AB squad next RWC (2023)?
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@taniwharugby you need to delete that link! Just read the first page and it makes it look like @Baron-Silas-Greenback knows what he's talking about. He predicted Savea being a bolter and when challenged about three opensides he said Savea transcends positions. Something along the lines of Ardie's position is 'the Savea'.
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@Crazy-Horse said in AB squad next RWC (2023)?:
@taniwharugby you need to delete that link! Just read the first page and it makes it look like @Baron-Silas-Greenback knows what he's talking about. He predicted Savea being a bolter and when challenged about three opensides he said Savea transcends positions. Something along the lines of Ardie's position is 'the Savea'.
You will get used to it. I am always pulling that sort of Nostradamus shit.
Cricket oracle is my actual specialty though, rugby soothsaying is more a hobby. -
@Bovidae said in AB squad next RWC (2023)?:
@ACT-Crusader If you has also met Manute Bol you'd have the full set. Eaton was a giant in his time.
It was a young Shaq, when he came to OZ early in his NBA career (still at Orlando) on a Reebok tour, but he was a big unit then that became even bigger when he went to LA and Miami (and ginormous are Phoenix, Boston).
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Fletcher Newell and tamati Williams
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@Hooroo At least he got a go at the international stage.
Yes his form fell away this year and he's in horrible shape at this current stage, but he deserved a run somewhere between 2017-2018 despite people continuously finding reasons not to pick him when there were far inferior players given opportunities ahead of him.
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@African-Monkey said in AB squad next RWC (2023)?:
@Hooroo At least he got a go at the international stage.
Yes his form fell away this year and he's in horrible shape at this current stage, but he deserved a run somewhere between 2017-2018 despite people continuously finding reasons not to pick him when there were far inferior players given opportunities ahead of him.
I've lost track ... we still talking Akira?
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@ACT-Crusader said in AB squad next RWC (2023)?:
@Bovidae said in AB squad next RWC (2023)?:
When I lived in the USA I saw up close a number of basketball players who breathed rarified air. The backup centre for the college team was a white guy who was 2.18 m (7' 2").
shameless name drop alert
I’ve met Shaq (7’1), Yao Ming (7’3), Shawn Bradley (7’6), Mark Eaton (7’4) and they are sun blockers! I was only a kid at the time when I met Eaton and I thought he was Goliath!
Yao is 7'6" (2.29m)
Substantially taller than Shaq:
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@TeWaio said in AB squad next RWC (2023)?:
@ACT-Crusader said in AB squad next RWC (2023)?:
@Bovidae said in AB squad next RWC (2023)?:
When I lived in the USA I saw up close a number of basketball players who breathed rarified air. The backup centre for the college team was a white guy who was 2.18 m (7' 2").
shameless name drop alert
I’ve met Shaq (7’1), Yao Ming (7’3), Shawn Bradley (7’6), Mark Eaton (7’4) and they are sun blockers! I was only a kid at the time when I met Eaton and I thought he was Goliath!
Yao is 7'6" (2.29m)
Substantially taller than Shaq:
Looks like Yao’s wearing Air Force 1’s which add an inch and half....
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@sparky said in AB squad next RWC (2023)?:
A long way out I know, but I had a little think about who could still be around or might break through by then.
Props
Atu Moli (28 at start of next RWC)
Alex Fidow (26)
Karl Tu'inukuafe (30)
Ofa Tu'ungafasi (31)
Tyrel Lomax (27)Hookers
Codie Taylor (32)
Nathan Harris (31)
Asafo Aumua (26)Locks
Scott Barrett (29)
Patrick Tuitupolou (30)
Brodie Retallick (32) or Pari Pari Parkinson (27)Back row
Luke Jacobson (26)
Nico Jones (22) or Aaron Segner (22)
Ardie Savea (29)
Dalton Papali'i (25)
Akira Ioane (28) or Devan Flanders (24)
Shannon Frizzell (29) or Sam Cane (31)Half Backs
TJ Perenera (31)
Mitchell Drummond (29)
Leroy Carter (24) or Folau Fakatava (23)First Fives
Beauden Barrett (32)
Richie Mo'unga (29)
Josh Ioane (28)Midfield
ALB (28)
Jack Goodhue (28)
Jordie Barrett (26)
Vince Aso (27) or Ngani Laumape (30)Back Three
Reiko Ioane (26)
Sevu Reece (27)
Damian McKenzie (28)
Will Jordan (25)
Leicester Fainga'anuku (23) or George Bridge (28)Any other suggestions?
Stephen Perofeta?
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@booboo said in AB squad next RWC (2023)?:
@Gunner said in AB squad next RWC (2023)?:
Discussing what an AB's squad might look like in 4 years time, holy heck!!!!
How long you been signed up here?
A while, even long enough to know better... 😉
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@Tim said in AB squad next RWC (2023)?:
@Steven-Harris With an underdone Retallick, and Whitelock playing a lot of minutes in his absence, we really got done there.
Barrett is too small against big packs. Pat T is a beast, but he's not a great lineout target.
Pat also plays far too nice. There’s no reason why he can’t be a high performing “power” lock like Itoje, provided he can up his aggression
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@sparky said in AB squad next RWC (2023)?:
@Steven-Harris said in AB squad next RWC (2023)?:
@sparky
Alex Fidow would have to improve his scrummaging big time
Asafo Amua would have to improve throwing his darts
Akira Ioane ..would will require a massive attitude shift..I'm hoping the next set of All Blacks coaches can do something about all three in the same way Eddie Jones has improved the England forwards.
A lot of the development of the guys like Billy V, IMO, is due to lack of alternatives. They can’t afford to not to be patient with Billy, because the next can off the rank is a big step down and simply put there’s no other player like him in that country. The ABs on the other hand can afford to be more ruthless generally speaking because we presume the next big thing will be coming along soon enough. That view has bitten us in the arse a bit recently particularly at 6.
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@junior Great post.
That said, I think there can be rare (two or three in a generation) talents who are worth persevering with even if there are occasional lapses in attitude or worth making damn sure their attitude eventually improves:
Lomu, Cullen, Kaino, the Ioane brothers.
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@sparky said in AB squad next RWC (2023)?:
@junior Great post.
That said, I think there can be rare (two or three in a generation) talents who are worth persevering with even if there are occasional lapses in attitude or worth making damn sure their attitude eventually improves:
Lomu, Cullen, Kaino, the Ioane brothers.
That is not five of a kind, at best, that's a full house.
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@sparky said in AB squad next RWC (2023)?:
@junior Great post.
That said, I think there can be rare (two or three in a generation) talents who are worth persevering with even if there are occasional lapses in attitude or worth making damn sure their attitude eventually improves:
Lomu, Cullen, Kaino, the Ioane brothers.
Yeah I’m not saying heaven and earth should be moved for him. But, I would have thought there was an argument, over the last 2 years, to say “here’s a black jersey [in a match Read was injured / rested for], now go and show us that you deserve to keep it”.
I think if that had happened, we’d all know much more about Akira than we do now and, even more importantly, we might have actually got something decent out of him (whereas we’ve got nothing out of him now or even the guys they’ve ostensibly chosen ahead of him).
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@Tim said in AB squad next RWC (2023)?:
@junior As Graham Henry said after the 2018 NPC final - where was the love for Akira?
Since we're going back to Akira, remember he played a shedload of 7s and was a star. You can't do that if you're lazy.
So, he's done the work previously - what's changed? Success got to his head now he 'got paid'?
Yao Ming - Wikipedia
