All Blacks 2024
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Gregor Paul on Razor and Dmac
Gregor Paul: How Robertson lost control of the Damian McKenzie narrative
OPINION: The All Blacks coach has done his first-choice No 10 no favours.
This is interesting:
The media is naturally sceptical when it thinks a coach is trying to get them to buy into an agenda that may be contrived or manufactured to hide the truth, and while Robertson was hoping to pave the way for soft or accommodating headlines should he change his No 10 this weekend, he’s actually managed to throw fuel on the fire that faith in McKenzie is waning.
What hasn’t helped him stay in control of the narrative was his needless mention of Mo’unga in Sydney last week.
Robertson told reporters he’d gone surfing with Andrew Johns, and then revealed that the league legend had asked him, “When is Richie coming back?”.
The spectre of Mo’unga has hung over much of this year already – with Robertson having never hidden his desire to force a change in eligibility rules to be able to pick overseas players, and New Zealand Rugby itself also revealing it is trying to persuade the former Crusader to cut short his three-year contract in Japan.
But for McKenzie to hear his own coach voluntarily provide media with much-clicked headlines about Mo’unga two days out from a Bledisloe test, seemed either strangely naïve or highly calculated, but whichever it was, it has intensified the likelihood that the headlines and comment pieces on Thursday will not tell the story Robertson wants.
It’s probable that McKenzie remains Robertson’s preferred No 10 – the man whom he will continue to back to become the franchise quarterback.
But having lost control of that narrative, it may take Robertson some time to persuade the media and public that this is the case and that he’s as committed to McKenzie now as he was in July.
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is richie mo-fucking-ungas career being retconned?? or am i being gaslit??
or is Gregor Paul just a hack, and Scott Robertson a fraud?
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I'm not surprised that he wants Mo'unga back so badly, he was his king pin for much of his success at Super Rugby. Trouble is, Mo'unga got found out at test level, and it seems the same thing is happening to Razor.
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No, see, that was because the previous coaches didn’t trust him enough.
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024:
or is Gregor Paul just a hack
Speaking of Gregor, he posted this rubbish a few weeks ago and I was surprised no one posted it:
Gregor Paul: The reasons why league is ready to usurp rugby
OPINION: Never in the last 30 years has league looked so strong and rugby so weak.
The most egregious part of it is he keeps conflating the finances/viewership of the NRL as a whole (i.e. in Oz and NZ) when comparing against NZ rugby in NZ alone.
He also has a weird point about league being on FTA and how that's beneficial, yet the league and the rugby are on the same bloody channel.
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@No-Quarter said in All Blacks 2024:
If I was AB coach, putting injuries and squad selections aside, this is the 23 I'd be gunning for. I think it is far stronger than anything we have put out so far.
Note - these selections put the overall strength of the 23 ahead of the idea that our most experienced players MUST be in the starting 15. Experience off the bench is critical in the modern game.
Stephen Perofeta
Will Jordan
Rieko Ioane
Jordie Barrett
Caleb Clarke
Damian McKenzie
Cameron Roigard
Hoskins Sotutu
Dalton Papali'i
Akira Ioane
Tupo Vaa'i
Scott Barrett
Tyrel Lomax
Codie Taylor
Ethan de GrootSamisoni Taukei'aho
Tamaiti Williams
Pasilio Tosi
Patrick Tuipulotu
Ardie Savea
Cortez Ratima
Beauden Barrett
Anton Lienert-BrownI'd be bringing all of the bench forwards on at about the 50 minute mark, as in terms of 'impact' you get the most impact out of replacing your forwards but you do need to give them at least 30 minutes to get into the game. Pat T for Vaa'i and Ardie for either Sotutu or Akira depending how the game is going.
On the backs, Ratima's speed of pass can be used to up the tempo in the final quarter if needed, and ALB / Beauden are very experienced and cover multiple positions each. ALB coming on allows us to shift Rieko to the wing where he an find a bit more space in the final quarter. Beauden slotting in at 15 where he has had huge success from the bench in the past.
Then selection wise I'd be trying to give game time where possible to the newbies with huge potential: Sititi, Love, Proctor and Plummer. Building their confidence by slotting one or two of them at a time into the main 23 as opposed to them getting game time when we make wholesale changes against a minnow.
Want a job?
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@Duluth said in All Blacks 2024:
@Windows97 said in All Blacks 2024:
Just trying to scratch my head in regards as to why our bench is so ineffective and one possible theory either by bad luck or co-inicedence are all of them (forward reserves esp) just poor at the clean-out?
There's another factor to look at too... not just the bench. Are we doing enough to fatigue teams throughout the game?
We can fatigue teams when the game gets very loose however that doesn't happen often in Test rugby. We do not fatigue teams by taking on the opposition pack directly. Ball runners in the pack etc.. the old cliche of earning the right to go wide.
Even with subs I think we are getting tired but the opposition is relatively fresh
We seem to be able to score points in the 1st half, outscoring other teams / a few times we have done enough to win the game in the first half.
Are we not fatiguing the opposition or are we just fatigueing ourselves by going all out in the 1st half as we seem to be doing?
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@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2024:
It looks like Blackadder will be playing for Ta$man next week.
I've heard Proctor will be available for Wellington aswell. Not sure about others but it would be great if Aumua was released to get more mins under his belt.
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@gt12 said in All Blacks 2024:
In an ideal world, we'd be able to dial up the attacking pattern in the last 30. The usage of the bench and roles for players just isn't working.
The rugby pod was discussing this the other day and suggesting that they just need to simplify things very much in line with @Duluth 's suggestions above.
Was thinking that as I read Duluth.
