All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures)
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We can't throw stone anymore re: PI availability.
There are no Fa'atau's, Lam's, So'oalos, Vunibaka's, Bari's, Fenukitau, Caucau's, Lima's left in our league like there was 20 years ago.
Now they are all Reece's, Fakatava's, Sowakula's, Korobiete's, Vunivalu's, Naisarani's, Frizzell's. On central contracts already captured, waiting to be nation-captured, or not prepared to shoe-horn themsleves into the 3 risky overseas player spots (so, pretending they are waiting to be captured until they are ready for move to Japan or Europe).
These 3 tests are just content for contents sake, sadly. Like the quarter-filled Eden Park double header before the Lions test. (NZ v Samoa, Wales v Tonga) - I'm not sure there is much appetite from PI supporters in NZ for matches where they are left with the dregs to play against cream (So, a good barometer on Moana Pasifika).
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@rapido said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
We can't throw stone anymore re: PI availability.
There are no Fa'atau's, Lam's, So'oalos, Vunibaka's, Bari's, Fenukitau, Caucau's, Lima's left in our league like there was 20 years ago.
Now they are all Reece's, Fakatava's, Sowakula's, Korobiete's, Vunivalu's, Naisarani's, Frizzell's. On central contracts already captured, waiting to be nation-captured, or not prepared to shoe-horn themsleves into the 3 risky overseas player spots (so, pretending they are waiting to be captured until they are ready for move to Japan or Europe).
That's more about eligibility than availability IMO. The players who play in the NH are eligible, but their clubs make it almost impossible for them to play for the country they're eligible to play for, because they don't want to release them (as required by WR Regulations).
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@tim said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
So Australia has a series against France, and we play Fiji and Tonga's B-teams (at best). We would be better off playing the Moana Pasifika team from last year's match against the Maori team.
Yup whomever gets France in a Lions year is the lucky one! Still they'll have to quarantine in Oz, gawd knows who is actually going to turn up to play?
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@machpants said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
Yup whomever gets France in a Lions year is the lucky one! Still they'll have to quarantine in Oz, gawd knows who is actually going to turn up to play?
Players involved in the Top 14 final won't be available for the 1st test at least.
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@machpants especially as French players, often involved in thier finals miss the 1st game anyway, so 2 more weeks...
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@stargazer said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
@rapido said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
We can't throw stone anymore re: PI availability.
There are no Fa'atau's, Lam's, So'oalos, Vunibaka's, Bari's, Fenukitau, Caucau's, Lima's left in our league like there was 20 years ago.
Now they are all Reece's, Fakatava's, Sowakula's, Korobiete's, Vunivalu's, Naisarani's, Frizzell's. On central contracts already captured, waiting to be nation-captured, or not prepared to shoe-horn themsleves into the 3 risky overseas player spots (so, pretending they are waiting to be captured until they are ready for move to Japan or Europe).
That's more about eligibility than availability IMO. The players who play in the NH are eligible, but their clubs make it almost impossible for them to play for the country they're eligible to play for, because they don't want to release them (as required by WR Regulations).
I know which of those I think is worse. You'll never be available ever again once you're ineligible.
Accross the 10 TT SR teams. There are 20 PI born and raised players (10 each for NZ and Aus) who will not be playing for any of the PI teams this July. 9 of those 20 are still uncapped.
To argue your point about elegibilty v availability. 9 are still eligible, but I'd bet my left testicle they won't be available.
There are 3 PI born and raised players in the 10 teams who are tied to the PI nations.
To soothe our guilt, we have offset by providing 8 PI players who were NZ or Aus born or mostly raised.
A 20 to 3 ratio is way worse than any hinderance applied by NH clubs in non-covid times.
We are now a big part of the problem.
Taken 20, employing 3, developed and gifted 8.
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@bovidae said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
@machpants said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
Yup whomever gets France in a Lions year is the lucky one! Still they'll have to quarantine in Oz, gawd knows who is actually going to turn up to play?
Players involved in the Top 14 final won't be available for the 1st test at least.
Players in the final won;t be available full stop, they still have to quarantine for 2 weeks in Oz. No way they'll make the series. I'm really stumped as to how they think they are going to get a team there at all, for 3 weekends, 2 week quarantine is a biggy! It is not like with Argentina that the team can turn up 2 weeks early and do a training quarantine like Argentina did, they'll all still be playing club rugby.
