All Blacks 2024
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How the All Blacks were caught up after 'golden decade'
New Zealand must seek incremental gains having seen the rest of the rugby world reduce their advantage.
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@canefan said in All Blacks 2024:
I don't know what purpose having Jacobson serves. He's been anonymous in black to date. This coaching group love their middling loose forwards
Jacobson is a good player, but selecting him as well as SC, DP, EB is silly. It's kinda like selecting 4 short power locks who all jump at 2.
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@reprobate said in All Blacks 2024:
@canefan said in All Blacks 2024:
I don't know what purpose having Jacobson serves. He's been anonymous in black to date. This coaching group love their middling loose forwards
Jacobson is a good player, but selecting him as well as SC, DP, EB is silly. It's kinda like selecting 4 short power locks who all jump at 2.
And meanwhile a little boy waits
He may not ultimately be the answer. But he is a point of difference and should have been picked. Selection could end up biting this coaching group
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@reprobate said in All Blacks 2024:
@gt12 said in All Blacks 2024:
If the selectors are in love with Blackadder, IMO they'd be better to put him at 7 and let him do his stuff there. We could then carry Ardie at 8 and look for more size and power at 6.
My issue with the selections now is that they don't appear to be ideal for balance now and are clearly not building for the future. I don't get it at all.
I kinda agree that he'd be better at 7, but my assumption is that they think they have quality at 7 in Cane and Dalton, Ardie is locked in, and nobody else putting their hand up at 6. Blackadder should really be the 'cover all positions' bench guy.
I'd like to see them give Wallace (or Hoskins) a go at 8: Ardie may well not make it to the next WC as a starter, he may get injured, and it doesn't make sense for nobody at all to ever get a run there. Meanwhile we've tried three different 7s and three different 6s I think?
we're back in the same scenario we had with Read after 2011 - was never as good as his early days - but there was either no one coming through or no one getting a decent crack so he was there for years after.
Can't make size - just keep working with Finau. If it's alright for Rieko to learn how to centre on the job do the same for the guy that's got the physical attributes.
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@gt12 said in All Blacks 2024:
You’ll see in the Chiefs threads that Jacobson is basically now our best Cane replacement and goes better at 7, so he’s just one more 7.5 in the squad. I have no idea why we have 4 of them (and that’s not counting Ardie or Sititi) in the squad.
I think it's a fair argument that Sititi and Savea are both best suited to 7 too, though they do at least play different styles.
Finau is the only one with any size.
Other than (ugh) Scott Barrett I guess, who I personally wouldnt count as an option, and certainly not when you have to replace your two best locks. -
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2024:
@canefan said in All Blacks 2024:
@gt12 said in All Blacks 2024:
If the selectors are in love with Blackadder, IMO they'd be better to put him at 7 and let him do his stuff there. We could then carry Ardie at 8 and look for more size and power at 6.
Personally, I think Blackadder < Papalii, and Lakai only looks a year away.
And looking towards 2027, EB will be 32 going on 33 and will likely have still only played another 20 odd more Super rugby games. I just don't quite see how his selection is really needed when we have older quality still available (they are still keeping Cane for this year), quality there in their prime (Papalii), and quality coming (Lakai).
So, in 2027, who will be our 6 and can we get 30-40 tests in them by then? Finau probably needs time - even our very best in Kaino took four years to nail down the jersey, and if they could make a decision about using Blackadder at 7. it would be one way of giving some tests to Finau to see if he can find his feet at this level.
Another player who may go well at the next level is Ah Kuoi - he certainly has the size but I wonder about his mindset. Then, there are others coming but none look ready.
My issue with the selections now is that they don't appear to be ideal for balance now and are clearly not building for the future. I don't get it at all.
So basically Ethan is wasting reps that could be used to find the actual 6 we will need in 2027
Could say the same about Ardie who is older and certainly Cane who is leaving.
No, because they have both been excellent All Blacks.