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i actually think our attack is really simple. We don't play a heap of shapes that require constant realignment, it's all about speed. Forwards are playing pods or out the back to DMac. Midfield is straight and narrow, again out the back to DMac, and all to try and get our quick guys in to space out wide. And the key is the ball being in the ruck for as short a time as possible.
I never watch a 2nd time so can't back any of this up. I do think this pattern for want of a better term absolutely fatigues us, and the opposition take advantage. South Africa replace half the team at half time. Australia starting competing in rucks (Argentina did too), and our tired guys are starting to miss assignments. I do think our replacement strategy is having a huge effect. Guys who are even playing well (possibly even especially those guys) need to come off regardless, and earlier to give their replacements time to get in to the rhythm of the game. Can we rely on DMac skinning guys for 80 minutes, AND make as many decisions as we are asking? Is replacing a winger actually helping us at all?
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@mariner4life It's a fair point. I do think McKenzie is up to it - but it's a tough ask for 80 minutes though for sure - and there's nobody else currently in NZ who can play that role in my eyes. Which means the only way to fix it is by supporting him better, and I'd argue he's been getting not much of that from the Barrett brothers or TJ, or Ratima (yet).
And our forwards really are going to shit late in the piece. Bringing on a winger instead of another forward in that situation is just dogshit dumb. -
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024:
i actually think our attack is really simple. We don't play a heap of shapes that require constant realignment, it's all about speed. Forwards are playing pods or out the back to DMac. Midfield is straight and narrow, again out the back to DMac, and all to try and get our quick guys in to space out wide. And the key is the ball being in the ruck for as short a time as possible.
I never watch a 2nd time so can't back any of this up. I do think this pattern for want of a better term absolutely fatigues us, and the opposition take advantage. South Africa replace half the team at half time. Australia starting competing in rucks (Argentina did too), and our tired guys are starting to miss assignments. I do think our replacement strategy is having a huge effect. Guys who are even playing well (possibly even especially those guys) need to come off regardless, and earlier to give their replacements time to get in to the rhythm of the game. Can we rely on DMac skinning guys for 80 minutes, AND make as many decisions as we are asking? Is replacing a winger actually helping us at all?
Pretty good summary.
Why can't the coaches comprehend the fatigue factor from their fast game plan and actually use their bench?
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024:
i actually think our attack is really simple. We don't play a heap of shapes that require constant realignment, it's all about speed. Forwards are playing pods or out the back to DMac. Midfield is straight and narrow, again out the back to DMac, and all to try and get our quick guys in to space out wide. And the key is the ball being in the ruck for as short a time as possible.
I never watch a 2nd time so can't back any of this up. I do think this pattern for want of a better term absolutely fatigues us, and the opposition take advantage. South Africa replace half the team at half time. Australia starting competing in rucks (Argentina did too), and our tired guys are starting to miss assignments. I do think our replacement strategy is having a huge effect. Guys who are even playing well (possibly even especially those guys) need to come off regardless, and earlier to give their replacements time to get in to the rhythm of the game. Can we rely on DMac skinning guys for 80 minutes, AND make as many decisions as we are asking? Is replacing a winger actually helping us at all?
This was how the Crusaders used to play from memory. They were always the quickest team off set piece, and worked variations from the same shapes. Was effective because of Mo'unga's ability to hit a gap. I think this is probably why they have stuck with McKenzie, and Barrett has been the next option rather than Plummer, as they don't see him as having the running game to execute their gameplan.
I suspect this is just the teething issues of a new coach. Despite all this outcry, we've been the better side in the first 60-65 minutes in each of the last six tests. Obviously an 80 minute game, so that is why we need to look at the bench. Crusaders used to finish teams off by finishing strong because they had better quality on their bench.
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@reprobate said in All Blacks 2024:
@mariner4life It's a fair point. I do think McKenzie is up to it - but it's a tough ask for 80 minutes though for sure - and there's nobody else currently in NZ who can play that role in my eyes. Which means the only way to fix it is by supporting him better, and I'd argue he's been getting not much of that from the Barrett brothers or TJ, or Ratima (yet).
And our forwards really are going to shit late in the piece. Bringing on a winger instead of another forward in that situation is just dogshit dumb.Fucking this!
The way we are playing is getting quite Chiefs like - absolutely dependent on fast ball. We can have tired backs but we cant have forwards not getting to breakdowns. We also don’t have very good back replacements, but we could bring on plenty of forward firepower.
If Aumua comes right / when Sami comes back we have the makings of a proper impactful front row. We can use Tuips to replace Vaii and ask him to empty the tank in 55 minutes and we need to consider whether Barrett should go off and turn things over to Ardie (who will never be replaced and is usually best in minutes 70-80 anyway).
We need a better answer as a replacement at 6, and we should be replacing either two locks or two loosies.
But instead let’s put Sevu fucking Reece on the bench?!?
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If the All Blacks wanted to take a punt on someone to fill the right wing spot, I really think they could do worse than Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens. Time and time again, we have seen that speed is ultimately the most important thing for a test winger - he has it.
Just looking through the SR stats, he was 3rd for most metres carried, 8th for post-contact metres (behind Clarke, Tele'a, and 20m behind ENS, Tavatavanawai in NZ) and 9th for tackles breaks (behind the same players)... but if you adjust it for minutes played, he'd be ahead of ENS, and furthermore, he was playing in a Highlanders backline that had no creativity. Considering he is only 23, I wouldn't mind seeing it.
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@frugby said in All Blacks 2024:
"Send Sam off well" Has Razor just let a massive cat out the bag?
Well the NZ crowd can't send him off from Dublin...
Razor's comments from a few weeks back already seemed to hint that he wasn't travelling north.
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Hats off to Razor for getting Cane through to 100. He’s not playing at his peak, but I don’t believe we lost any of those games due to him. Loyalty and legacy still count for something in this day and age. A good way to end his international career.
