All Blacks 2024
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@sparky said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
Squad based on the Season so far:
Du Groot
Lomax
Ofa T
Newell
Williams
NumiaAumua
Taylor
Sami TS. Barrett
Tuipolutu
Vaii
DarryFinau
Papalii
Lakai
Savea
Iose
SotutuHotham
TJP
FunakiMcKenzie
B. BarrettALB
J. Barrett
Proctor
R. IoaneC.Clarke
Reece
Telea
LoveBlackadder over Iose, Ratima/Christie over Hotham/Funaki and potentially one additional outside back over Sotutu, and I think you've nailed it. The last lock is anyone's guess too.
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@family-man said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@Machpants said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
Darry? No way
Why not?
He makes too many soft errors (mentally and physically). I'd rather have Delany or ideally Lord could get himself in a state where he doesn't break every second game he plays.
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Saw these stats on another forum:
Loose forwards, most rucks per 80 minutes starting 5 or more games:
No 8
21.76 Hoskins Sotutu
21.12 Christian Lio-Willie
19.47 Wallace Sititi
17.00 Billy Harmon
15.75 Brayden IoseNo 7
29.15 Tom Christie
28.29 Dalton Papali'i
24.40 Luke Jacobson
23.72 Peter Lakai
23.31 Kaylum BoshierNo 6
23.06 Anton Segner
22.91 Oliver Haig
22.61 Akira Ioane
20.96 Simon Parker
19.03 Dom Gardiner -
Those numbers for a loosie/lock with Oli Haig look impressive
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@frugby said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
Prop I think could be an interesting one. Though Tu'ungafasi and Williams can both play tighthead, they pretty much only play loosehead these days. Ryan has tended to pick specialists, which means those two + EDG, Numia and Bower are playing for three spots.
Would leave a gap at tighthead, and with few options to fill it. Ta'avao for a recall? Tosi as a bolter? Dyer?
Tamaiti looks alright at TH against lower quality LHs but was made mincemeat of by Joe Marler. Stood up well at LH against Bok second string TH. Ofa genuinely good both sides, and ABs need him more as third TH. If they did look further afield, last year they seemed to like Mafileo, and Tosi has performed well for Canes.
At LH EDG first name. On form Numia ought to be second, and also adds another level of dynamism. So for me Bower or Tamaiti. Tried and tested versus higher ceiling. -
@frugby said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
Prop I think could be an interesting one. Though Tu'ungafasi and Williams can both play tighthead, they pretty much only play loosehead these days. Ryan has tended to pick specialists, which means those two + EDG, Numia and Bower are playing for three spots.
Would leave a gap at tighthead, and with few options to fill it. Ta'avao for a recall? Tosi as a bolter? Dyer?
I’m willing to bet money that Bower misses out here, seeing as he’s not a starter and an eye for the future, 32 year old Bower doesn’t make the squad for me. Not when you already have a 32 year old Ofa in there.
For me it’s EDG, Ofa, T.Williams and Numia. Those are our answers at loose head imo.
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@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
I'm interested to see how the scrum goes this year. BBBR in particular made a huge difference to the power on the TH side. Whitelock usually packed on that side when in combination with Barrett. One of the locks will have a big role to play.
The other one will be relieved he can cruise a bit then
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@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
I'm interested to see how the scrum goes this year. BBBR in particular made a huge difference to the power on the TH side. Whitelock usually packed on that side when in combination with Barrett. One of the locks will have a big role to play.
Patty T seems to be a late bloomer on TH side. Quite why he played LH against Chch is beyond me!
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@Tim said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
19.47 Wallace Sititi
May not make an AB XXIII this year, but a squad bolter if ever there was one.
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@Frank I like both Akira and Anton Segner. If they play well in the knockouts, both could make the ABs.
Both need to use their power more and show they have more hunger and a higher ceiling than the other options available at 6. I do worry about Akira's mentality when the going gets tough.
There really are an embarrassment of riches for the AB in the backrow at the moment.
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@sparky I understand that the AB coaches don't like Akira as well as a lot of non Blues fans, but he's very important to how this Blues side plays. We're a worse side without him out there, as we've see when he hasn't played. Cotter has gotten the best out of him playing in close quarters, where as previous coaches used him exclusively in the wider channels, to the point where he didn't look comfortable in his role in the ABs side once Ryan and Schmidt took over in 2022. If he got picked now to play the role they want him to play, he'd be far more comfortable in playing it.
Segner hasn't played much of late. He's a good player who does the core roles in every loose forward position very well, but isn't as strong in contact as the other Blues players yet, and I think he'd struggle at the next level currently. Lakai is better as someone who can play in all 3 positions in the loose.
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@African-Monkey I agree with all that.
It will be interesting to see if Anton Segner stay in NZ or heads back to Europe.
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@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@Canes4life why Ratima over Funaki?
But yeah interesting that Hotham has all of a sudden become a favourite for some after running the ball well in a couple of games (and looking awful earlier), yet others have been performing all season and now aren't as good...
What team does Hotham play for again?
Though to be fair mate, Hotham has been on NZR's radar as an up and comer for a few years now. Have heard him name checked etc by Steve Lancaster a year or 2 back when discussing players they have got on radar.
