All Blacks Squad for France
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Fair enough. I'd take both over Drummond and that's coming from a Canterbury fan.
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@canerbry said in All Blacks Squad for France:
@cantab79 Bryn Hall over Weber too right now
Hall is a funny one, no-one seems to rate him. Even Scott Robertson seems to rate him on par with Drummond - hence why he rotates them evenly. I must be watching a different player because I rate him highly, and if it were up to me he'd always start for the Crusaders. I think he's a really talented player but he just never seems to even be in the discussion for the All Blacks.
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He is underrated because he was not up to the task when playing for the Blues.
He is having a very good season with the Crusaders. He is not brilliant but safe and sound. His box kicks are better than Drummond's and his passing is OK.
I think Hansen will pick TTT who is the nearest to Aaron Smith in terms of pass accuracy and speed to get behind the rucks. Weber's passing is too erratic IMO while Drummond's form is far from what it was last year. -
It's a style thing with Bryn Hall. The Crusaders being so dominant up front allows him to play his up tempo game, where as behind other forward packs you need more creativity from your halfback which is where he struggled at the Blues. He's fairly basic and one-dimensional which suits the Crusaders perfectly and has proved to be a good signing but personally I wouldn't have him in the ABs squad.
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@cantab79 It's hard to know what the selectors think of Hall. Last year he started for the Crusaders more than Drummond and started the play-off games, so you'd have to conclude Robinson had a preference for him - though not a huge one, because Drummie got plenty of starts and they weren't shy of giving him plenty of time in big games.
This year Drummond has been in the AB frame, so it wouldn't have been very fair of Razor to not give him a decent opportunity to show his wares and compete for the spot.
There hasn't been a halfback vacancy in the ABs for several years - when Drummond got his call up, Hall and several others were injured.
When TTT got called into the North Island camp, Perenara had just been injured and potentially out for the French series - so we've been tipped that he, at least, is in the frame. Harder to know who else is.
Pulu has also been there before so has to be a shot.
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I thought TJP was out until during or after the June series?
Problem is, other 9s that they have looked at, Webber & TTT are similar to AS, so really want a different 9 as the other option, which is where Pulu probably fills the gap with no TKB.
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I know we're talking "on paper" but could this be the weakest AB squad in a good number of years? Some of the names floating around are pretty average.
We're a Codie Taylor injury away from playing a couple of very ordinary hookers
Props are starting to go okay with the cantab boys coming back.
Two of the locks are only just test standard, and not really starting quality. If Patty T is next in line then, well, jesus...
In the loosies, i have faith in the opensides (not named Savea), but the rest are green as all fuck.3rd halfback is a cripple fight, and the 2nd guy isn't exactly a reliable test player despite years of experience.
At 10 our starter isn't that good, the anointed backup is definitely not up to standard, lets hope Mo'unga goes alright
The midfielders are either injured, or green (though ALB is having a better year this compared to last)
At least the back 3 look alright. -
@taniwharugby I'm pretty sure they were interviewing TJ before last weekends Hurricanes game and he said he was hoping to play club rugby this weekend. Unfortunately, I was only had the TV on in the background and wasn't paying much attention till that point, but I'm pretty sure it was him talking.
In which case he should be on the bench for the Canes next weekend and starting the following....vs the Crusaders.
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@mariner4life assume your comment re 10 is sarcastic...
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With Laulala or Ofa we're OK at TH on the bench. But LH is an issue. Perry FFS! Hames won't be back anytime soon and I think Aidan Ross might have been a bolter before his injury.
Harris has been average this season but is servicable to play limited minutes like he did in the Lions series.
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@taniwharugby said in All Blacks Squad for France:
@mariner4life assume your comment re 10 is sarcastic...
not at all, I've made the comment before. BB is a fantastic rugby player, but a pretty ordinary test match 10. Having mad wheels, and a halfback with an insane pass allows him to bail himself and us out a lot.
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@stargazer said in All Blacks Squad for France:
@darren-nicholson What's not great about Joe Moody, Codie Taylor and Owen Franks? It's only the bench that's not that great.
Thats perfect, but it's been so long since we put out that front row I tend to forget. Reserves worry me then for the last 20 or 30 minutes.
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@mariner4life Missing from the first test 23 vs the Lions last year will (most likely) be Kaino, Read, Dagg, Crockett, Faumuina, Cruden plus Coles would have been there if fit.
I guess we've had a bit of a post-Lions cleanout.
Starting XV should be pretty strong (according to me):
Moody, Taylor, Franks, Retallick, Whitelock, Squire, Cane, Whitelock, Smith, Barrett, Ioane, SBW, Crotty, Smith, BarrettAfter that it's getting a bit thinner (bench): Perry, Harris, Laulala, Barrett, Todd, Perenara, McKenzie, Laumape
There's some assumptions about people who are going to make it back in time and also a pretty big assumption that no-one else is going to get injured in the meantime. Seems to me that on average about two players per team hobble off injured per game - sometimes they're back the following week...sometimes not.
For a game like Crusaders-Hurricanes, where about half the starting players are going to be AB squad members, we could easily lose two or three just in that game - and there's still three or four Super games left for all our teams before the French arrive. Lose the wrong people and we will be tested!
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks Squad for France:
@taniwharugby said in All Blacks Squad for France:
@mariner4life assume your comment re 10 is sarcastic...
not at all, I've made the comment before. BB is a fantastic rugby player, but a pretty ordinary test match 10. Having mad wheels, and a halfback with an insane pass allows him to bail himself and us out a lot.
Get off the crack pipe.
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks Squad for France:
I know we're talking "on paper" but could this be the weakest AB squad in a good number of years? Some of the names floating around are pretty average.
We're a Codie Taylor injury away from playing a couple of very ordinary hookers
Props are starting to go okay with the cantab boys coming back.
Two of the locks are only just test standard, and not really starting quality. If Patty T is next in line then, well, jesus...
In the loosies, i have faith in the opensides (not named Savea), but the rest are green as all fuck.3rd halfback is a cripple fight, and the 2nd guy isn't exactly a reliable test player despite years of experience.
At 10 our starter isn't that good, the anointed backup is definitely not up to standard, lets hope Mo'unga goes alright
The midfielders are either injured, or green (though ALB is having a better year this compared to last)
At least the back 3 look alright.Good post apart from the nonsense about the no. 10. Yes I would go gay for the guy but seriously man. While you can question the relevance and selection process, not very good players do not win back-to-back world player of the year awards.
