2020 All Blacks Squad
-
-
@Machpants said in 2020 All Blacks Squad:
Next year is fookin exciting, new coaching set up - we get to challenge ourselves against World No1 and World Champs South Africa. Can't wait!
is it rugby season again yet?
In the 💯 th test against the Old Foe.
-
An area we're sorely lacking in as things stand is grunt from the loose forward group. We have a proliferation of world-class openside flankers we seem to want to shoe-horn in ala Pooper and Smith/Waugh as we lack depth at 6, and as of 2020 we have a dire hole at 8 as well. (Still not dire enough to try Ioane though). Savea is an openside flanker, as of course is Cane. We need a couple of chunky lads in 6 and 8. Maybe Squire comes back and that helps, but we need a Fifita or Frizzell to stake a legit claim and/or a Blackadder to break through in SR. It's noticeable that throughout our game, loose forwards and locks are 'shrinking'. We first see our midget packs get beaten up by SA and England in the U20s and this has started to translate into the senior ranks. We have far too many blindside flankers playing as under sized locks in Super Rugby and even moreso in the NPC, and too few 8s and 6s regularly playing in those positions who have genuine size (around 1.92m+) and bulk. We also have stuff all 2m+ locks coming through (compared to around 10 - 15 years ago when we were flush in that department) and our openside flankers are on average getting smaller I reckon. Look at the emerging talent like Harmon and Kirifi. Harmon replaces another midget in Todd. Dillon Hunt isn't big either.
-
-
@shark said in 2020 All Blacks Squad:
@Kirwan said in 2020 All Blacks Squad:
@shark no he hasn’t. Try reading the post before scrambling to take cheap shots.
Ah yes, he has. He absolutely 100% has.
A plodder like Whitelock got shots against Tier 2 opposition. Evans, Fifita, Frizzel did too. Instead of trying the same with Akira to find out if he was good enough, and Super Rugby and Lions form suggest he is, he gets character assassinated publicly by the coach. Funnily enough he’s struggled since then.
Similarly, Hansen lies about Luatua not being in contact with them before signing an offshore contract. He also would have filled the six shaped hole in the squad. We have the players, just need to pick them, and if they have flaws coach them out if them.
We are happy to pick a ten with poor defence, for example.
-
-
@sparky said in 2020 All Blacks Squad:
@Kirwan Luatua would have been very handy in this tournament.
I rate Mo'unga, tacking technique is okay, but he looks much better in games when he is not really challenge in defence. He needs to learn to enjoy defending more.
Similar to early Beauden, they look good with the tackles at fullback, but front on have really bad lapses. Richie rushes out of the line too much as well. He will be better next year, shame he was put in that position in the first place. Would have been a great super sub to come on and change the game.
BB fixed it, so Richie can too.
-
-
@shark said in 2020 All Blacks Squad:
@Kirwan said in 2020 All Blacks Squad:
@Machpants said in 2020 All Blacks Squad:
@Kirwan said in 2020 All Blacks Squad:
@canefan said in 2020 All Blacks Squad:
I hope that someone can get a tune out of the Ioane brothers. We could do with them playing at full potential. Imagine a back row of Cane, Ardie and peak Akira
I’d back Jamie Joseph as AB forwards coach to do that for Akira, at least he won’t thrown him under the bus like Hansen did in that press conference.
Had an obvious impact on his NPC. Players are not robots, and some need to be handled differently to get the best out of them.
A little bit of the faith they showed in unproven players like Jacobson, Fifita and Frizzell could have had him humming for the World Cup and filled the six shaped hole in the squad.
They managed him poorly.
Nah they tried the softly softly previously when he was in the squad, and didn't work. So they tried the harsh words. Also didn't work
No they didn't, they tried an approach that screamed we don't trust you. He should have been tried in one of the tier2 games, like everybody else, so he could prove himself.
How they managed him singled him out from everybody else, and with the mismanagement from the Blues overdoing his workload, we ended up where we are now.
It amuses me how he gets stuck with the lazy tag when coach after coach plays him in every single game, for the full 80, and for the Blues he's the last line of defence on our goal line, often getting try saving turnovers deep into game (he gets a lot of practice at the Blues for that). He puts in a huge workload, often to the detriment to his chances at higher honors.
Dreaming bud. He's had several chances. They opened the door again when he last made a training squad and he fucked it up. Again. I'll bet he now turns up in 2020 smelling of pies and KFC.
What a crock of shit, he hasn't started a test despite being far and away the best number 8 in the country last year, as I mentioned earlier Evans was selected last year and he's as loose as fudge for an 8.
Reminds me a bit of Mains not thinking Zinny was up to it, but luckily back then, he basically had Fitzy force his hand to pick him.
-
-
@canefan said in 2020 All Blacks Squad:
Akira needs a regime change and a move to improve his chances of better consideration
Doesn’t need to move, and he got the AB regime change. Everybody’s in with a shot now, especially with all the retirements
-
@Kirwan said in 2020 All Blacks Squad:
@canefan said in 2020 All Blacks Squad:
Akira needs a regime change and a move to improve his chances of better consideration
Doesn’t need to move, and he got the AB regime change. Everybody’s in with a shot now, especially with all the retirements
I think he should, but we can agree to disagree. Super rugby might be quite open next year. A big campaign from his team will do his chances no harm
-
@canefan he’s a big Ponsonby club man, puts a lot of effort into it, has strong family ties here and loves playing for Auckland. Why would moving help at all?
Only reason I would agree with is shit players getting picked because they have a Crusaders jersey on. Plenty of examples of that over the years.
-
-
@Tim said in 2020 All Blacks Squad:
It was interesting to read Christchurch rugby journalist Robert Van Royen's comment this week that Ioane had no chance to make the WC Squad because he was played into the ground by the Blues. He described his Super Rugby workload as "crazy".
Two years in a row too. Every freaking game, 80mins. Pretty similar in the NPC last year too.
Lazy apparently.
-
@Kirwan said in 2020 All Blacks Squad:
@Tim said in 2020 All Blacks Squad:
It was interesting to read Christchurch rugby journalist Robert Van Royen's comment this week that Ioane had no chance to make the WC Squad because he was played into the ground by the Blues. He described his Super Rugby workload as "crazy".
Two years in a row too. Every freaking game, 80mins. Pretty similar in the NPC last year too.
Lazy apparently.
Or he needs a coach and a team that can better manage his workload?
-
@Kirwan said in 2020 All Blacks Squad:
They managed him poorly.
Yes, and if they had selected the right players and tactics we should have won the cup. Wasted opportunity and disappointing.
I think with fresh energy from a new coaching group, more attention paid to bulk in the forwards, better skills practice combined with the natural talent in NZ, we can expect to be very close in 2023 as well.
