All Blacks 2022
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@Frye said in All Blacks 2022:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2022:
@chimoaus said in All Blacks 2022:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2022:
@Frank said in All Blacks 2022:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2022:
@Frank said in All Blacks 2022:
Perhaps if Tom tears it up in the grand final, then he might be named? Nah, probably not.
Tom's too little to be an AB lock.
To be honest, Eklund looks pretty small to be a contender at hooker as well - though he has played well this season. I would have been pretty surprised to see him there, so Tana and Richard not convincing me.
And if de Groot has failed to meet his fitness targets, which seems to have been widely publicised, then I'm pleased to see Fozzie taking a leaf out of Dame Noeline's book and giving him a boot up the arse.
Would it be possible and how long would it take for someone like Tom Robinson to put on 5kg?
Is it possible?
Certainly has the workrate, right attitude and lineout prowess.Why not just pick him at 6?
I would've.
Guys with his height and mobility don't grow on trees - whereas at lock he's always going to be stretching in terms of height and weight.
You realise he is taller than Scott Barrett?
No-one ever thought of playing him at 6, eh?
This is the guy I'm really interested in countering.
He's class isn't he. I don't know if we have anyone that matches him honestly. Maybe lock Akira in a cage for a few days is our best bet.
There was 20 minutes in one of those games vs South Africa, last year, where their forwards really went to work on us - and that was without Big Pieter-Steph.
I'm pretty concerned that we may end up on a path with a bunch of 7.5s in our forward pack and the Jaapie forwards will blow us off the park. I don't know that our forwards have a lot of fear factor about them - Samisoni brings some, Akira but so far "on his day".
I tend to think the Jaaps would spend more time worrying about our backs.
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@number9 said in All Blacks 2022:
We will not win the World Cup with Foster as the head coach. The guy is a complete moron, we won't make the final, knocked out in the semis.
How on earth do you claim moronic when you are predicting us to beat South Africa or maybe Ireland in the same breath. We have an extremely lopsided draw at RWC. If we win qf then should be a very winnable semi. Most punters would pick AB's out in QF or making final I suspect.
If no injuries to other 4 locks why name a replacement now. Seems very sensible not moronic. If Vaii or Barrett are crocked then Robinson is likely replacement. But if Whitelock or Retallick then I would be watching MSR closely and Quentin Strange instead. -
@Crucial no mate that is a criticism of the Coaching staff. This is the All Blacks we are used to winning, we have that culture. Under Foster we have been strategically stupid. Look at what Leon has done with the Blues, with a couple of personnel changes and better coaching he turned the team around. The Blues improves each year, with Foster the ABs have gone backwards over the last 2 seasons.
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@number9 said in All Blacks 2022:
@Crucial no mate that is a criticism of the Coaching staff. This is the All Blacks we are used to winning, we have that culture. Under Foster we have been strategically stupid. Look at what Leon has done with the Blues, with a couple of personnel changes and better coaching he turned the team around. The Blues improves each year, with Foster the ABs have gone backwards over the last 2 seasons.
I'm not sure what you are saying at the start of the post.
I haven't claimed that Foster and Co are doing everything well just that it is getting boring hearing this constant 'the coaches are morons' rubblish. They quite obviously know more about about how to run a test team than you or I so at least stop calling them idiots that know nothing. Is Grant Fox a moron? Because he also believes that we aren't far off what we are trying to achieve.
They are making decisions and selecting players that you may not agree with and you may prefer a different approach. Stick to that instead of the tedious name calling.
Yes, we are used to winning but it isn't a right. Other countries have improved massively and deserve their wins as well. Have we really been strategically stupid or have they been smarter? We have certainly lacked the answers at times to the things other teams have brought and need to work out how to change things on the fly (easier said than done) but you can't blame the coaches when others bring clever tactics that surprise.
