All Blacks 2024
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Mo'unga made it clear in interviews his biggest motivation was money (plus some platitudes about 'experiencing different a culture' etc). It's hard to imagine him opting to take a massive pay cut
I think the rumours from last year are more likely to play out - Mo'unga, Frizell & Fainga'anuku all play for Tonga at the 2027 RWC
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I will be horrified if NZR offers big dollars to drag players back from overseas, given the financial state they are in, and the risk for further fall-outs. This feels like a PR beat-up to me, with various people signalling how much they value getting the biggest public names playing for the All Blacks, to help them win.
I would prefer them supporting and developing those who commit to NZ rugby - but allowing players sabbaticals to extend their overall contribution to NZ rugby -
Jesus Christ, move on Razor. First it was Whitelock, now Mo'unga. These guys left for a reason, they clearly don't want to play for the ABs anymore, the former an obvious one now that he's retiring. Razor reaching out makes him look very desperate, maybe have some faith in the guys that are playing well here in NZ i.e. DMac. It just doesn't come across well in my view.
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@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
Jesus Christ, move on Razor. First it was Whitelock, now Mo'unga. These guys left for a reason, they clearly don't want to play for the ABs anymore, the former an obvious one now that he's retiring. Razor reaching out makes him look very desperate, maybe have some faith in the guys that are playing well here in NZ i.e. DMac. It just doesn't come across well in my view.
Agree.
But it's also downgrading super rugby. So much better for Razor to focus on the excellent quality still in NZ than players who have left that he's so desperate to get back
It also highlights how much lower the money is in NZ
This is where NZR needs (much) higher quality people running things in NZ. Robertson should have had a phone call by now to tell him to cut this crap
edit. And maybe also the remind him that he's now the AB not still the Crusaders coach
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Beat-up from Napier following a long interview where Lendrum boringly maintains that the status-quo is where we are at and where we will stay.
Smith brings up Razor and Mo'unga, and Lendrum discusses putting him back into the boring status-quo (needs to be contracted etc) then Smith again tries the bait with 'so, early, then?' and Lendrum goes boring again.
The best part is when Smith tries to summarize with 'so there is a desire to bring Richie home early from all parties, essentially' and Lendrum states, 'well, you'll need to ask Richie what his exact desire is'. (edit, see @Duluth post above!)
These guys should have written the much more boring story that NZ is clearly committed to the current model and that any contracted AB has to be here and using sabbaticals to get overseas experience and maintain eligibility.
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The interview:
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@Winger said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
This is where NZR needs (much) higher quality people running things in NZ. Robertson should have had a phone call by now to tell him to cut this crap
and what crap is that as Razor never chased these players they are being asked questions by the media which are being answered and the media makes 1 and 1 in to 100.
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All Black suffers injury setback; faces eight-week recovery
The four-test All Blacks lock has had a rough run of injuries.
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Considering Lord is made of glass, lock is shaping as a real problem position. Barrett and Tuipulotu to me lacks a real giant as a pairing, and outside of that the options are grim all-round.
Vaa'i has been tried and failed, so they could stick with him, but still doesn't give you a big 2m+ lock... curious to see what they do.
In time, as long as Lord can shake off the injuries, we'll have Holland and Lord which could well be Barrett and Whitelock mark two...
Edit: Obviously meant Retallick and Whitelock...
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@Chris said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@Winger said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
This is where NZR needs (much) higher quality people running things in NZ. Robertson should have had a phone call by now to tell him to cut this crap
and what crap is that as Razor never chased these players they are being asked questions by the media which are being answered and the media makes 1 and 1 in to 100.
I agree with your point. However, Razor should realise that his public comments will drive media coverage.
He has been on the record about wanting to 'be open' about selecting overseas players, and this is what happens every time someone gets interviewed now - they'll be put on the spot about it and the media will try to get something headline worthy.
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@Duluth said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
Mo'unga made it clear in interviews his biggest motivation was money (plus some platitudes about 'experiencing different a culture' etc). It's hard to imagine him opting to take a massive pay cut
I think the rumours from last year are more likely to play out - Mo'unga, Frizell & Fainga'anuku all play for Tonga at the 2027 RWC
On this point, I remember this article from the Japan Times last year.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2023/11/21/more-sports/mounga-all-blacks-japan-switch/
New Zealand playmaker Richie Mo'unga said Tuesday that he can imagine playing in Japan "until I retire" and is not thinking about a future return to the All Blacks.
"I'm focused on the present, I just want to give all I can to Toshiba," the fly half told reporters. "I really can see myself playing here as long as I can until I retire."
In Mo'unga's case, he said that "at this very point, the All Blacks is over there."
"I don't like using the term 'sabbatical,'" he said. "This isn't a rest for me, it's not a one-year thing. I'm fully involved and fully committed."
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@frugby said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
Considering Lord is made of glass, lock is shaping as a real problem position. Barrett and Tuipulotu to me lacks a real giant as a pairing, and outside of that the options are grim all-round.
Vaa'i has been tried and failed, so they could stick with him, but still doesn't give you a big 2m+ lock... curious to see what they do.
In time, as long as Lord can shake off the injuries, we'll have Holland and Lord which could well be Barrett and Whitelock mark two...
Whoa, steady the fuck on there pal.
If they end up half as good as Maxwell and Maling that would be a good starting point
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@gt12 said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
I agree with your point. However, Razor should realise that his public comments will drive media coverage.
It was a stupid comment by Robertson. One that should never have been made.
If he had instead strongly supported the current policy and said something like NZ rugby is fortunate to still have world class players to choose from. Instead of putting the focus on players who have left (and indirectly criticising the players who are here) the opposite would have occurred.
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@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@frugby said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
Barrett and Whitelock mark two...
Sweet! That's probably at least our 4th best pairing in the last decade. Hashtag highaspirations
I was so offended and worked up I didn’t even notice he’d written Barrett instead of Retallick
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