2020 All Blacks Squad
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@mofitzy_ said in 2020 All Blacks Squad:
Grace was part of the worst NZ U20 team I've seen, so I'm not sure if it's fair to single him out but I don't remember him being anything other than mediocre.
Well he hasn't been mediocre for the Crusaders in 2020
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@Canes4life said in 2020 All Blacks Squad:
@Stargazer I know he isn’t a lock, he’s a blindside flanker and he made a pretty good impression there before Plumtree and co somehow felt he needed to be in the second row. He played most of his school career at 6 and I think if he gets a chance to move back there he has a good shot at getting to the next level.
I remember Blackwell had as many wraps on him as Grace when he came into the Hurricanes, too bad the Hurricanes have poor judgement of height.
Can't see Blackwell as an AB Lock, but interesting he played at 6 in his early years maybe he could be a AB 6
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I'll point out it's probably a good thing that Fozzie is head coach right now. Some continuity in the All Blacks given the disruption may well provide benefit.
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@Chris he's a very tough, consistent and smart footballer and I can see why the Canes use him at lock because of his importance towards line out calling, however for me he's just too short for a next level lock. He's someone I would have in my team more as a six because of his workrate and game smarts. The kid is probably the smartest player in the Canes so it's a shame he hasn't found his true position yet - I just hope it's not his downfall.
Looking down the track I think the Canes will be keen to blood the Taine Plumtree/Isaia Walker-Leawere locking partnership from next year so that may see Blackwell shift to 6, however we also have Flanders playing in that position and he has been very impressive in his debut season. I'm hoping Taine Plumtree has the same impact on the Canes that Cullen Grace had on the Crusaders this year - both very impressive young forwards that will no doubt pull on the All Black's jersey down the track.
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@Canes4life Plumtree is an undersized lock himself (1.95 m from the NZ U20 stats).
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@Bovidae interesting, he looks closer to the 1.98m mark in person. I guess it's better than the 1.9m that Blackwell is though.
Naitoa Ah Koui (playing for the Chiefs now) and Taine Plumtree were identical in height when they played at Wellington College together and Ah Koui is listed at 1.96m on the Chiefs site.
Anyone know any promising 2m + locks coming through? I saw Sam Darry play in the quad tournament in 2018 and he stood out.
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@Canes4life said in 2020 All Blacks Squad:
Anyone know any promising 2m + locks coming through? I saw Sam Darry play in the quad tournament in 2018 and he stood out.
Josh Lord was in the same NZSS team as Darry.
Parkinson is still young.
No surprise that the AB lineout performed better with two 2 m+ locks.
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Last years NZSS team had:
Zach Gallagher - 1.97 m
Allan Craig - 1.95 mEdit: I was also impressed with TK Howden who played for the NZBS team. He looked to have some size to him.
Obviously there won't be a U20 team this year to see who rates at the level above.
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Who is Ken Owens? And why would dual a world cup winner talk to him?
Know your role
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@mofitzy_ A lot of Crusaders players are like that. Take them out of the Crusaders enviroment and they get shown up.
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@African-Monkey a lot? Methinks that pill sounds a tad bitter.
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@Bones Yup, a lot. No, it wasn't too bitter....
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@African-Monkey said in 2020 All Blacks Squad:
@Bones Yup, a lot. No, it wasn't too bitter....
Guess a lot of All Blacks are too then.
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@Bones But on a more serious point, I don't think that what I said is an unfair criticism. A lot of those Crusaders players have struggled for various teams (Christie, Douglas, Dunshea, Hall, Grace to a lesser extent, Ennor etc,) Were or have been fairly average for their Mitre 10 Cup sides, a level you would expect them to dominate at yet seem to look very comfortable at Super Rugby level. If anything, it's a credit that the Crusaders manage to get the best out of these guys is it not?
Obviously guys like Bridge, Mo'unga and Reece haven't shone at test level like people would have hoped but that's another topic altogether.
The Crusaders are like the Storm of the NRL. They can make everyone look good.
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@African-Monkey said in 2020 All Blacks Squad:
The Crusaders are like the Storm of the NRL. They can make everyone look good.
A couple of stars and everyone else doing their roles as best as they can. Speaks volumes for the coaching and culture.
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@African-Monkey mate you named a handful of players, most of which aren't even held up to be much more than mediocre even in the crusaders! Not a lot.
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@African-Monkey said in 2020 All Blacks Squad:
@Bones But on a more serious point, I don't think that what I said is an unfair criticism. A lot of those Crusaders players have struggled for various teams (Christie, Douglas, Dunshea, Hall, Grace to a lesser extent, Ennor etc,) Were or have been fairly average for their Mitre 10 Cup sides, a level you would expect them to dominate at yet seem to look very comfortable at Super Rugby level. If anything, it's a credit that the Crusaders manage to get the best out of these guys is it not?
Obviously guys like Bridge, Mo'unga and Reece haven't shone at test level like people would have hoped but that's another topic altogether.
The Crusaders are like the Storm of the NRL. They can make everyone look good.
A bit Harsh. Christie has really only started his career,and like Grace has stood out in a forward pack that includes Dunshea and Douglas.so thats half the Crusaders Forward pack.Which is top of the NZ conference, Hall has been good for NH,Ennor had a very good Mitre 10 for Canterbury.
I think anyone can pick a few players out of every NZ SR franchise and make the same argument.Depending on where someones allegiance lies.
