All Blacks 2024
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I think I would summarize the season as A for the forwards and F for the backs. We have created genuine depth up front and are capable of matching or exceeding all the top sides in the world. Probably still need a genuine line out option at 6. The backs on the other hand are a shambles : no player depth created, no style of play, no gameplan, no chemistry. The only thing we have is experience and Razor seems to value that above everything. Such a contrast to the other top nations , we have seen their backs improve in front of our eyes and we have seen fantastic new talent being blooded.
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A- for the forwards from me. Scott Barrett and Ardie Savea were a bit disappointing. Hoskins Sotutu wasn't selected. Sami T and Ethan Blackadder were injured, but the rest of the forwards did really well. Lots of players had their best season to date.
Defence: B. Disappointing against Argentina in Wellington but solid enough in every other game
Back line attack: D. Often rudderless and unthreatening. The weakest the AB backline has been in 30 years. A major rethink is needed.
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@sparky said in All Blacks 2024:
@DMX Yes, the forwards are the best they've been since 2015, but the backs the worst they've been for a long time.
Maybe the forwards are the result of continuity in coaching? That forwards like Vaa'i and Williams have kicked on and Sititi has slotted in so well looks to be the result of a coach who's been thru some up and downs but is now comfortable in his role.
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@kpkanz said in All Blacks 2024:
Experience is not fungible/equal.
Take your point, but experience is bloody important. I'm sure Sititi, Roigard, Ratima, Lakai etc, learnt a lot from Cane and TJP - as we saw when Robertson's selections were forced by injury. Credit where credit's due that they were able to shine.
That said, Robertson sticking with the likes of Havili, BB & ALB while hardly playing Proctor, Plummer et al is unfathomable bollocks.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2024:
as we saw when Robertson's selections were forced by injury
We don't really know that. Perhaps they would've learned more playing alongside better players that help them to excel?
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@kpkanz said in All Blacks 2024:
@canefan said in All Blacks 2024:
Robertson to up ante on selecting overseas players for All Blacks
The All Blacks coach, reflecting on his first year in charge, said he will make a submission to the NZ Rugby board about changing the selection criteria.
I think I've been had. I'm already very bearish on next season if that's how he feels. Perhaps the SuperCoach should just select good players and coach, instead of fapping over guys that chose to leave?
Quote from the article.
“You cannot replace Test experience – that’s one thing I’ve learned. Hence why Sam Cane has been so valuable. That’s the consistency that South Africa have at the moment."
This is BS. No wonder he's been picking complete has beens all year.
Experience is not fungible/equal.
A lot of the old heads in this group have had a decade of being losers, breaking records for losing, and just in general being inferior. They have BAD experience.
No surprise our best players all year have been debutants who have taken it directly to teams that have been dominating us recently.
Or 2004 where we transformed the team in ONE EOYT by leaving behind Spencer/Marshall and a bunch of experienced MUST HAVE players.
And the next gen took over and dominated the world.
We are on the cusp of that here but apparently Razor is scared to pull the switch.
Don't forget our best player in Sititi this year may have only had 80 minutes of game time all year if it wasn't for that Blackadder injury.
Or seeing Aumua step up when he had no CHOICE after Taylors early injury, and he performed and became a monster this tour, after finally being given a full game instead of a BS garbage time 15 minutes at the end.
We have a bunch of toxic nepotism picks who have been losers for near a DECADE holding us up with our next generation just waiting in the stands until they get they their chance.
Beauden/Rieko/Jordie are immediate examples.
Scott Barret/Reece, possibly Ardie are more.
More than half the team currently literally aren't the best in NZ.
'You can't replace test experience'
As the new All Blacks motto goes, It's hard to get in to the ABs, and even harder to get dropped.
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@Bones said in All Blacks 2024:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2024:
as we saw when Robertson's selections were forced by injury
We don't really know that. Perhaps they would've learned more playing alongside better players that help them to excel?
Havili and Proctor looked a good bet.
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I am trying to work out what's gone so wrong with our backline.
These are my guesses.
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Aging players are kept in the squad when once upon a time two bad performances would have led to the selectors hitting the ejector seat button.
