All Blacks 2024
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@No-Quarter said in All Blacks 2024 - selection:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2024 - selection:
@No-Quarter said in All Blacks 2024 - selection:
@nzzp said in All Blacks 2024 - selection:
@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2024 - selection:
@nzzp said in All Blacks 2024 - selection:
Ethan's games as AB
13 Nov vs Ireland at Dublin 20-29The starting loose forward trio in this game was Blackadder-Papalii-Savea.
that Ireland game:
- Ethan Blackadder – 6
A big day at the office in defence with 20 tackles and plenty of starch in the trenches. Was penalised on a late hit hit on Sexton, it was obvious the blacks were trying to put the fly-half off his game. No work with the ball in hand and really needed to be given more of a chance to get some go forward. Off at 61.
All Blacks player ratings vs Ireland | Autumn Nations Series
The All Blacks went down to a fabulous Irish team 29-20 in their penultimate match of the year. It was gob-smacking that the men in black went in at halftime with a 10-5 lead, owing to a huge defensive effort.
That sounds about right. Busy, but inaccurate and not all that effective against the bigger packs. Offers zero with ball in hand which is a bit of a problem in the modern game. I'm just really battling to see how he can get selected every chance without any sort of body of work at even Super level let alone test? Is there someone in the know that can actually speak to why he is so favoured that they'd upset the balance of loosies selected just to make room for him?
That doesn't say inaccurate, or ineffective. He offers considerably more ball in hand than Papalii or Jacobsen or Cane in my opinion. It's Savea (and Cane) that has been upsetting the balance of the loosies.
I would struggle to pick him given the injuries and lack of game time, but he is a good player with a big motor who hits hard, and I can see why coaches like him. He's far more Norm Maxwell than the Reuben Thorne someone accused him of being earlier.It doesn't say inaccurate, I was adding to that review with what I remember at the time, and his accuracy was discussed on here during his brief stint in the ABs. 6/10 is pretty ineffective.
Look, I don't actually have anything against him as a player, if he could stay fit he could develop into a very good one. I'm just discussing this in the context of him being selected ahead of others that have runs on the board and are in career best form. It's obvious bias.
He's Razor's guy, and clearly he is prepared to back him fully at this point. All AB HCs have their favourites.
I don't know what the dynamics in an AB camp are like, but there must be a feeling in private from some of the guys that Blackadder is the boss's pet. Ethan is going to have to be a machine to reinforce his credentials
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This is classic.
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@canefan said in All Blacks 2024 - selection:
I don't know what the dynamics in an AB camp are like, but there must be a feeling in private from some of the guys that Blackadder is the boss's pet. Ethan is going to have to be a machine to reinforce his credentials
I think Ethan is generally pretty well-liked by both players and coaches and certainly highly regarded for his work ethic. See Ryan's and Codie Taylor's comments in the first article - and then for the stats lovers the Crusaders' broncos times from a few years ago.
There's a podcast somewhere where he says he's done 4.32, but was disappointed not to have done 4.29, presumably to break Richie's record.
Blockbusting Ethan Blackadder making all the right moves
Young All Blacks flanker Ethan Blackadder is very quickly making a name for himself.
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@Landers92 said in All Blacks 2024 - selection:
@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2024 - selection:
@Landers92 said in All Blacks 2024 - selection:
The fact Love was running at 10 during that camp might tell you how big the gap is between those named and the next tier below that weren’t.
The next tier among those teams that didn't make the final
Haha yeah mate, hence why I said the gap between those named(Dmac and Perofeta were in the final).
Interesting they didn’t take a look at any other 10s that weren’t playing in the final is my point. Eg Someone they are eyeing up for AB’s XV.
I wouldn’t read too much into that given there’s the Maori games that are imminent and the AB XV options will largely depend on who’s available / not injured much later in the year.
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2024 - selection:
@Bones Taylor added. “I have so much respect for that. I love him as a bloke. He is a bloody top lad and I know everyone else in the team feels the same.”
Sounds like full support of the Board….
If Foster was still coach Blackadder would be there. Don’t see too much controversy there. The Sititi call is the one.
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@Canes4life
Really really good!!! -
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@Bones You'll have to ask Codie how he knows.
I think he's a pretty relatable guy. Didn't come through the usual rugby channels.
Didn't play rugby at High School until the 7th form - and then I think only for the third XV and because all his mates were playing.
Then Senior B in Nelson first year out of school - which is a pretty social grade.
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Sorutu has birthright eligibility for England through his mother, so the stand down period needs to be 3 years if you want to play for another country.
Sotutu’s last game for the ABs was 19/11/2022.
So he is eligible on 20/11/2025.
He is contracted to the NZR until 2026 and England only select players from within England. So he would have to get early release and sign for an English club for later this year or start of the next season which would be August 2025
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While we can speculate on which loosie is better than the other what we do know is that they are all slightly different but all very very good.
We also know that we are no longer in the Mitchel days of coaching and I am sure the players missing out have been told what they need to do to get in .... in a position that has lots of injurys and with an ABs XV and Māori's and 14 tests this year. I'm pretty sure there will be room for Hoskins to show what he can do sometime this year.When you interview for jobs and have three outstanding candidates the final reason for picking one over the other can be quite frankly a coin toss. I dont think they actually tossed a coin but decided they had seen something they wanted just a tiny bit more in one player over the other.
And there's only one way to find out. -
Lock, 10 and 12 are still the biggest holes to fill.
We've gone with three locks, two of which are slightly broken/injured, Two 15s who play 10 (well but are actually both best at 15) but no up and comers, and 1 specialist 12.
Will they trt to convert Proctor to 12? -
Could we have some positivism about Sotutu, please? The man's got a skill set which is unique in New Zealand rugby. TWM ought to be focussed on how to get him to reach his potential, which if they succeed should have him remembered as a great All Black.
After all, at the end of the day, we're all in this together. -
@pakman said in All Blacks 2024 - selection:
Could we have some positivism about Sotutu, please? The man's got a skill set which is unique in New Zealand rugby. TWM ought to be focussed on how to get him to reach his potential, which if they succeed should have him remembered as a great All Black.
After all, at the end of the day, we're all in this together.To be fair, Sititi so far has shades of Lauaki/Vunipola with a high work rate. So can't fault that selection.
It's just puzzling that a centre that can play 8 has no versatility and Josh Blackie reincarnated is preferred.
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