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@Trig said in All Blacks 2024:
I wouldn't mind seeing Vaa'i at 6 with the form he's been in with a Darry/Barrett or a returning Tuipulotu locking combo to balance our loose trio
He could be the answer, but on the other hand, he seems to have just got things going at lock and is probably our best Scott Barrett replacement. However, it could be worth a shot if they want to get Lord / Darry out there with Barrett.
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@gt12 When does Holland become eligible?
A lock roster of Barrett, Va'ai, Darry, Lord (assuming he can get over his injury niggles) and Holland is reasonably healthy.
Which frees up trying Va'ai (or Barrett) at 6. Agree that Va'ai has just started to come into his own in the team at lock, but a lock/6 is invaluable in a RWC squad.
Of course, the other option to get height into the AB backrow is to pick a no 8 with height. Know any players like that?
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@reprobate said in All Blacks 2024:
Neither Vaai or Barrett is explosive enough.
Both are more explosive than Blackadder. So that's clearly not a selection criteria at the moment.
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@Kirwan said in All Blacks 2024:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2024:
Neither Vaai or Barrett is explosive enough.
Both are more explosive than Blackadder. So that's clearly not a selection criteria at the moment.
Even if your explosiveness opinion (which I disagree with) was true, all you could legitimately conclude is that it is not the only selection criteria. It's not like Jacobson is explosive either.
We are also talking about options for when e.g. Holland is an AB lock, October 2025. I sincerely hope that by that time we are not looking at Barrett or Vaai as our 6. Neither is a hard tackling 6 in the Collins/Kaino mode, neither is much of a ball runner. I guess they are arguably our two best ruck turnover players, maybe we should look at them at 7?
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@Kirwan
Bet away - I wouldn't know. I do know Blackadder was the quickest Crusader forward in the bronco a few years back.
Early days to be claiming we have depth at lock. Barrett remains very good if not great, Vaai has stepped up really well, and Darry has looked the part - but really he's pretty green. Big Pat has never consistently performed at the highest level - I hope he will, but it's hardly a given. Lord is green as and coming back from injury. Sounds similar to me to the claims of 'look at the depth of our loosies' earlier this season.I assume rather than province ( Ta$man) you mean franchise. Either way it's fucking tiresome, the underperformers have not been Crusaders, and Vaai has been selected in the squad so his 'province' clearly hasn't been held against him, has it?
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@reprobate said in All Blacks 2024:
Big Pat has never consistently performed at the highest level - I hope he will, but it's hardly a given
surely the coaching group can get the best out of him? I mean, they back themselves to play people back into form, to coach fundamentals in the AB environment (Bell, looking at you), so I'd carry that expectation
Edit: I think Pat's sabbatical didn't help, and I've always been surprised at how he hasn't taken Super form to Tests. But there ya go.
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@reprobate your white knighting of Blackadder against all odds is quite staggering.
Well done son
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@nzzp said in All Blacks 2024:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2024:
Big Pat has never consistently performed at the highest level - I hope he will, but it's hardly a given
surely the coaching group can get the best out of him? I mean, they back themselves to play people back into form, to coach fundamentals in the AB environment (Bell, looking at you), so I'd carry that expectation
Edit: I think Pat's sabbatical didn't help, and I've always been surprised at how he hasn't taken Super form to Tests. But there ya go.
I really hope so. He's had poorly timed injuries, and it's tough being a bit-part player behind 2 all time greats, you just don't get the minutes to build form.
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@MN5 said in All Blacks 2024:
@reprobate your white knighting of Blackadder against all odds is quite staggering.
Well done son
Why thank you. I must admit to being pretty fucking surprised by it myself given I wouldn't have picked him in the initial squad and was (and am) as confused as anyone by the loosie selections.
But, he's got stuck in and played well and it kinda shits me people focusing on him when so many others aren't performing. Especially the just coz he's a crusader, just coz he's a mate's son shit. Just fucken grow up people, open your eyes and have a look at all the canes and blues and chiefs not performing (highlander not included as injured).
