 2024:
@pakman said in All Blacks 2024:
@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2024:
I'd be surprised if Tosi would have played if Newell was fit. It could be another example where injury solved a problem.
With benefit of hindsight it seems odd that Tosi didn’t Chuck on a jersey when Newell calf went in warm up to Boks 2.
I think they still feel Tosi is a work in progress - because he is. His scrummaging remains a big concern.
Did you see him struggle in the scrum against the Wallabies ? Yes, it was only the Wallabies but you cannot say that his scrummaging is a concern.
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@brodean said in All Blacks 2024:
I've watched Haig closely at Super Rugby and I do think he has potential but he hasn't done anything more than those other guys imo. All of those guys mentioned are NZ XV level. The Highlanders are on an upward curve so he has the opportunity to keep improving.
As someone has implied none of those players have the raw athleticism of Jerome Kaino.
That's why Finau can't be written off. He's the best raw athlete we have out of those bigger options. Finau did enough to help us secure our only wins so far this year against a top 5 team.
When Finau was subbed in both tests, we were losing so that just isn't true. You need more than athletic ability to succeed... people weren't calling for us to select Frizell just because he had athletic ability. At some point, he needed to offer more, and so far he has not done that. I think he is fortunate to be in the EOYT squad.
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@cgrant said in All Blacks 2024:
@frugby said in All Blacks 2024:
@pakman said in All Blacks 2024:
@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2024:
I'd be surprised if Tosi would have played if Newell was fit. It could be another example where injury solved a problem.
With benefit of hindsight it seems odd that Tosi didn’t Chuck on a jersey when Newell calf went in warm up to Boks 2.
I think they still feel Tosi is a work in progress - because he is. His scrummaging remains a big concern.
Did you see him struggle in the scrum against the Wallabies ? Yes, it was only the Wallabies but you cannot say that his scrummaging is a concern.
Tosi's clear weakness is his scrummaging, otherwise he'd clearly be ahead of Newell. It is a work in progress, and being able to scrummage against a pensioner in James Slipper doesn't disprove that.
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@frugby said in All Blacks 2024:
@brodean said in All Blacks 2024:
I've watched Haig closely at Super Rugby and I do think he has potential but he hasn't done anything more than those other guys imo. All of those guys mentioned are NZ XV level. The Highlanders are on an upward curve so he has the opportunity to keep improving.
As someone has implied none of those players have the raw athleticism of Jerome Kaino.
That's why Finau can't be written off. He's the best raw athlete we have out of those bigger options. Finau did enough to help us secure our only wins so far this year against a top 5 team.
When Finau was subbed in both tests, we were losing so that just isn't true. You need more than athletic ability to succeed... people weren't calling for us to select Frizell just because he had athletic ability. At some point, he needed to offer more, and so far he has not done that. I think he is fortunate to be in the EOYT squad.
May be a harsh take. I was trying to work out what instructions he had for those England matches. Wasn't used as a lineout option. Stationed out wide at times but play not directed there when he was. Others used as the runner when he was near the ruck. As a fan I was quite annoyed at how underused he appeared to be when subbed. Whether he was doing what the game plan asked him to do is debatable. But his aerial ability, athleticism and strength in contact are his pluses. Wallace Sititi is far more of an opportunist and scavenger who looks for opportunities to get involved. So the real question re Finau is how quickly he can learn to do both the structured and unstructured stuff in an international environment. I have the feeling that he needs involvement in plays early on to fire up. Same goes for some of our wingers and locks.
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@ARHS said in All Blacks 2024:
@frugby said in All Blacks 2024:
@brodean said in All Blacks 2024:
I've watched Haig closely at Super Rugby and I do think he has potential but he hasn't done anything more than those other guys imo. All of those guys mentioned are NZ XV level. The Highlanders are on an upward curve so he has the opportunity to keep improving.
As someone has implied none of those players have the raw athleticism of Jerome Kaino.
That's why Finau can't be written off. He's the best raw athlete we have out of those bigger options. Finau did enough to help us secure our only wins so far this year against a top 5 team.
When Finau was subbed in both tests, we were losing so that just isn't true. You need more than athletic ability to succeed... people weren't calling for us to select Frizell just because he had athletic ability. At some point, he needed to offer more, and so far he has not done that. I think he is fortunate to be in the EOYT squad.
May be a harsh take. I was trying to work out what instructions he had for those England matches. Wasn't used as a lineout option. Stationed out wide at times but play not directed there when he was. Others used as the runner when he was near the ruck. As a fan I was quite annoyed at how underused he appeared to be when subbed. Whether he was doing what the game plan asked him to do is debatable. But his aerial ability, athleticism and strength in contact are his pluses. Wallace Sititi is far more of an opportunist and scavenger who looks for opportunities to get involved. So the real question re Finau is how quickly he can learn to do both the structured and unstructured stuff in an international environment. I have the feeling that he needs involvement in plays early on to fire up. Same goes for some of our wingers and locks.
I suspect like Frizell and A Ioane before him, he possibly lacks a few rugby smarts. Sititi is very intelligent in the way he plays, where he pops up etc.
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@frugby said in All Blacks 2024:
@ARHS said in All Blacks 2024:
@frugby said in All Blacks 2024:
@brodean said in All Blacks 2024:
I've watched Haig closely at Super Rugby and I do think he has potential but he hasn't done anything more than those other guys imo. All of those guys mentioned are NZ XV level. The Highlanders are on an upward curve so he has the opportunity to keep improving.
As someone has implied none of those players have the raw athleticism of Jerome Kaino.
That's why Finau can't be written off. He's the best raw athlete we have out of those bigger options. Finau did enough to help us secure our only wins so far this year against a top 5 team.
When Finau was subbed in both tests, we were losing so that just isn't true. You need more than athletic ability to succeed... people weren't calling for us to select Frizell just because he had athletic ability. At some point, he needed to offer more, and so far he has not done that. I think he is fortunate to be in the EOYT squad.
May be a harsh take. I was trying to work out what instructions he had for those England matches. Wasn't used as a lineout option. Stationed out wide at times but play not directed there when he was. Others used as the runner when he was near the ruck. As a fan I was quite annoyed at how underused he appeared to be when subbed. Whether he was doing what the game plan asked him to do is debatable. But his aerial ability, athleticism and strength in contact are his pluses. Wallace Sititi is far more of an opportunist and scavenger who looks for opportunities to get involved. So the real question re Finau is how quickly he can learn to do both the structured and unstructured stuff in an international environment. I have the feeling that he needs involvement in plays early on to fire up. Same goes for some of our wingers and locks.
I suspect like Frizell and A Ioane before him, he possibly lacks a few rugby smarts. Sititi is very intelligent in the way he plays, where he pops up etc.
It may be that they are all dumbshits, or it could be that playing 6 to a high level on the international stage is far harder than our natural game prepares players for.
PSTD was always talented but even he’s taken some time to become really dominant at the international level. He’s over 30 and the best in the world. That wasn’t true of him in 2013 /3014 when he was breaking though.
I’m pleased they are apparently taking Finau and I hope they know their history and see that developing him from a squaddie to a starter may be the best thing for him.
On Sititi, I think they are just playing two 8s at the moment, so its not surprising that Finau may struggle - he’s a 6/lock not a 6/7/8.
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