Possible All Blacks 2020
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Right now Boshier is the standout loose forward and possibly Sotutu but isn't he only 20? Crazy potential. Akira should have moved for sure, or is he injured?
The hardest thing about selecting the 2020 AB team will be getting the loose forward balance right, we haven't done that since Kaino left.
IWL looks to be the form lock to me, was great to see him stealing so much lineout ball and has plenty of size.
Don't know much about props but seeing the Canes scrum actually win penalties, has to be put down to Lomax, what a huge difference he has made. -
@sparky said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
@Chris-B said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
@sparky Those four little guys are rarely going to make dominant tackles - more than a quarter of the team.
Poor old Reiko getting no love?
Reiko Ioane was a disappointing dud in the RWC. His form was fine in his one game this year. Needs more of the same.
I'm disappointed with Braydon Ennor defensive work so far this season. Could make the ABs starting line up if he make dominant tackles on a regular basis. If he remains fit, I am sure Laumape will get lots of game time for the ABs in 2020.
Backs aren't the issue. Lots of very good players. Lock and Back Row is where the cupboard looks thin.
No he wasn't. As pointed out above he'd been replaced due to form prior to then. And for him to come back in over the top off the form wingers he needed to be Jonah on steroids. The fact he wasn't leads to the opinion he was a dud.
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@mofitzy_ said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
@sparky said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
@Chris-B said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
@sparky Those four little guys are rarely going to make dominant tackles - more than a quarter of the team.
Poor old Reiko getting no love?
Reiko Ioane was a disappointing dud in the RWC. His form was fine in his one game this year. Needs more of the same.
Ioane only played v Canada and less than 20 minutes vs Namibia. Don't remember how he was in the Canada game but it was 63-0 so essentially meaningless and he scored a try. Can't help but feel that Hansen putting his faith in Bridge and Reece backfired in the semi.
Bridge on the wing instead of an on form Rieko was a monumental downgrade that cost us in the end. The coaches should have worked harder to get some confidence back into Rieko instead of dropping him to "send a message" after the Perth game where our forwards got beaten up and SB ended the game as a contest at half time.
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@Darren said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
Don't know much about props but seeing the Canes scrum actually win penalties, has to be put down to Lomax, what a huge difference he has made.
Lomax is looking good.
As is Aumua. He just needs consistent game timeIn the backs
I prefer the Canes back three to the starters vs England. Barrett in particular has been in fine form. Lam's defense Ive been critical of in the past but no lapses this year. But can he keep this up. Goosen offers a Reece type option but he's faster than Reece. And a VG defender. I though Reece was a joke selection but if they want a small wing -
Could've had Superman on the wing during that England game and it would have been irrelevant. The ABs were being dominated at the set piece and breakdown. They were killing any chance of attack.
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@Darren said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
Don't know much about props but seeing the Canes scrum actually win penalties, has to be put down to Lomax, what a huge difference he has made.
It's a tough life in Hurricanes management - trying to appease the squealing in the neighborino provinces, when all they need was a Mako or two!
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@Winger said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
@Darren said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
Don't know much about props but seeing the Canes scrum actually win penalties, has to be put down to Lomax, what a huge difference he has made.
Lomax is looking good.
As is Aumua. He just needs consistent game timeIn the backs
I prefer the Canes back three to the starters vs England. Barrett in particular has been in fine form. Lam's defense Ive been critical of in the past but no lapses this year. But can he keep this up. Goosen offers a Reece type option but he's faster than Reece. And a VG defender. I though Reece was a joke selection but if they want a small wingI like your first two points.
Think your last para is a little ... err ... left field
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@Old-Samurai-Jack said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
Could've had Superman on the wing during that England game and it would have been irrelevant. The ABs were being dominated at the set piece and breakdown. They were killing any chance of attack.
Which is exactly what happened in the Perth game (plus Scott Hansen-Barrett getting a red card) and Rieko and BFA copped the fall out for that..
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@Old-Samurai-Jack said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
Could've had Superman on the wing during that England game and it would have been irrelevant. The ABs were being dominated at the set piece and breakdown. They were killing any chance of attack.
England started at 100 miles per hour, but after the first 30 or so minutes we did pull ourselves back into the game a bit, but seemed panicked and didn't look threatening due to errors. Credit to England they played out of their skins, but I can't help but feel some more attacking threats out wide would have helped a bit. Bridge is not a player that can open up a tight test, he's really just a safe pair of hands.
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@No-Quarter said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
@Old-Samurai-Jack said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
Could've had Superman on the wing during that England game and it would have been irrelevant. The ABs were being dominated at the set piece and breakdown. They were killing any chance of attack.
England started at 100 miles per hour, but after the first 30 or so minutes we did pull ourselves back into the game a bit, but seemed panicked and didn't look threatening due to errors. Credit to England they played out of their skins, but I can't help but feel some more attacking threats out wide would have helped a bit. Bridge is not a player that can open up a tight test, he's really just a safe pair of hands.
Yep, unless he's already in space he never beats the first man.
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@No-Quarter said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
Bridge is not a player that can open up a tight test, he's really just a safe pair of hands.
