All Blacks XV 2022
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@taniwharugby Yeah, Aumua and Thompson are also guys for the future. Eklund not so much.
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@SouthernMann said in All Blacks XV:
@Canes4life said in All Blacks XV:
If I had to pick a team based on the fact McKenzie will most likely come into the All Blacks for Perofeta, I would go for something like this as a 23. (Assuming everyone is fit by the time the squad heads away).
- Alex Hodgman (Auckland)
- Asafo Aumua (Wellington)
- Angus Ta’avao (Auckland)
- Justin Sangster (Bay of Plenty)
- Zach Gallagher (Canterbury)
- Luke Jacobsen (Waikato)
- Tom Christie (Canterbury)
- Devan Flanders (Hawkes Bay)
- Brad Weber (Hawkes Bay)
- Stephen Perofeta (Taranaki)
- AJ Lam (Auckland)
- Thomas Umaga-Jensen (Otago)
- Peter Umaga-Jensen (Wellington)
- Mark Telea (North Harbour)
- Josh Moorby (Northland)
- Kurt Eklund (Bay of Plenty)
- Tamaiti Williams (Canterbury)
- Tevita Mafileo (Bay of Plenty)
- Fabian Holland (Otago)
- Peter Lakai (Wellington)
- Cam Roigard (Counties Manukau)
- Aiden Morgan (Wellington)
- Bailyn Sullivan (Waikato)
Josh Dickson will be next cab off the ranks for the locks, as he spent about a montn as injury cover. I'd expect, as others have mentioned dirt trackers like Aidan Ross, Fakatava, RTS, Sotutu, Sowakula, Fainga'anuku and Ennor should be locks for this squad/game day 23. While a lot of us would really like this team to be packed full of our young talent. There are quite a few guys with a cap here and there who will contiue in the system through this squad. Or at least the 23.
But they're not hurricanes.
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@Tim said in All Blacks XV:
@Bones No, no, no, some kid named Peter Lakai will definitely be in the team, and then starting for the ABs at the World Cup!
To be fair, naming a crusader in the positions where you hate the canes player is almost clever. But I just watched Christie get shat on by Lentjes of all players, while Harmon was killing it all over the park.
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@Canes4life said in All Blacks XV:
If I had to pick a team based on the fact McKenzie will most likely come into the All Blacks for Perofeta, I would go for something like this as a 23. (Assuming everyone is fit by the time the squad heads away).
- Alex Hodgman (Auckland)
- Asafo Aumua (Wellington)
- Angus Ta’avao (Auckland)
- Justin Sangster (Bay of Plenty)
- Zach Gallagher (Canterbury)
- Luke Jacobsen (Waikato)
- Tom Christie (Canterbury)
- Devan Flanders (Hawkes Bay)
- Brad Weber (Hawkes Bay)
- Stephen Perofeta (Taranaki)
- AJ Lam (Auckland)
- Thomas Umaga-Jensen (Otago)
- Peter Umaga-Jensen (Wellington)
- Mark Telea (North Harbour)
- Josh Moorby (Northland)
- Kurt Eklund (Bay of Plenty)
- Tamaiti Williams (Canterbury)
- Tevita Mafileo (Bay of Plenty)
- Fabian Holland (Otago)
- Peter Lakai (Wellington)
- Cam Roigard (Counties Manukau)
- Aiden Morgan (Wellington)
- Bailyn Sullivan (Waikato)
Stephenson > Moorby
I think they will bring Tamaiti Williams for this tour. He is not the finished product yet but his ceiling is very high. -
Given the attrional nature of the loose, I'd also like to find room somewhere for Harmon and Lentjes.
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@Jailbreak7 I don’t know if Harmon will make this side but for me he has been a standout in this years NPC.
For the AB XV I would’ve loved to have seen a loose trio with Grace, Jacobsen and PGS. Add Dickson and one of the young up and coming locks plus the front rowers that have been in the ABs previously and you have a pretty decent pack.
