All Blacks 2024
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@pakman said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@Gunner let’s hope the POMs have a similar problem come match day!
The big news will be WR allowing his defection to England
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@Gunner said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@pakman said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@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.
I wouldn't be surprised if Ioane makes the All Blacks ahead of Sotutu, to be perfectly honest.
If the selectors plump for Savea, Papali'i, Finau, Lakai and Blackadder then I think all the positions are fairly well covered so there's no desperate need to go for any specific specialists, in which case either Sotutu or Ioane fits the bill, and I think Ioane is better suited to Test rugby.
To some degree it depends on what TWM are looking for. If they want specialist 7s and 8s, then Paps, Lakai, RD and Hoskins ought to be selected. Finau will be the hitman 6, which would leave Blackadder, Akira and Jacobson fighting for last place. The former has disadvantage of only having two games on which to be judged.
Tough area to pick from
Who the heck is RD?
R2D2's little brother.
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It would be very fucking hard if Blackadder is selected as a 6 above guys doing the job there right now.
Its just not close to his best position - bench loosie, ok, but starting 6, blurc.
If they take 6 loosies, it should be pretty easy.
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I think Razor will pick Blackadder ahead of Akira.
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@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
Not suggesting Hotham will go near ABs this year or anything. Mind you I still say I be very surprised if Christie isn't in AB squad as a 9.
I'll also be a bit surprised if Christie doesn't make it into this first selection. If I were Razor and Co. I'd be picking pretty much as much continuity as I could from last year and then slowly ease out the guys I'm less enamoured with (and slowly ease in my newbies). They're going to have at least half a dozen spots for rookies, as it is.**
In the forwards, especially, I'm inclined to think Ryan would have pretty much had everyone he wanted last year. In the backs there's probably a bit more scope for the new selectors to be thinking, "why the hell did they pick him"?
Have they ever said exactly who is on the AB selection panel? I presume Razor and Ryan (forwards coach) - which would then logically suggest Holland (backs coach)?
On Hotham, I think anyone who's starting at halfback for their Super team isn't going to be too far away from the ABs this year. They're going to pick three halfbacks, but then if someone gets an injury....
**I'm a pretty reactionary selector - Razor might be a lot more adventurous!
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@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@Machpants said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
Darry? No way
Strange it is then.
Mark Hinton has Quinten in the inside lane.
When pickings are slim Strange things happen!
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@gt12 said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
It would be very fucking hard if Blackadder is selected as a 6 above guys doing the job there right now.
Its just not close to his best position - bench loosie, ok, but starting 6, blurc.
If they take 6 loosies, it should be pretty easy.
it would be a very Fozzie thing to do, get the 15 highest rated people on the pitch at the same time even if out of position
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@Kiwiwomble said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@gt12 said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
It would be very fucking hard if Blackadder is selected as a 6 above guys doing the job there right now.
Its just not close to his best position - bench loosie, ok, but starting 6, blurc.
If they take 6 loosies, it should be pretty easy.
it would be a very Fozzie thing to do, get the 15 highest rated people on the pitch at the same time even if out of position
it's very unfair to make that a Fozzie thing. That's an AB thing.
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@Kiwiwomble said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@gt12 said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
It would be very fucking hard if Blackadder is selected as a 6 above guys doing the job there right now.
Its just not close to his best position - bench loosie, ok, but starting 6, blurc.
If they take 6 loosies, it should be pretty easy.
it would be a very Fozzie thing to do, get the 15 highest rated people on the pitch at the same time even if out of position
it's very unfair to make that a Fozzie thing. That's an AB thing.
maybe although i feel in the past it was due to having a genuine lack of depth in a position
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now you are creating sticks to beat him with. He's gone, the bad man can't hurt you know, Surf Jesus is here to make sure we never lose again
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@Machpants said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
Darry? No way
Strange it is then.
Mark Hinton has Quinten in the inside lane.
When pickings are slim Strange things happen!
I don't think Hinton has a great track record of inside oil - he's just taking a guess.
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@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@Machpants said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
Darry? No way
Strange it is then.
Mark Hinton has Quinten in the inside lane.
When pickings are slim Strange things happen!
I don't think Hinton has a great track record of inside oil - he's just stirring.
I imagine he's watching us having fun with it on here and decided to try and troll the rest of the country.
I will fucking laugh if Strange gets picked though. Deadshit central.
Drummies chances appear to have passed by though - it will have to be Hotham in the 9 shirt
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
now you are creating sticks to beat him with. He's gone, the bad man can't hurt you know, Surf Jesus is here to make sure we never lose again
it was more a critique of the practice of playing people out of position when there are options actually playing in that position, just using the most recent coach's experiments with that idea.....and the subsequent poor results....as an example
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@Kiwiwomble said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
now you are creating sticks to beat him with. He's gone, the bad man can't hurt you know, Surf Jesus is here to make sure we never lose again
it was more a critique of the practice of playing people out of position when there are options actually playing in that position, just using the most recent coach's experiments with that idea.....and the subsequent poor results....as an example
Mils at Centre?
Jordie on a wing?
SBarrett at 6?
Cullen at centre?
A Savea at 6That is off the top of my head. It's gone on forever. Pick the "best" players and stick them on a field has been a thing for ages.
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how may of those worked well though, like world class?....so i think its a fair critique
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@gt12 said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
I'm sure I saw that Hansen will be in that mix. He feels like Razor's Smith to me so I imagine he gets a voice
They broke it up as follows as far as responsibility for selections are made, this according to an interview with Razor before SR.
Ryan tight 5
Razor LF's
Hansen HBs and First fives
Holland MF
McDonald outside backsOverseen by Razor with Wayne Smiths in put.