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@machpants said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
@bovidae said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
@machpants said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
Yup whomever gets France in a Lions year is the lucky one! Still they'll have to quarantine in Oz, gawd knows who is actually going to turn up to play?
Players involved in the Top 14 final won't be available for the 1st test at least.
Players in the final won;t be available full stop, they still have to quarantine for 2 weeks in Oz. No way they'll make the series. I'm really stumped as to how they think they are going to get a team there at all, for 3 weekends, 2 week quarantine is a biggy!
Big opportunity for the Wallabies to secure a series victory and raise moral on the home front.
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@antipodean said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
@machpants said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
@bovidae said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
@machpants said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
Yup whomever gets France in a Lions year is the lucky one! Still they'll have to quarantine in Oz, gawd knows who is actually going to turn up to play?
Players involved in the Top 14 final won't be available for the 1st test at least.
Players in the final won;t be available full stop, they still have to quarantine for 2 weeks in Oz. No way they'll make the series. I'm really stumped as to how they think they are going to get a team there at all, for 3 weekends, 2 week quarantine is a biggy!
Big opportunity for the Wallabies to secure a series victory and raise moral on the home front.
Ouch!
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@antipodean said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
@machpants said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
@bovidae said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
@machpants said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
Yup whomever gets France in a Lions year is the lucky one! Still they'll have to quarantine in Oz, gawd knows who is actually going to turn up to play?
Players involved in the Top 14 final won't be available for the 1st test at least.
Players in the final won;t be available full stop, they still have to quarantine for 2 weeks in Oz. No way they'll make the series. I'm really stumped as to how they think they are going to get a team there at all, for 3 weekends, 2 week quarantine is a biggy!
Big opportunity for the Wallabies to secure a series victory and raise moral on the home front.
How many French qualitifed players are living in the NZ/Oz bubble? Must be at least 23...
Italy & Irealnd pulled out cos it is too hard, I'm watching with interest what the FRU thinks it can do that they can't.
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@machpants said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
@antipodean said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
@machpants said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
@bovidae said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
@machpants said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
Yup whomever gets France in a Lions year is the lucky one! Still they'll have to quarantine in Oz, gawd knows who is actually going to turn up to play?
Players involved in the Top 14 final won't be available for the 1st test at least.
Players in the final won;t be available full stop, they still have to quarantine for 2 weeks in Oz. No way they'll make the series. I'm really stumped as to how they think they are going to get a team there at all, for 3 weekends, 2 week quarantine is a biggy!
Big opportunity for the Wallabies to secure a series victory and raise moral on the home front.
How many French qualitifed players are living in the NZ/Oz bubble? Must be at least 23.....
There's about four thousand adult students in the country. Surely half of one per cent of them play rugby?
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Both the Top 14 final and Gallagher Premiership final are 26th June. There's a good chance the only Fijian involved in either will be Radradra. That would mean the rest of the NH contingent could be available for the July 10th first test. I don't really see the problem.
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@frye said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
Both the Top 14 final and Gallagher Premiership final are 26th June. There's a good chance the only Fijian involved in either will be Radradra. That would mean the rest of the NH contingent could be available for the July 10th first test. I don't really see the problem.
Clubb don't need to release players, even if they don't have a game. The lions had to pay 75k pounds per player release for the out of window game Vs Japan that's on the same weekend as the premiership final. I think you are being a bit naive if you think the club's won't cause a problem. But I hope your right
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@machpants The Aust-France series is going to be played over a 10-day period. I'm not saying quarantine isn't an issue but the players won't be in Aust for 3-4 weeks.
Initially the three Tests were set for 3, 10, 17 July, but they will now be played on 7, 13 and 17 July. It’s understood the Tests will be played in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
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so for our matches, I expect we will see a good few fringe players capped?
While we want to see the ABs play, full strength AB games vs our Pacific neighbours are rarely competitive, so do we expect a bunch of new faces each week?
Or will Fozzie be using these as his evidence for a contract extension?
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@taniwharugby said in All Blacks Test match venues (upcoming fixtures):
so for our matches, I expect we will see a good few fringe players capped?
While we want to see the ABs play, full strength AB games vs our Pacific neighbours are rarely competitive, so do we expect a bunch of new faces each week?
Or will Fozzie be using these as his evidence for a contract extension?
I think neither. Will see players blooded, but it won't be huge. And foster needs to get them working together as a team before the RC. He must win that, and win it well, to keep his job. So he'll be using these as opposed training runs