There's a hell of a lot that goes on in sports teams that us punters don't know about. It's fun to feel involved and comment but at times the talk here drops to some pretty base levels -
@Crucial He obviously is not a moron but he does not create any confidence in how our team will perform. Probably a nice guy but perhaps too nice and we need a ball buster in there. Perhaps the ABs need a stint at the Roach Motel with an occasional piece of raw meat thrown their way. Is it just me or are the ABs suffering from corporate niceness? Too much feel good moments and interactions?
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@broughie said in All Blacks 2022:
@Crucial He obviously is not a moron but he does not create any confidence in how our team will perform. Probably a nice guy but perhaps too nice and we need a ball buster in there. Perhaps the ABs need a stint at the Roach Motel with an occasional piece of raw meat thrown their way. Is it just me or are the ABs suffering from corporate niceness? Too much feel good moments and interactions?
See, this is the kind of odd comment that I'm talking about. What do you or I know about the players needs and how to get the best out of them? Do we know what goes on in camp? How players are treated or how expectations are communicated? I certainly don't.
It just smacks of 'back in my day' type rubbish.
One of the keys to the recent golden era was the change in treatment of players, leadership and communication. I doubt very much that going back to Laurie and Grizz would do anything except appease talkback callers for a moment of two. -
@Crucial that’s one opinion. Of course we don’t know what happens behind the scene but you don’t always have to be on the inside to know that things are not working right. I don’t have to work for Joe Biden to know he a complete buffoon. I judge him by his results. Same with Fosters ABs. Hope he proves me wrong.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2022:
@chimoaus said in All Blacks 2022:
Not replacing Lord is just stupid, give someone time in the environment that could be there next year. If I was Lord I would wonder if there was any point to me being there if they not replacing me. Robinson is the clear replacement as someone who has the skillset and would benefit from time. Robinson feels like Akira with shag to me.
By not replacing Lord, perhaps Foster has decided it's an opportunity to give Vaa'i more game time? Don't forget he's been slagged off for not giving in-form players enough game time or not throwing them in the deep end
I think if Foster found a cure for cancer he’d be slagged off for not finding a cure for another illness….
Not replacing an injured player before a series starts isn’t a new thing. Five locks selected for a three test series seemed a little on the generous side any way.
Lord was in the squad last year and I guess they wanted to give him every opportunity pending further tests/assessments.
If we need additional cover for the RC then there are a couple of decent locks in the Maori squad that would be match fit.
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@gt12 said in All Blacks 2022:
I wouldn't be surprised if they were waiting to see who pulls up healthy following the final before naming another person.
The final and the Maori match too
They have enough for the Irish series, just call up someone else for the Championship squad
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@Bones said in All Blacks 2022:
@canefan said in All Blacks 2022:
attention to detail in the skills department
But again, how do you know that isn't there?
I'm talking about what I see on the field. It is possible the players aren't executing what they have been instructed to do
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@number9 said in All Blacks 2022:
The Blues improves each year, with Foster the ABs have gone backwards over the last 2 seasons.
We've have been going backwards since 2016-7 - long before Foster took over. There's a variety of reasons for that decline , but to blame it all on one man just isn't really a valid argument.
Yeah he's done some dumb stuff but he's also done some pretty good stuff as well. Just hope we see less of the former and more of the latter this year.
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@Machpants said in All Blacks 2022:
@Crucial said in All Blacks 2022:
Well the Blues are proving that Foster is a selecting genius tonight.(apart from Christie)
So who shows foodies genius?
The non selected players that some considered should have been
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@Crucial said in All Blacks 2022:
@Machpants said in All Blacks 2022:
@Crucial said in All Blacks 2022:
Well the Blues are proving that Foster is a selecting genius tonight.(apart from Christie)
So who shows foodies genius?
The non selected players that some considered should have been
Ah gotcha. Thank God for the SR heroes like havili and mounga, they'll bring to tough physical test matches
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@Machpants said in All Blacks 2022:
@Crucial said in All Blacks 2022:
Well the Blues are proving that Foster is a selecting genius tonight.(apart from Christie)
So who shows foodies genius?
If that's auto replace at work that's genius.