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@Kiwiwomble said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
how may of those worked well though, like world class?....so i think its a fair critique
none of them!! all those are in World Cup exits! That's what i am saying, you were all "Fozzie was shit and did this" when everyone fucking does it. We're dumb at times when we are trying to be too clever.
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@gt12 Maybe they'll have all five coaches around the table (+Leon to the four already mentioned)?
yeah sweet, committees are always the best and most efficient method of decision making
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@Kiwiwomble said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
how may of those worked well though, like world class?....so i think its a fair critique
none of them!! all those are in World Cup exits! That's what i am saying, you were all "Fozzie was shit and did this" when everyone fucking does it. We're dumb at times when we are trying to be too clever.
maybe focus on the point...bad idea...than defending fozzie for some reason, he was just the most recent example and did it when not in a world cup, ie, had other options
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defend Foster? From a Chiefs fan? GTFO
But after years and years and years of "dur Fozzie sucks" we are still getting posts referencing him like he's the only one who selected guys out of position. It's tedious.
NZ Rugby has, for as long as i can remember, been far too in love with its depth, and loves to get clever trying to shoehorn players on to the field. And it very fucking rarely works. I will laugh out loud if we finally have a few 6s playing high quality football, and Mr. "innovative systems" just picks another 7.5 there.
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@gt12 said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@Machpants said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
Darry? No way
Strange it is then.
Mark Hinton has Quinten in the inside lane.
When pickings are slim Strange things happen!
I don't think Hinton has a great track record of inside oil - he's just stirring.
I imagine he's watching us having fun with it on here and decided to try and troll the rest of the country.
I will fucking laugh if Strange gets picked though. Deadshit central.
Drummies chances appear to have passed by though - it will have to be Hotham in the 9 shirt
I guess Drummie got his AB cap. Don't think he'll add to it.
If Quinten had done a bit less dumb shit this year, he probably would have an inside track. He and Ah Koui seemed to be the first choice AB XV locks last year.
And pickings are very slim with who's available and (assuming internet listings are close to correct) who has the size to be a genuine international lock. We seem to have a lot of quite short locks.
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
NZ Rugby has, for as long as i can remember, been far too in love with its depth, and loves to get clever trying to shoehorn players on to the field. And it very fucking rarely works. I will laugh out loud if we finally have a few 6s playing high quality football, and Mr. "innovative systems" just picks another 7.5 there.
Your not wrong there, what's most annoying is that often there's no clear development plan at all for the player, they get no game time in their "new" position in NPC or SR.
Our attempts to be clever often result in the player having to try and learn their craft in the international arena - the worst and most unforgiving arena for you to make mistakes in. Yet we seem to do it all the time, with the same medicore results...
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
defend Foster? From a Chiefs fan? GTFO
But after years and years and years of "dur Fozzie sucks" we are still getting posts referencing him like he's the only one who selected guys out of position. It's tedious.
NZ Rugby has, for as long as i can remember, been far too in love with its depth, and loves to get clever trying to shoehorn players on to the field. And it very fucking rarely works. I will laugh out loud if we finally have a few 6s playing high quality football, and Mr. "innovative systems" just picks another 7.5 there.
Where's this bile for Razor coming from Mariner?
He hasn't even started and you are all over him at every opportunity.
Concerned. -
@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
If Quinten had done a bit less dumb shit this year, he probably would have an inside track. He and Ah Koui seemed to be the first choice AB XV locks last year.
Unfortunately the only part of Ah Koui's game that has improved this year is his post match interviews.
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@Frank said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
defend Foster? From a Chiefs fan? GTFO
But after years and years and years of "dur Fozzie sucks" we are still getting posts referencing him like he's the only one who selected guys out of position. It's tedious.
NZ Rugby has, for as long as i can remember, been far too in love with its depth, and loves to get clever trying to shoehorn players on to the field. And it very fucking rarely works. I will laugh out loud if we finally have a few 6s playing high quality football, and Mr. "innovative systems" just picks another 7.5 there.
Where's this bile for Razor coming from Mariner?
He hasn't even started and you are all over him at every opportunity.
Concerned.don't be.
I wish the bloke all the best, and sincerely hope he's the guy to turn us back in to a side no one wants to play. I would love nothing more than for AB tests inevitable for all involved again.The tone of my posts on the Fern are purely a reflection of the absolute glazing from certain sections of the membership here for the past 4-5 years. It's bordered on fan fiction.
And lets face it, this thread is nothing but wild guesses thrown about by absolutely everyone involved. So if you're taking anything seriously that's on you
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Fun fact time (from a mate)!
Blackadder debuted in 2018 and has played 7 seasons of Super. He's played 42 Super games. There are two seasons where he has played more than 5 matches. -
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
Mils at Centre?
Mils is an interesting one, initially selected out of position at 15 because Bitchell hated Cullen, then selected out of position at 13 because early Conrad kept breaking.
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@Nepia said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
B
itchell hated CullenCullen was brokenFTFY
No he wasn't, he wasn't Cullen 1996 but he was the best fullback going in Super in 2003.
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blatant revisionism
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
blatant revisionism
you're trolling, but you should lift your game more and claim that Ben Blair was clearly a better player than Cullen 03
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Cullen had the misfortune of being compared to himself in his hey day rather than against other players, he was definitely the best fullback in 03 but he didn't have much left in him at that stage. I think we could have gotten another season out of him, but begrudgingly can see why they wanted to look forward given his injuries. His treatment by Bitchell was unforgiveable for an AB great to be cast aside the way he was though.
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@nzzp said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
blatant revisionism
you're trolling, but you should lift your game more and claim that Ben Blair was clearly a better player than Cullen 03
but that is clearly false.
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Howlett was probably the best fullback in 2003 SR. He started the first Test of the year at fullback too.
There were a few injuries and Howlett was needed on the wing so Mils got selected at fullback in the second Test
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