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Some of our backs ain't fast enough.
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Our backs ain't spending enough time together on the training paddock working on combinations, attacking angles and the timing of passes.
I'd welcome other suggestions.
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@sparky said in All Blacks 2024:
I am trying to work out what's gone so wrong with our backline.
These are my guesses.
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Aging players are kept in the squad when once upon a time two bad performances would have led to the selectors hitting the ejector seat button.
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Some of our backs ain't fast enough.
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Our backs ain't speeding enough time together on the training paddock working on combinations, attacking angles and the timing of passes.
I'd welcome other suggestions.
- Some guys just aren’t as good as the selectors think they are
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So Dmac is in the Dream World Team of the Year and the ABs get "Dinky Kicks " at pivot.....
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@Old-Samurai-Jack said in All Blacks 2024:
So Dmac is in the Dream World Team of the Year and the ABs get "Dinky Kicks " at pivot.....
And Lomax and Jordan are in that named team.
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Interestingly I was talking to a mate about Razor, and he has a mate (haha yeah I know, mate of mate) with significant first hand experience of Razor in a professional capacity. He doesn't rate his vaunted coaching ability or his man management skills. It's one person's opinion of course, but it feels quite plausible based on this season's events. He had the whole buffet that is NZs top rugby talent to fuse into a quality team, and we got what we got, a pupu platter of inconsistency. I believe we can do better
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@sparky said in All Blacks 2024:
I am trying to work out what's gone so wrong with our backline.
These are my guesses.
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Aging players are kept in the squad when once upon a time two bad performances would have led to the selectors hitting the ejector seat button.
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Some of our backs ain't fast enough.
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Our backs ain't spending enough time together on the training paddock working on combinations, attacking angles and the timing of passes.
I'd welcome other suggestions.
The attack pattern is rubbish.
Too many tight forwards involved with crappy backdoor passing and the inside backs running sideways.
How many times did we see Jordie on the crash ball this year?
He was very effective in that role when he an Ioane first started working together but it's not part of the current game plan.
There's virtually zero players running straight and drawing and passing. This is a basic fundamental of the game which is excluded from the current attack plan
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i feel like every coach, when they first get an International gig, tries the old flat backline. And then rissoles it after a year when they realise they can't make it work.
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024:
i feel like every coach, when they first get an International gig, tries the old flat backline. And then rissoles it after a year when they realise they can't make it work.
Is it Sir Wayne Smiths influence? He seems like an idealist. He said he despises mauls and he's the head of performance and Razor's mentor. There's nothing pragmatic about our current attack and it's very predictable.
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@Chris said in All Blacks 2024:
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2024:
@Chris said in All Blacks 2024:
@canefan said in All Blacks 2024:
The All Blacks coach, reflecting on his first year in charge, said he will make a submission to the NZ Rugby board about changing the selection criteria.
I think I've been had. I'm already very bearish on next season if that's how he feels. Perhaps the SuperCoach should just select good players and coach, instead of fapping over guys that chose to leave?
Fuck no I am dead against picking overseas players.It will be the death nail of our competitions imo.
If players want to come back no problems but play in our competitions to be selected.
It sounds like Razor wants to keep Cane ffs.
Stupid idea Razor get your shit together and promote the players we have playing locally and players who return to play locally.Imagine the state of Super Rugby if it happened.
We'd be having the likes of Peter Umaga-Jensen, Dallas McLeod and Angus Ta'avao as our headline acts for the comp.
It would ruin all our competitions and probably effect revenue massively.
Yet fans on social media will applaud the decision to let overseas players play for the ABs, then moan about the lack of big names playing super rugby.
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@brodean said in All Blacks 2024:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024:
i feel like every coach, when they first get an International gig, tries the old flat backline. And then rissoles it after a year when they realise they can't make it work.
Is it Sir Wayne Smiths influence? He seems like an idealist. He said he despises mauls and he's the head of performance and Razor's mentor. There's nothing pragmatic about our current attack and it's very predictable.
Yeah I think it is if you read Wayne Smiths comments he has been driving this fast skill set all over the place game instead of doing some hard yards.