An All Black winger should be able to beat players with footwork. He's a good player with plenty of speed who looks good on the end of a chain. I'm not convinced he has the skillset for tight spaces that other wingers have.
He is also really hesitant when it comes to backing himself on the outside. He cuts back in way too often.If his kicking game is good enough I think he would be a very good fullback. Unfortunately won't get the opportunity to play there at the Crusaders
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@No-Quarter said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
@Old-Samurai-Jack said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
Could've had Superman on the wing during that England game and it would have been irrelevant. The ABs were being dominated at the set piece and breakdown. They were killing any chance of attack.
England started at 100 miles per hour, but after the first 30 or so minutes we did pull ourselves back into the game a bit, but seemed panicked and didn't look threatening due to errors.
At the end of the day, Hansen put our fate in the hands of a bunch of young backs.
Mo'unga 25, ALB 24, Goodhue 24, Bridge 24, Reece 22.
With the benefit of hindsight, I reckon he'd regret going away from his mantra of "Experience wins World Cups" and people like Cane, Crotty, Ben Smith and Reiko might feature in the starting selections - and Beaudy might shift into 10.
I wish someone in the media would ask him about the experience thing.
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@Chris-B said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
@No-Quarter said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
@Old-Samurai-Jack said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
Could've had Superman on the wing during that England game and it would have been irrelevant. The ABs were being dominated at the set piece and breakdown. They were killing any chance of attack.
England started at 100 miles per hour, but after the first 30 or so minutes we did pull ourselves back into the game a bit, but seemed panicked and didn't look threatening due to errors.
At the end of the day, Hansen put our fate in the hands of a bunch of young backs.
Mo'unga 25, ALB 24, Goodhue 24, Bridge 24, Reece 22.
With the benefit of hindsight, I reckon he'd regret going away from his mantra of "Experience wins World Cups" and people like Cane, Crotty, Ben Smith and Reiko might feature in the starting selections - and Beaudy might shift into 10.
I wish someone in the media would ask him about the experience thing.
Maybe but we were smashed up front, In the end it didn't matter what the backline was you win WC semi finals upfront.The result would have been the same.
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@Chris Maybe. But, if I could change one thing in that game it would have been Sam Whitelock's push on Farrell. With more experienced and calmer heads around him - maybe Sam would have shown more composure - and we'd have had a chance to be back in the game.
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@Chris-B said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
@Chris Maybe. But, if I could change one thing in that game it would have been Sam Whitelock's push on Farrell. With more experienced and calmer heads around him - maybe Sam would have shown more composure - and we'd have had a chance to be back in the game.
bro. Really? i am all for an old fashioned pile-in, but blaming a bunch of 20 year old backs for one of our most senior players having a brain fade is drawing a fucking long bow.
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@mariner4life I'm not blaming them - but, I reckon if we'd had a more general level of calm then maybe that push doesn't happen.
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@Chris-B said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
@mariner4life I'm not blaming them - but, I reckon if we'd had a more general level of calm then maybe that push doesn't happen.
nup, I'm not having that. SW is supposed to bring the calm. He's an experienced player who is also a captain. It's his job to rise above the storm and provide stability for the others to feed off, not the other way around.
I'll give you that, with hindsight, there was a distinct lack of leadership across the park. And that definitely had an effect. But i will not go so far as to forgive a leader for a boneheaded play.
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@Chris-B said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
@No-Quarter said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
@Old-Samurai-Jack said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
Could've had Superman on the wing during that England game and it would have been irrelevant. The ABs were being dominated at the set piece and breakdown. They were killing any chance of attack.
England started at 100 miles per hour, but after the first 30 or so minutes we did pull ourselves back into the game a bit, but seemed panicked and didn't look threatening due to errors.
At the end of the day, Hansen put our fate in the hands of a bunch of young backs.
Mo'unga 25, ALB 24, Goodhue 24, Bridge 24, Reece 22.
With the benefit of hindsight, I reckon he'd regret going away from his mantra of "Experience wins World Cups" and people like Cane, Crotty, Ben Smith and Reiko might feature in the starting selections - and Beaudy might shift into 10.
I wish someone in the media would ask him about the experience thing.
It's worth pointing out that he also benched Sam Cane, betting on us being able to disrupt their line out, rather than giving us a better balance with a loose forward trio that was finally starting to work together relatively well.
All in all, at the WC, they were guessing and betting on unproven players.
Foxy essentially said that Bridge would be starting at the WC a year beforehand, yet they never invested in giving him the experience to be really effective there. I assume they foresaw the kicking and though he would be their Corey Jane, but he's not that at all, and I think was unfairly put into the role without enough experience. I think the same of Mo'unga, who is world class, but is not a world class defender, and that was so was easily found out in that semi final, it wasn't even funny.
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@gt12 said in Possible All Blacks 2020:
It's worth pointing out that he also benched Sam Cane, betting on us being able to disrupt their line out
wasnt that just speculation, given we didn't target thier lineout (even though we should have)
It was the perfect storm of things that didnt work for us, and that did for England.
