All Blacks 2021
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It's interesting, because we keep hearing how Ethan Blackadder has been throwing himself around at training, and knocking around the other players. But you're right - we haven't quite seen that yet for the ABs - particularly on offense (though even on defense he's behind Ioane in terms of physicality). I'd like to see more of him at 6 - I personally don't think he's a 7, but we would expect to see that physicality come through eventually.
Perhaps he was told to run and hit Beauden Barrett repeatedly?
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Can I just grumble about blaming it on Super rugby?
Basic skills are lacking, running on the ball is infrequent, team cohesion is gone. I suspect those are still important in Super games..and the NH games they played recently weren't exactly in the mud, the blood, the sleet, gale, storm or snow. -
@mariner4life great post.
Hard to disagree with it; maybe pencil in Zarn.
For the locks, I'm not writing off Sam and Brodie quite yet. A lot will depend on Super; one of the problems of thin lockign stocks generally is they can play the better ones into the ground. Scott Robertson/Sam W is the poster child for this.
As for the loosies, it's the requirement to have Ardie that drives other compromises. Like Beauden, a sensational rugby player, but missing some key elements. Like height.
Also, we don't know the bolter for 2023 yet. Someone might just pop up having a Nehe Milner-Skudder type season.
The other issue is that shining at Super no longer means shining at Test level. That's not on Foster, but it is a problem for us generally (and SA and Aus)
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@mariner4life great post.
right now I think our strengths are in a simple fairly direct game plan, we have looked best when we have kept it fairly tight and played the %, but any time we do this and look the business, its almost like we only did so by falling into an old habit, and when we realise, we revert back to kicking for kickings sake, going to wide too soon, with the wrong players in the wrong areas and get caught short.
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@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2021:
@mariner4life great post.
right now I think our strengths are in a simple fairly direct game plan, we have looked best when we have kept it fairly tight and played the %, but any time we do this and look the business, its almost like we only did so by falling into an old habit, and when we realise, we revert back to kicking for kickings sake, going to wide too soon, with the wrong players in the wrong areas and get caught short.
I agree. It resulted in the best 20 minutes for us on Saturday before we reverted to type
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@mariner4life wonderful post.
Zarn Sullivan shapes as a real option at 15 in that he plays a style that looks like it would suit test rugby. He's a decent sized unit for a fullback, he's got a big and accurate boot and he seems to play with time. If we are going to continue to kick so bloody much how about picking a guy who is really good at it.
The midfield is crying out for some more size and there are at least some big units if you look around the Super squads (Tele'a, Wrampling, TUJ, PUJ, Leicester F etc etc) - the Umaga-Jensen boys stand out as being most likely for the next level in my opinion (Leicester F is more of a winger to me)
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
Locks
Wow. Barest cupboard.I heard from a a few Auckland supporters that Jacob Pierce was looking good to an AB lock. I am guessing he hasn't kicked on???
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@frank said in All Blacks 2021:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
Locks
Wow. Barest cupboard.I heard from a a few Auckland supporters that Jacob Pierce was looking good to an AB lock. I am guessing he hasn't kicked on???
He’s a Harbour player. Hard to kick on when you don’t play.
The 3 senior locks played well at the Blues so he didn’t get a much time. Then Covid killed his NPC season and now he’s in Japan
Hopefully he returns to NZ one day
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Ian Foster after the ABs exit RWC 2023 in the quarter finals
"The team is making progress, we won 4 out of 5 games".
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@billy-tell said in All Blacks 2021:
Ian Foster after the ABs exit RWC 2023 in the quarter finals
"The team is making progress, we won 4 out of 5 games".
3 out of 5, you reckon we'll beat France in the opener? There's another record for Foster's CV that's waiting - first loss in pool play
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@M4L
Havili could play FB. It’s probably his best position and probably the only one I would consider himself for, after the midfield experiment ended up failing miserably.
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@billy-tell said in All Blacks 2021:
@M4L
Havili could play FB. It’s probably his best position and probably the only one I would consider himself for, after the midfield experiment ended up failing miserably.
I could be wrong but it seemed to me that DH lost confidence in beating his man. He had the ability to do so early in the season but it dissipated. I think that partially explains his loss of form (that and coming up against harder midfield)...
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Let’s hope we don’t consign 1994 to history by losing to Ireland at Eden park and losing a home series for good measure. Even the NZRU would have trouble using Stalin-like propaganda to gloss over that.
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@mn5 said in All Blacks 2021:
Possibly slightly biased as I know someone who knows him extremely well but I think Aumua is the future provided he spends all summer practicing his line out throwing.
At his best he is possibly the most dynamic of all of them with the ball in hand.
He's behind Taukei'aho who has taken every chance brilliantly and can throw straight 😁
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@stodders said in All Blacks 2021:
@mn5 said in All Blacks 2021:
Possibly slightly biased as I know someone who knows him extremely well but I think Aumua is the future provided he spends all summer practicing his line out throwing.
At his best he is possibly the most dynamic of all of them with the ball in hand.
He's behind Taukei'aho who has taken every chance brilliantly and can throw straight 😁
Not arguing that at all. I think they’ll make a great pair when the two older guys are out to pasture.
