All Blacks 2023
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@Bones Unsure... I have constantly said Frizell has been crap this year though, and at no stage did I say I would pick him. I wouldn't go near either him or Akira Ioane. The big criticism of Frizell is he sometimes goes missing, and by all accounts is quite hard to coach, but when he has his good games, he is carrying hard up the centre. He was good for the All Blacks last year, let's not re-write history. Akira Ioane (and David Havili though a totally separate argument) looked like dynamite vs. Fiji and Aussie etc. then went bust on that Northern Tour.
Last Year D Papalii Test Starts (at 6)
L v Ireland (2nd Test)Last Year S Barrett Test Starts (at 6)
W v Ireland (1st Test)
W v Australia (1st Test)
D v EnglandLast year A Ioane Test Starts:
L v Ireland (3rd Test)
L v South Africa (1st Test)
W v Australia (2nd Test)
W v ScotlandLast Year S Frizell Test Starts
W v South Africa (2nd Test)
L v Argentina (1st Test)
W v Argentina (2nd Test)
W v Japan
W v WalesThey'll go with Scooter, we will all hate it, it won't work, and then we will all get over it as we start Fozzy bashing and move towards the Razor era. The real issue is we don't have a good blindside. Blackadder (even if fit) isn't the answer either in my opinion, Luke Jacobson has been treated harshly IMO. Feels like the opening is there for him.
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@friedrugby said in All Blacks 2023:
let's not re-write history.
Agree wholeheartedly.
This is how "good" he was for the ABs last year.
A lock is our best blindside, unless someone has a stormer in the next week and a half.
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@Bones said in All Blacks 2023:
@friedrugby said in All Blacks 2023:
let's not re-write history.
A lock is our best blindside
sad but probably true
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@Bones Curiously, who would be your All Blacks loose forwards. If I was picking mine, I'd be going with Cane, Savea, Papalii, Jacobson, Lio-Willie, Sotutu & one other. Play Russian Roulette with Frizell and A Ioane if you please.
Has struggled with injuries a bit, but Gardiner should also be in the picture, though probably after the World Cup.
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@Kiwiwomble I think it is hilairous that we got dumped out the World Cup four years ago, largely because we picked a lock on the blindside (S Barrett) and a first five at fullback (B Barrett) and four years later we look set to do the same thing all over again expecting a different outcome.
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@friedrugby SBarrett has improved a lot at 6 since then i think
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@Kiwiwomble Playing guys out of position very rarely works though... and the other issue I have with it, is we are already relying on two old locks. What happens if Whitelock's achilles is fucked, are we going to chuck our whole gameplan out the window?
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@friedrugby i agree, i would rather he concentrated on lock but if the alternatives are SF/AI then it might be the lesser of two evils
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@friedrugby said in All Blacks 2023:
Lio-Willie
Yuck man, who's rolling the dice? I fail to see what he's done to go past the dozen other openside size loosies. Might as well select Christie, Harmon and Havili-Talitui 😉
Foster won't, but I'd be looking at Ah Kuoi, and you know not selecting Lio-Willie because there's proven ABs like Sotutu and Ioane that can play instead.
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@Bones said in All Blacks 2023:
@friedrugby said in All Blacks 2023:
Lio-Willie
Yuck man, who's rolling the dice? I fail to see what he's done to go past the dozen other openside size loosies. Might as well select Christie, Harmon and Havili-Talitui 😉
Foster won't, but I'd be looking at Ah Kuoi, and you know not selecting Lio-Willie because there's proven ABs like Sotutu and Ioane that can play instead.
Sotutu has had a bit of a disrupted year, but I feel he has never let the All Blacks down... if they want a big body surely he would be worth a look.
I'm hot on the Lio-Willie train though, purely because I think we underestimate Jason Ryan's sway in selecting the forwards. I think he is someone who has done the carrying hard yards if that is what they are looking for. Ah Kuoi is a lock not a blindside. Harmon could well be in there, and as a Landers fan I'd love that, and on form it is warranted, but he doesn't solve the issues of balance. Playing Ardie at 7 would give more scope to building a trio, but we won't do it...
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pick them all, 15 loosies, addresses all the other questions like midfield and wing at the same time..."who playing there?"..."a loosie"...easy
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@Kiwiwomble Has been said before that Frizell would be a better midfielder than Paea and Gregory...
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@friedrugby said in All Blacks 2023:
@Kiwiwomble Has been said before that Frizell would be a better midfielder than Paea and Gregory...
Same impact and pace as Paea, wouldn't notice the difference there... better handling though.
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@Bones They just don't seem to play him though. I've never seen a player pigeon-holed as a number eight and a number eight only, so with the existence of Savea it is tough for him. His ball skills are incredible for a forward though, so at the very least he should be on the bench.
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@friedrugby said in All Blacks 2023:
@Bones They just don't seem to play him though. I've never seen a player pigeon-holed as a number eight and a number eight only, so with the existence of Savea it is tough for him. His ball skills are incredible for a forward though, so at the very least he should be on the bench.
And yet you're not selecting him in your list above...?
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@friedrugby well he has proved he is a lineout option for Northland, I thnk the Highlanders even chucked him up once too?
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@Stargazer said in All Blacks 2023:
The discussions in this and many other threads are really like this: going in circles! Constantly repeating, never going anywhere!
i do feel like you could be talking about any and possibly all threads there.....
