All Blacks XV 2024
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@SouthernMann said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@Canes4life said in All Blacks XV 2024:
So based on player movements my guess at the new AB XV 23 would be:
Xavier Numia (Hurricanes / Wellington)
Kurt Eklund (Blues / Bay of Plenty)
George Dyer (Chiefs / Waikato)
Fabian Holland ( Highlanders / Otago)
Josh Lord (Chiefs / Taranaki)*
Oliver Haig (Highlanders / Otago)
Du Plessis Kirifi (Hurricanes / Wellington)
Devan Flanders (Hurricanes / Wellington)
Finlay Christie (29 / Blues / Ta$man)*
Harry Plummer (26 / Blues / Auckland)*
Kiniviliame Naholo (25 / Hurricanes / Taranaki)
AJ Lam (26 / Blues / Auckland)
Quinn Tupaea (25 / Chiefs / Waikato)*
Emoni Narawa (Chiefs / Bay of Plenty)*
Shaun Stevenson (Chiefs / North Harbour)*
Bradley Slater (Chiefs / Taranaki)
George Bower (Crusaders / Otago)*
Marcel Renata (Blues / Auckland)
Isaia Walker-Leawere (Hurricanes / Hawke’s Bay)
Corey Kellow (Crusaders / Canterbury)
Noah Hotham (Crusaders / Ta$man)*
Josh Jacomb (Chiefs / Taranaki)
Riley Higgins (Hurricanes / Wellington)Bower an AB injuey replacement, but not good enough to start ahead od the Hurricanes prop... or just a personal preference. With my personal preference I'd have Ma'u starting at tighthead
Yeah I was meant to update that after Bower was called in to the ABs. Have updated above. Numia though unlucky, as if it wasn't for injury later in Super he may have made the original AB squad of the year. Was definitely in front of Bower.
I've also taken out Lord, promoted Walker-Leawere and have added Delany as lock/blindside reserve.
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@Machpants said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@Bovidae said in All Blacks XV 2024:
To do the player and team justice any AB squad member moving to this team will need to train for the full week. That could include Lord and Lio-Willie.
IMO all the ABs squad returnees will start
I am referring to the 2-3 players who could bounce between squads, not the extras from Japan.
I wouldn't read too much into 6 players that went to Japan, as they excluded any involved in the final.
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@Canes4life said in All Blacks XV 2024:
Devan Flanders (Hurricanes / Wellington)
Fuck off you poaching bastard.
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@Nepia said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@Canes4life said in All Blacks XV 2024:
Devan Flanders (Hurricanes / Wellington)
Fuck off you poaching bastard.
Haha oops. Good spot mate. We’d take him for sure though. 😜
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@Canes4life said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@booboo said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@booboo said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@Nepia said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@Bovidae said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@brodean said in All Blacks XV 2024:
Grace wasn't even good for the Canterbury bench.
I wouldn't select him but I had to add some Crusaders players in there.
TBF, not being good and Crusaders bench is not really a selection hurdle.
Hate to say it but I don't mind Kellow.
Nostrabooboo
Goes well. Not a bad selection. I'd rate him higher than Kirifi.
Jeez that's a big call, Kirifi was the difference maker for the Lions, especially against Waikato in the semi. His leadership alone is only matched by a small few in New Zealand. I recall Kellow playing well for Canterbury but not to the extent of Kirifi since he's come back.
An opinion I'm sticking by. Reckon he has a higher ceiling. Will be a good challenger for Lakai to compete with.
Just for me I reckon he's got a bit of physicality about him (on both sides of the ball
).For the record, I'm neutral for both player's Super and NPC teams. (Although DPK's dad was my first ever Senior A club coach ... from some time before .young fulla was born.)
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@booboo said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@Canes4life said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@booboo said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@booboo said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@Nepia said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@Bovidae said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@brodean said in All Blacks XV 2024:
Grace wasn't even good for the Canterbury bench.
I wouldn't select him but I had to add some Crusaders players in there.
TBF, not being good and Crusaders bench is not really a selection hurdle.
Hate to say it but I don't mind Kellow.
Nostrabooboo
Goes well. Not a bad selection. I'd rate him higher than Kirifi.
Jeez that's a big call, Kirifi was the difference maker for the Lions, especially against Waikato in the semi. His leadership alone is only matched by a small few in New Zealand. I recall Kellow playing well for Canterbury but not to the extent of Kirifi since he's come back.
An opinion I'm sticking by. Reckon he has a higher ceiling. Will be a good challenger for Lakai to compete with.