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@Jailbreak7 said in All Blacks XV:
Given the attrional nature of the loose, I'd also like to find room somewhere for Harmon and Lentjes.
Big no for Lentjes. Lentjes is just another Gibson. Will pull out a decent game every so often but few and far between. A good super rugby filler.
Big yes for Harmon. Consistent and can pull it out in the big games, plus seemingly a great rugby brain.
If they're wanting to stay close to AB patterns they could do worse than 7 Jacobson and 8 Harmon.
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@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks XV:
@Jailbreak7 I don’t know if Harmon will make this side but for me he has been a standout in this years NPC.
Harmon has been a massive improver in NZ rugby. Looked a bit of a plodder early in his career and I would have laughed if anyone mentioned him for any sort of higher honour.
The Crusaders must be wondering if they kept the wrong 7.
@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks XV:
For the AB XV I would’ve loved to have seen a loose trio with Grace, Jacobsen and PGS.
PGS really? He should be done, he was out of form by the time he was selected and then looked out of his depth. If we're just rolling the dice letting anyone have a shot then MMT or Flanders are your guys, for some reason they just popped into my head.
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@Nepia he'll looked pretty solid for the highlanders i thought baring injuries
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@Kiwiwomble said in All Blacks XV:
@Nepia he'll looked pretty solid for the highlanders i thought baring injuries
Harmon? Yep, by early career I was meaning his Cantab/Crusader days before you guys fixed him.
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@Nepia we can’t keep every player (whilst we poach the odd one here or there…)
Harmon has taken his opportunity at the Landers and I think it’s good. Getting more playing time than he would’ve if we had kept him. We have Blackadder and backup with Christie. Blackadder has played blindside too because of injuries.
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If only 26 players are going to be named in the squad that doesn't provide too much opportunity to select a few young players to develop. They're selecting a match-day 23 with 3 extra players. Normally those would be specialists such as another prop, hooker and halfback. That would leave you short to cover the loose forwards and outside backs. Playing 3 or 4 games would have allowed a slightly larger squad to tour, but sadly, that isn't happening.
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@Bovidae said in All Blacks XV:
If only 26 players are going to be named in the squad that doesn't provide too much opportunity to select a few young players to develop. They're selecting a match-day 23 with 3 extra players. Normally those would be specialists such as another prop, hooker and halfback. That would leave you short to cover the loose forwards and outside backs. Playing 3 or 4 games would have allowed a slightly larger squad to tour, but sadly, that isn't happening.
This points to the possibility of using dirt trackers from the ABs squad though.
There are certainly players in the ABs that could do with international experience levels increasing. -
@Crucial said in All Blacks XV:
This points to the possibility of using dirt trackers from the ABs squad though.
A possibility for the AB XV game against Ireland A, as the ABs play Wales the following day. It appears that the AB test against Scotland and the NZ XV-Barbarians game is to be played at the same time.
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@Bovidae said in All Blacks XV:
@Crucial said in All Blacks XV:
This points to the possibility of using dirt trackers from the ABs squad though.
A possibility for the AB XV game against Ireland A, as the ABs play Wales the following day. It appears that the AB test against Scotland and the NZ XV-Barbarians game is to be played at the same time.
I still dont see that as a problem. Lets say that the AB squad is 32/33. They will nail down 23 for the match and hold a couple if there are niggles but there will be players that can leave one camp and go to the other. If you look at the RC squad there were a whole bunch that were helping at training only.
Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if both squads are together as much as possible for opposed training and only moving to venue city two days before. -
Kirwin also shared a little “whisper” he’d heard regarding selection:
“(I) don’t know a lot about this young man but Levi Aumua, I’ve heard that he got the envelope under the door; ‘don’t name yourself available for Samoa or Fiji because we’ve got some sights on you’.”
'You can't take too many risks': Pundits project areas of concern for All Blacks XV
"What we need to make sure that people are aware of, is this is basically an All Blacks selection, so the All Blacks selectors are selecting it."
