All Blacks 2024
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
Most of your post was paper depth, where yes those guys are names, but are they actually any good?
To me this is actually the exciting part.
I think there's a fair bit of talent that has yet to get a crack at test level.
Guys who have really shone at Super/ABs A/Maori and look poised for that next step
I'm thinking the likes of Ah Kuoi, Proctor, Zarn, Choat, Ruben Love, George Bell etc
That's not to mention there's quite a few players who have had a brief taste of test footy and are poised for much more in this cycle: Narawa, Stevenson, Grace, Mcleod, Finau, Lord etc
Gonna be fascinating to follow
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@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
Most of your post was paper depth, where yes those guys are names, but are they actually any good?
To me this is actually the exciting part.
I think there's a fair bit of talent that has yet to get a crack at test level.
Guys who have really shone at Super/ABs A/Maori and look poised for that next step
I'm thinking the likes of Ah Kuoi, Proctor, Zarn, Choat, Ruben Love, George Bell etc
That's not to mention there's quite a few players who have had a brief taste of test footy and are poised for much more in this cycle: Narawa, Stevenson, Grace, Mcleod, Finau, Lord etc
Gonna be fascinating to follow
Not sure I agree with all of those names, but I agree with your point.
The opportunity is to sort out those ready to succeed at test level and that's the role of the selection and coaching team.
We have enough talent to win 80% of our tests, and during 2024 and 2025 I imagine that the public will accept a few bad results if they can see that Razor is working on something (especially with the media having his cock so far down their throats).
Trying to lure back Sam Whitelock could have us playing a Dad's army team at lock for a couple of years, which is just kicking the ball down the road.
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@akan004 said in [All Blacks 2024 - lo down by NZR and is doing it again.
How many overseas based players would have made the ABs when Fozzie was coach? Not many if any.
At the risk of burning down the house a certain stocky 12?
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@booboo Agreed that the depth in certain areas is a concern. As you've pointed out, lock and five-eighth. Where are the tall, big munters who like to hurt people in New Zealand? After DMac there's an abyss, then hopes and dreams for the jersey that's supposed to direct the team. Not great when we can't rely on Nuggy anymore.
If Jordan and
SullivanStevenson are our best hopes at fullback then we've got genuine concerns too given they've both demonstrated glaring gaps in their games. Hopefully those are resolved this year (and quickly). If Zarn gets a constant run at fullback for the Blues it might help. -
@antipodean all the tall guys wanna play basketball
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How about as the side to play England in July?
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E. Du Groot
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C. Taylor
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T. Lomax
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S. Barrett
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J. Lord
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E. Blackadder
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A. Savea
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C. Grace
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C. Roigard
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D Mac
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M.Telea
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J. Barrett
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R. Ioane
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W. Jordan
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R. Love
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S. Taukei'aho
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T. Williams
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F. Newell
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T. Vaa'i
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D. Papali'i
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M. Drummond
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B. Barrett
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A. Lienert-Brown
Obviously a few names will shift around after a season of Super Rugby.
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@sparky wtf has Grace done to deserve a start?
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@antipodean said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
@sparky wtf has Grace done to deserve a start?
I'll give him one thing, it is the Canterblacks. Plus a bit of Ruben Love CIM.
Jesus christ, if Drummy is the future, we are well fucked.
Extra points for all the loosies out of their best position, including two who can hardly string more than 3 games together in a row.
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We probably can't dominate up front atm but hold our own.
I can see Savea, Blackadder, Roigard, DMac and JB carrying a lot. High tempo, fun times. -
Might be off-key for the Fern, but are we really happy with Jordie as our 12 for the next 4 years?
Don’t get me wrong, he was essential to our side last year. But let’s be realistic, the guy is pretty limited at that spot. He runs straight and fairly hard, but he doesn’t spot weak shoulders or target gaps, and he hasn’t put a single outside back into space in his career in black. He kicks ok, but surely that’s not the bar ?
So 2 questions for the Fern collective:
- Can we do better at 12 (if so, who?); and
- If so, what do we do with Jordie?
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I'm happy w JB at 12.
Big step up from what we had 3-4 years ago -
@BerniesCorner He needs to work on his goal kicking, but apart from that I thought he was generally excellent in RWC.
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@BerniesCorner said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
I'm happy w JB at 12.
Big step up from what we had 3-4 years agoI'm hoping he and the rest of the team will get clear instruction regarding their individual and collective responsibilities, and that we become more consistent and clinical as a result
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@voodoo said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:
So 2 questions for the Fern collective:
Can we do better at 12 (if so, who?); and If so, what do we do with Jordie?You know JB is a bit of a conundrum of a player. He's got a lot of skills needed to be successful in several spots in the backline (bar the wing position), but there always seems to be a deficit in some area. At 15, he's good under the high ball and possesses a good boot, but he lacks the speed and cutting edge ito running. At 12, he has the size needed to get over the gain line (not quite Nonu or SBW level) and defensively he's ok, but lacks creativity. He can kick, but we hardly see him using that skillset these days. I also think his combination with Rieko isn't great tbh. Both are learning or relearning midfield play at test level, which isn't ideal.
So, either stick with JB at 12 and change his midfield partner sooner rather than later OR replace the whole midfield combo. More drastic would be to shift JB to 13, but I can't really remember how well he went at 13 back in the day. I only mention 13, bc JB has shown better judgement than Rieko (but that is admittedly a very low bar).
