All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures)
-
@Machpants said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
Playing against better opposition hasn't done much good for Italy, has it? Really it's getting your domestic shit together, engaging the public, increasing player base, and being professional that does it. With so much rugby money lost to corruption in Island unions, it's never going to make a difference just being smashed by NZ
Ah, but how bad would Italy be if they didn't have the 6N??? If their only tests were against Spain, Portugal, Germany? Certainly they'd be much worse, and 100% no kiwi with an Italian grandparent would go play for them
-
Nothing confirmed yet and still very, very vague.
The Flying Fijians are set to play the All Blacks next year in what would be their first test against the three-time world champions in a decade.
Fiji have played New Zealand nine previous occasions, including five tests, the last of which was a 60-14 defeat in the last ever test at Carisbrook in Dunedin in 2011.
Fiji Rugby chief executive John O'Connor said they were also in talks to host Ireland during the July test window, when the British and Irish Lions were scheduled to be in South Africa.
"I think next year we have the All Blacks so we will look forward to preparing for that and [hosting] Ireland and hopefully we have that vaccine and the test schedule for next year continues as per plan."
I didn't know we've played so few games against Fiji! IMO that's something that definitely needs to change!
I hope this is a real test against the All Blacks, and not a game against All Blacks XV as was planned for 2020. -
-
@Stargazer said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
I didn't know we've played so few games against Fiji!
Thing is people say this all the time. But they are not in the RC, and they tour the same way as us. They're SH. So it's obvious they are not going to play us often, nothing about ignoring Pacific rugby, by it all about the calendar is set that way. And if they were put in to the RC they wouldn't be able to get their best players easily (travel from Europe with release times), and it would be a farce.
Until there is an international season alignment, ie once french and English clubs agree (just after hell freezes over) it's not going to changed from a few one offs -
@Machpants said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
@Stargazer said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
I didn't know we've played so few games against Fiji!
Thing is people say this all the time. But they are not in the RC, and they tour the same way as us. They're SH. So it's obvious they are not going to play us often, nothing about ignoring Pacific rugby, by it all about the calendar is set that way. And if they were put in to the RC they wouldn't be able to get their best players easily (travel from Europe with release times), and it would be a farce.
Until there is an international season alignment, ie once french and English clubs agree (just after hell freezes over) it's not going to changed from a few one offsAnd those one-offs are noncompetitive disasters. Fiji get flogged and we risk needless injuries.
-
@antipodean yup, but unless Fiji etc joins the RC, well never play them often. And they can't easily compete in the RC cos their players are in Europe
-
For a while there we played our first test via the PI nation on rotation each year before the incoming NH June tours.
That was cool.
But then Super Rugby expanded and the PIs had all their players contracted up North and not available...
-
The All Blacks will play home and away tests against Italy as part of their 2021 international schedule. On Thursday, NZ Rugby announced that the Azzurri will play two-tests against the All Blacks in the July window, then host them in Rome as part of the end of year European tour. Also included on that tour will be tests against Ireland and France. Fiji will also visit in July for a one-off test match. The Rugby Championship will begin in late August and - pandemic pending - will return to its status quo format.
-
With the Lions tour to SA, 2021 is going to be an average year to host touring teams for NZ and Aust. France would be the big attraction but they toured NZ in 2018.
Depending on where the AB tests are I might end up going to one of games with my Italian brother-in-law.
-
@Machpants said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
A chance
That is all it is unfortunately. We still have Fozzie who seems to have a unique knack of getting the worst out of good players. Harsh I know and I'm not sure how it happens (well apart from not playing them in their natural positions).
-
@Snowy and it's SOUTH AFRICA! They're unbeatable.
-
-
@taniwharugby said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
@booboo if they'd been in the 3N, or TRC they would have won all thier games by eleventy-12 points.
You guys seem to be having reading comprehension problems.
-
@taniwharugby said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
@Snowy wait, are you Mr Gyde, my old English teacher?
If he was a GOM then we may well be similar.
-
@booboo said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
@Snowy and it's SOUTH AFRICA! They're unbeatable.
Come on now. They were beatable in the days of neutral referees when we were spared the likes of Messrs Gourlay, Bezedinhuit and Robertse. Now that Covid 19 has hit we just might be back to home based referees and the bad old days that plagued the touring teams in Sth Africa where a win against even the most minor ranked team could be described as an achievement given the interesting rule interpretations that seemed to be applied.