All Blacks 2024
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@MN5 said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@canefan said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@ruggabee said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@gt12 Well Razor is from the mount so
@Nepia said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - lo oking 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.
Deans picked McDonald at centre for the 2003 semi final over a fully fit Umaga which lost us the game because Mortlock had rigorously targetted Leon's channel - the final nail in the coffin was the Spencer intercept happened because Leon was not in the right position to receive the pass because of his inexperience in the midfield, if Umaga had played 13 he would've picked Spencer's pass and scored under the posts.
Mind you, it's a bit of a pity that Tana didn't use this superior positional awareness to not run into Carlos in the Italy game, which is how he hurt his leg in the first place!
A bit rough to blame Tana. Even Carlos didn't know where Carlos was going half the time...
Tana should have run into a less tough first five like Merhts.
If Mitch and Robbie had had a bit more vision they could have played Danny Boy at first five and Ma'a at second five - both in the squad and unused!
Disgraceful indeed, Deans thought Caleb Ralph was more deserving of selection in the 23 than those 2 future All Black Goats...
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I'd say Papali'i definitely has a higher chance than Taylor.
You don't have to be on the field for 80 minutes to be captain but you do need to at least he starting 9/10 games and I don't think Taylor fits that bill.
If Robertson sees Blackadder as a potential 7 option then I suspect the captaincy will got to Barrett. Otherwise, I think Papali'i has a very good shot (probably better than Savea).
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@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
Lol that part was tongue and cheek but let's be honest Razor will be slated for it down in Chch.
in
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@hkkiwi said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
People forget the controversial leadership meeting razor had before departure to France with last years blues captain down in Chch (amongst 4-5 others including a barret back).
Probably getting his leadership team in order. I can see Paps being a part of that.
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@hkkiwi said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
People forget the controversial leadership meeting razor had before departure to France with last years blues captain down in Chch (amongst 4-5 others including a barret back).
This is even juicier than having breakfast with Joe Moody, Liam Squire, Jerome Kaino and Damian McKenzie.
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Savea would be a shortsighted option, he's in his 30's and is competing with a plethora of younger 8's coming through. He's also demonstrated to be a poor captain in the past. Dalton Papali'i and Jordie Barrett are both 26, they are my picks if Scott doesn't get the role.
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@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@nzzp said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
12 and meaty may be cloes enough to the action
Superb work sir
I thought that post sounded a bit porno personally but if you like it that’s all good fella.
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I would look at the captaincy this way. Who won't be replaced during a test match? That is most likely to be S Barrett. If the captain is either Savea or Papalii, that will have an impact on the selection of the other two loose forwards to allow sufficient cover across 6, 7 and 8, but particularly no.8. Savea could start at no.8 and move to 7, for example, to bring on a player like Sotutu.
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@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
I would look at the captaincy this way. Who won't be replaced during a test match? That is most likely to be S Barrett. If the captain is either Savea or Papalii, that will have an impact on the selection of the other two loose forwards to allow sufficient cover across 6, 7 and 8, but particularly no.8. Savea could start at no.8 and move to 7, for example, to bring on a player like Sotutu.
Although I agree that your captain should really be on the field for the full match, that's not been the case for plenty of recent Test captains.
Sam Cane, Siya Kolisi, Johnny Sexton, Tate McDermott, Julian Montoya are all recent examples. If captains have to remain on the field for the full match then you're really restricting your options to locks, loose forwards, midfielders and possibly your No 10 (given outside backs are largely considered too far away from the action).
I think the key thing is that you're confident your vice-captain can step up, even if he's not on the park. That might mean running a guy like Codie Taylor off the pine and handing him VC duties, with Aumua and Taukei'aho sharing the starting duties.
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Really if you were picking captain on who was probably going to be around for next WC wouldn't it be someone like Lomax or De Groot. But I realistically don't see anytjing wrong with picking who they think will do the best job now. Mind you I get pissed with the who will be there in 4 years anyway, we should look at winning tests now, not just in 4 years!
And I recall Brian Lochore saying he thought the biggest risk of a 4 year WC (when it first started) was this very thing.
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The race for All Blacks centre is far from run
The first All Blacks squad of the year is just three weeks away from being named and some names have surpassed potential bolter status.
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@KiwiMurph I wonder if Proctor takes the 13 jersey we can move Rieko back to 11. He still easily has the pace to play there and I don't think the switch back would be difficult for him. I like the idea of Jordie and Proctor in the midfield building that partnership like Ma'a and Conrad did.
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@No-Quarter do we need him back at 11? i thought we were pretty happy with the wing options
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@Kiwiwomble we don't need him there, but he was the best winger in the world when he played there. He's better than any of the other options, despite the talent we have available.
He's very good at centre, but I'm still not convinced it is the best use of his talents at test level.
