All Blacks XV 2024
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It's interesting the number of Crusaders who haven't been picked for either team.
If Razor and co were truly biased then it would've made sense to see guys like Finlay Brewis, Dom Gardiner, Zach Gallagher, Jamie Hannah, Cullen Grace, Rivez Reihana, Levi Aumua and Macca Springer in the XV.
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@KiwiInLondon said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@African-Monkey it’s different because it was seven years in a row, three times of those against South African opposition. Once against the one of the weaker comps in a long long time matters little. That’s the difference.
For the first 3 years, the Crusaders virtually had an AB pack playing Super Rugby lets not kid ourselves here.
So by your logic, 2020-2023 was also weak because there were no South African teams involved?
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@pakman said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@Bovidae Ta! Looks like part of longer interview?
Yes, but the full interview doesn't appear to be available yet. Here's some more talking about Jacomb.
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@African-Monkey don't feed the troll
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@Bovidae said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@pakman said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@Bovidae Ta! Looks like part of longer interview?
Yes, but the full interview doesn't appear to be available yet. Here's some more talking about Jacomb.
I stoked about Jacomb, because not only a Naki boy, but I been saying he got the makings of being a test 10 for last couple of years , looks so balanced to me.
Also I been on the Holland bandwagon for about 3-4 years now, the most natural made player for test lock I have seen, I reckoned it when I first saw him play, and nothing has ever changed my mind. I reckon him and Lord (who seems to of put on some required weight) look the frist choice locks.
Ok I have got on the bandwagon for Segner too, but maybe I wrong there , but I am stoked a couple of really good uns are seeing the light of day! -
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@brodean from what I heard, Reihana came back from the Crusaders lacking any confidence, but he did build into the season as it wore on.
But he needs to secure the starting 10 berth at the Crusaders and go from there, has the skills, whether he has the top 2 inches is another matter.
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Not many players at the Crusaders were playing with confidence this year. I thought he was hard done by with then giving more opportunities to Hohepa and Havili.
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@brodean said in All Blacks XV 2024:
Not many players at the Crusaders were playing with confidence this year. I thought he was hard done by with then giving more opportunities to Hohepa and Havili.
Well he got the first crack at first five then unfortunately got injured for a few weeks then he lost momentum after that.
When he came back he seemed to lack confidence. -
Based on the squad selected I wouldn't mind seeing the 23 below.
- Xavier Numia (25 / Hurricanes / Wellington)
- Kurt Eklund (32 / Blues / Bay of Plenty)
- George Dyer (24/ Chiefs / Waikato)
- Fabian Holland (21 / Highlanders / Otago)
- Josh Lord (23 / Chiefs / Taranaki)*
- Oliver Haig (22 / Highlanders / Otago)
- Peter Lakai (21/ Hurricanes / Wellington)
- Hoskins Sotutu (26 / Blues / Counties Manukau)*
- Finlay Christie (29 / Blues / Ta$man)*
- Harry Plummer (26 / Blues / Auckland)*
- Kiniviliame Naholo (25 / Hurricanes / Taranaki)
- AJ Lam (26 / Blues / Auckland)
- Quinn Tupaea (25 / Chiefs / Waikato)*
- Emoni Narawa (25 / Chiefs / Bay of Plenty)*
- Shaun Stevenson (27 / Chiefs / North Harbour)*
- Bradley Slater (26 / Chiefs / Taranaki)
- George Bower (32 / Crusaders / Otago)*
- Marcel Renata (30 / Blues / Auckland)
- Isaia Walker-Leawere (27 / Hurricanes / Hawke’s Bay)
- Christian Lio-Willie (26 / Crusaders / Otago)
- Noah Hotham (21 / Crusaders / Ta$man)*
- Josh Jacomb (23 / Chiefs / Taranaki)
- Riley Higgins (22 / Hurricanes / Wellington)
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I like it.
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I expect Fihaki to be in the xv
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@Duluth said in All Blacks XV 2024:
I expect Fihaki to be in the xv
Same, but he shouldn't be which is why I've excluded him.
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They finally gave him a starting run against the Rebels and the Crusaders finally managed a decent win - only to drop him the following week for Havili. Reihana had a strong game. How can you expect a player to play with confidence when they're giving a lot more starting opportunities to Hohepa and Havili?
