All Blacks 2023
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@SBW1 said in All Blacks 2023:
'I won’t be protecting anyone': All Blacks dismiss 'cotton wool' for World Cup warm up
Injuries have already changed the landscape of the Rugby World Cup, with France pivot Romain Ntamack the latest to be struck down.
He is resting Brodie and Shannon for the warmup and opener against the Boks.
They are both injured so he is not resting them.
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@Canes4life Turn around has been startling.
Forwards are always more important than backs. Ryan is the key. -
@BerniesCorner said in All Blacks 2023:
@Canes4life Turn around has been startling.
Forwards are always more important than backs. Ryan is the key.Biggest change has been in the mindset across the team. There has clearly been some between-season soul-searching and changes in attitude and approach. The panicky,headless-chicken stuff across the team seems to have gone.
The forwards have generally been OK and utterly dominant when they want to be (2nd half against France 2 yrs ago) but all too often in recent years mentally signed-off with dumb play (last quarter against England last year). That's changed. More focus and precision.
The attack and defence have improved hugely also and Foster & co. seem to have finally got the Bo'unga axis working well. And we seem to have a pretty settled A team for the first time in yonks.
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@Victor-Meldrew
And none of this would have happened had Ryan and Schmidt not come on board. The players love for Foster notwithstanding. -
@Frank said in All Blacks 2023:
@Victor-Meldrew
And none of this would have happened had Ryan and Schmidt not come on board.There's been improvements across the board - inc. the mental stuff - and it's more likely down to a team effort rather than 1 person (Schmidt was pretty much involved before).
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There's been significant technical improvement in set piece and ball retention in the tackle.
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@Frank said in All Blacks 2023:
@Victor-Meldrew
And none of this would have happened had Ryan and Schmidt not come on board. The players love for Foster notwithstanding.Our style of play, and personnel is almost unrecognisable compared to the team that put Foster on the brink of being fired
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@BerniesCorner said in All Blacks 2023:
There's been significant technical improvement in set piece and ball retention in the tackle.
I think Ryan has made a difference there, and seems to have forwards going better than maybe Plumtree did? But it quite hard to judge , also I think it was always in last year that any coach would start to really show hands. I just happy with way team has progressed anyway, and from where I sitting and what I have seen it hard to say what and where exact details have changed.
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As a serial Foster basher, for all the crap he got (deservedly so in my book), he now deserves the credit for assembling a team that seems to be well-coached. It can't go just one way. Foster, Schmitt, and Ryan are giving us a team that is soooo far from the headless chook, directionless days of 2020, 2021, and early 2022.
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Yeah fair call from another Foster kicker, he does deserve some credit.
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@Old-Samurai-Jack said in All Blacks 2023:
As a serial Foster basher, for all the crap he got (deservedly so in my book), he now deserves the credit for assembling a team that seems to be well-coached. It can't go just one way. Foster, Schmitt, and Ryan are giving us a team that is soooo far from the headless chook, directionless days of 2020, 2021, and early 2022.
If we're being honest that team was imposed on him when the NZRFU got rid of the previous assistants
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Good to see they are having some fun this year.
I think the criticism of management / NZR was justified. Pre WC AB fan frustration boiled over.
Hopeful simmer at the moment. -
I’m reserving judgement. A ¼ final exit to Ireland…
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@Billy-Tell said in All Blacks 2023:
I’m reserving judgement. A ¼ final exit from Ireland…
FIFY coz we all know those bums are cursed at RWCs
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@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2023:
I think Ryan has made a difference there, and seems to have forwards going better than maybe Plumtree did? But it quite hard to judge
I'd say it's night and day.
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@canefan said in All Blacks 2023:
If we're being honest that team was imposed on him when the NZRFU got rid of the previous assistants
"Imposed on him"? He always wanted Schmidt as Assistant Coach and has made that clear (can't be arsed to google it yet again).
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@antipodean said in All Blacks 2023:
@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2023:
I think Ryan has made a difference there, and seems to have forwards going better than maybe Plumtree did? But it quite hard to judge
I'd say it's night and day.
I don't think they are going forward better than under Plumtree, but they are doing it for more than 20% of the game and not making the stupid, serial dumb mistakes which handed momentum back to the opposition we've seen in the past.
Huge improvement and kudos to Ryan.
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My view has been Foster inherited a pile of poo from Hansen and NZ Rugby has fallen behind other countries in developing players and a pipeline for the national team. Wasn't convinced he was the cause of all the ills and another Head Coach would deliver nirvana but neither was I convinced Foster was the bloke to turn it around either
Thought he should have gone after Ireland III and was appalled at the way he was treated by NZR, but he clearly had the confidence of the players in spades.
Early days, but it looks like different team and Foster - equally with Ryan, Schmidt, McLeod and the players - deserve a lot of credit
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@Billy-Tell said in All Blacks 2023:
I’m reserving judgement. A ¼ final exit to Ireland…
I’m not predicting anything, but feel anxious towards that game already .