Just for me I reckon he's got a bit of physicality about him (on both sides of the ball
).For the record, I'm neutral for both player's Super and NPC teams. (Although DPK's dad was my first ever Senior A club coach ... from some time before .young fulla was born.)
Fair call mate, he's definitely better than Christie so at least he got the call-up before him.
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Kirifi is one hell of a warrior, the guy seems tough as nails but has let himself down over the years with some brain farts. I am hoping he can sort the mental side of things out while his body is still holding up. He is one of those players whom I think is underestimated. Not saying he should be an AB, but I have always enjoyed watching him play.
As for Kellow, he has played well this NPC, the best I have seen him consistently play. Time for him to do it at Super level.
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@Crazy-Horse gets confusing trying to remember if it's NPC or SR form that counts eh.
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@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks XV 2024:
Kirifi is one hell of a warrior, the guy seems tough as nails but has let himself down over the years with some brain farts. I am hoping he can sort the mental side of things out while his body is still holding up. He is one of those players whom I think is underestimated. Not saying he should be an AB, but I have always enjoyed watching him play.
As for Kellow, he has played well this NPC, the best I have seen him consistently play. Time for him to do it at Super level.
Kirifi is a bit like Laumape. Great when he’s against someone smaller and weaker than him. Absolutely useless against someone who’s the same size.
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@KiwiInLondon said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks XV 2024:
Kirifi is one hell of a warrior, the guy seems tough as nails but has let himself down over the years with some brain farts. I am hoping he can sort the mental side of things out while his body is still holding up. He is one of those players whom I think is underestimated. Not saying he should be an AB, but I have always enjoyed watching him play.
As for Kellow, he has played well this NPC, the best I have seen him consistently play. Time for him to do it at Super level.
Kirifi is a bit like Laumape. Great when he’s against someone smaller and weaker than him. Absolutely useless against someone who’s the same size.
Huh, and here I thought he was one of the smaller loosies floating about.
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@Bones flat track bully would be a better way to put it
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@KiwiInLondon said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@Bones flat track bully would be a better way to put it
Yeah I don't see it. The guy has put in some massive performances in big games.
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The AB XV's next opponent, Munster, have just sacked their Head Coach:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/c7v3e95vrleo
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@KiwiInLondon said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks XV 2024:
Kirifi is one hell of a warrior, the guy seems tough as nails but has let himself down over the years with some brain farts. I am hoping he can sort the mental side of things out while his body is still holding up. He is one of those players whom I think is underestimated. Not saying he should be an AB, but I have always enjoyed watching him play.
As for Kellow, he has played well this NPC, the best I have seen him consistently play. Time for him to do it at Super level.
Kirifi is a bit like Laumape. Great when he’s against someone smaller and weaker than him. Absolutely useless against someone who’s the same size.
Maybe ask the big fellas in Waikato or even Ah Kuoi what he thinks of Kirifi after getting bumped off by him on the weekend. Pretty sure he's a bit bigger than Kirifi and what you're saying is actually an assumption and you haven't watched him this year?
If Kirifi was given an opportunity in the Black jersey, I'd be pretty certain he wouldn't let the jersey down.
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@Bones said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@KiwiInLondon said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@Bones flat track bully would be a better way to put it
Yeah I don't see it. The guy has put in some massive performances in big games.
Since he came back after his broken jaw (which was a bad outcome after a really poor decision) he was immense in the NPC playoffs. Huge defensive effort especially, whenever the Lions were under the pump and needed a turnover, he came up with the goods. He was far more discplined than I remember
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@canefan said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@Bones said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@KiwiInLondon said in All Blacks XV 2024:
@Bones flat track bully would be a better way to put it
Yeah I don't see it. The guy has put in some massive performances in big games.
Since he came back after his broken jaw (which was a bad outcome after a really poor decision) he was immense in the NPC playoffs. Huge defensive effort especially, whenever the Lions were under the pump and needed a turnover, he came up with the goods. He was far more discplined than I remember
His Mrs was on the 'Sport's Cafe-ish' podcast last week and she mentioned that she's seen a shift in Kirifi's mental and physical approach to the game in the last year. The main catalyst being his bench role for the Canes and the fact he wants his spot back.
A big change in Kirifi is his leadership IMO, years gone by he was always guilty of getting involved with a whole load of niggle with other teams. A good example of his development was when Leroy Carter dumped Filipo on his back towards the end of the final and instead of rushing in and potentially making the situation worse, he ran in and calmed everyone down. A big change in character for me.