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@antipodean said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks XV 2024:
Razor said his closest call was between Sotutu and Sititi and much of the past week has been veiled insinuations that he'll be shown to be a lying fuck. The jury is in and it's found in favour of Razor.
On Akira, there's been a lot of hypothetical conversations posited about what was said between him and Razor. I have no idea and I occasionally suspect some posters of being Akira (or his Mum), so if they actually know something they should come out and say it.
But the selection patterns do not say that Ryan had no interest in him.
If Razor is selecting the AB XV, then he's lumped Sotutu with the likes of McAlister, Ah Kuoi, Kirifi, Lio-Willie, McLeod, Fihaki and Stevenson...
Well, as I said to Frank the other day, what does logic tell you?
Hoskins has made the NZ A team.
Is it as good as making the ABs? No it's not.
Is it better than not making the NZ A team. Yes it is.
A few minor caveats on that, but broadly, that seems logical to me.
And if the AB selectors pick you for the A team it seems to me they're showing a degree of interest in you. That's a good thing.
This is my logical framework.
What evidence do we have fatty Ryan had any interest in the form blindside flanker of Super Rugby?
Well, Ryan's first test in charge of the ABs was against South Africa at Mbombela. His starting blindside flanker was Akira Ioane. Frizell came from the bench.
The next week they swapped them round, we won, there were delegations in the night and Fozzie was saved.
For the rest of the season, Frizell, Akira and Scott Barrett batted the 6 role among them. All of them got picked for the EOYT.
Akira played in 7 tests in 2022 under Ryan's watch. Seems like incredibly strong evidence that Ryan had an interest in him.
In 2023, we had Super rugby and Akira's season ended with the Blues getting badly thrashed by a pretty makeshift Crusaders team, which probably wasn't helpful for him.
But, the important part is that there were three significant selection waypoints in 2023.
The AB team for the Rugby Championship - Frizell got picked, Akira didn't.
The NZ A team - Akira got picked - and this is the crucial point. According to my logical framework, the selectors were still showing an interest in him.
Unfortunately for Akira, Frizell played a blinder vs South Africa and slammed the door shut.
The third selection waypoint was the World Cup squad.
And that's where the selection patterns as far as Akira is concerned end.
The next important thing I heard was that Akira had signed in Japan. I don't know about you, but at that point I drew a big fat line through his AB chances.
Sure enough - at the next selection waypoint - the team for England, he didn't get picked. I was not surprised.
KiwiMurph said he wouldn't have departed if the selectors had interest in him.
I said the selection patterns do not say that Ryan had no interest in him.
Some other things we know are that Frizell has fucked off to Japan and with the departure of Whitelock and Retallick it's highly unlikely Scott Barrett would be playing 6.
That still left the likes of Blackadder, Jacobson and Finau to be overcome, but my observation is that Akira is a good enough player to have competed with them.
So all that being said, it doesn't seem very logical to me that the selectors would have told him they have no interest in him - but, that is just speculation. I have no knowledge of those conversations.
I feel I'm being gaslit.
You should try being me!
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a defense Rahul Dravid would be proud of
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@mariner4life The Akira posse is probably about to mankad, Rahul!
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@mariner4life The Akira posse is probably about to mankad, Rahul!
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@Chris-B people are wildly overstating Frizzel's one single OKish performance in black. "Unfortunately for Akira, Frizzel played a blinder vs South Africa and slammed the door shut." Give me a break, here is the MOTM polls for the match - https://www.forum.thesilverfern.com/topic/5493/all-blacks-motm-v-boks-ii?page=1
Frizzel got just 6% of the vote, yet he played such a blinder that he slammed the door shut on the 6 position?! I've read a couple of match summaries and none even mention Frizzel, ST was the stand-out performer for us that day.
It's pretty clear that Ryan coached him for a year, couldn't get the best out of him as Ryan is not a great coach as he can only seem to work with certain personality types, so dropped him for women beater Frizzel. That ended up costing us dearly, especially in the RWC final where he put in one of the worst performances of an AB 6 of all time.
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Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens has undergone neck surgery after sustaining a broken neck on the weekend against Ta$man. Due another surgery later in the week. Hope that it’s not career threatening. Could explain his omission from the AB XV. Feel for the guy.
