All Blacks vs England I
-
That translates to less bs and risk, and hold onto the ball.
-
@Dodge said in All Blacks vs England I:
have basically spent the last 5 years tearing my hair out watching england, no obvious future talent, no obvious tactics, no obvious commitment to the grunt, let alone any ambition to put people through gaps.
Bloody Borthwick has given me a sniff of optimism in the last 3 games, we have some genuine prospective talent around, Martin and Itoje in the second row, our back row looks class with Earl in form, our halfback is starting to look like he can play rugby, we have a centre combination, our wingers are quick, our full back has changed from a lumbering chap who's good under the high ball to a guy who two years ago i wouldn't have picked for a local club side but has put on some weight and has improved out of sight.
Playing in NZ will be a fascinating test for them, i hope they enjoy it, i hope they turn up. I have no real knowledge of the new ABs in the squad and don't know how much of a reset this really is, but playing in NZ is always bloody hard.
As they say, its the hope that kills you
England should be $1.01 favs
-
The have got some decent players even if they are short of world class through the side.
Borthwick was a hard honest toiler when he captained England and he seems to be putting a similar work ethic into this England team.
The pack looks to be good although their propping stocks aren’t that strong at the moment, relying on Marler and 37 year old Dan Cole.
Locks and backrow are good. Ben Earl is a player I really like except for his over the top celebrations. Is Itoje not the force he once was?
They are well drilled and improving. They will be a very tough team to beat for an All black side just coming together for the first time under Razor.
Borthwick was lineout coach for Eddie Jones so they may look to attack us here as we don’t have a tall lineout for this series.
Having said that, I still expect us to beat them.
-
@Frank said in All Blacks vs England I:
@Canes4life said in All Blacks vs England I:
So as the dust settles on the first ABs squad of the year, who is in the 23 to play the first test against England. I think Razor will select the following:
- De Groot
- Taylor
- Lomax
- Barrett (C)
- Tuipolotu
- Finau
Papali'iBlackadder- Savea (VC)
ChristieRatima- McKenzie
- Clarke
- Barrett (VC)
- Ioane
- Reece
- Barrett
- Aumua
- Williams/Tu'ungafasi
- Newell
- Vaa'i
BlackadderPapaliiRatimaPerenara- Perofeta (yuck)
- ALB
I think we can all get to 90%+ on the 23.
Locks is a real worry. Razor in SENZ interview suggested that the TWM until very late on assumed Patty T was crocked. Which suggests Darry woul have been next up. But there must be doubts, and Scooter's bulging disc must also be a real concern. So Vaa'i, the only one at 100% will start. Scooter most natural to be LH lock, but if back plays up can only hope that Patty's knee is good enough!!!!!
Expect Paps to start. Slight chance Proctor will get a run, ribs permitting.
Bench more interesting. Ofa probably form LH, so would expect him, ribs also permitting. Blackadder seems to cover all three loose forward positions, and to come on at 60.
Perofeta, DMac and Beaudy are all going to be in 23. Hard to go past ALB for cover, although it does mean that if a wing goes down it would be logical for Rieko to shift out. That's where someone like Jordan or Stevenson is so handy!
-
@pakman said in All Blacks vs England I:
@Frank said in All Blacks vs England I:
@Canes4life said in All Blacks vs England I:
So as the dust settles on the first ABs squad of the year, who is in the 23 to play the first test against England. I think Razor will select the following:
- De Groot
- Taylor
- Lomax
- Barrett (C)
- Tuipolotu
- Finau
Papali'iBlackadder- Savea (VC)
ChristieRatima- McKenzie
- Clarke
- Barrett (VC)
- Ioane
- Reece
- Barrett
- Aumua
- Williams/Tu'ungafasi
- Newell
- Vaa'i
BlackadderPapaliiRatimaPerenara- Perofeta (yuck)
- ALB
I think we can all get to 90%+ on the 23.
Locks is a real worry. Razor in SENZ interview suggested that the TWM until very late on assumed Patty T was crocked. Which suggests Darry woul have been next up. But there must be doubts, and Scooter's bulging disc must also be a real concern. So Vaa'i, the only one at 100% will start. Scooter most natural to be LH lock, but if back plays up can only hope that Patty's knee is good enough!!!!!
It's a bit concerning how little (first class) rugby some of our likely starting pack has played in recent times.
Taylor, Lomax, Scooter and Ardie have all had extended stints on the sidelines.
I hope these guys have all played a bit of club rugby and I would quite like to hear that they've got one of those game of three halves lined up at the weekend so some of these guys get a decent run.
Vaa'i to start this one wouldn't be a bad call. As I said earlier, Newell to start ahead of Lomax wouldn't surprise me either.
Given what happened when we played SA last year after three weeks in camp, I'm a bit concerned about how undercooked we might be in this one.
-
@Chris-B said in All Blacks vs England I:
Given what happened when we played SA last year after three weeks in camp, I'm a bit concerned about how undercooked we might be in this one.
Apples and oranges. Mostly a new coaching group. First test of a new era at home vs for all intents and purposes a rwc 'warm up' game played at a neutral site.
More comparable would be first tests of a new season.
-
@Chris-B said in All Blacks vs England I:
Vaa'i to start this one wouldn't be a bad call.
It is a worry to me, when the going gets tough (like the Super final) he seems to still go missing. Happy to be proven wrong but it concerns me.
-
@nostrildamus Definitely an area of concern - especially with SB and TP carrying injuries.
-
MacDonald talking about the backs:
-
@Bovidae said in All Blacks vs England I:
MacDonald talking about the backs:
“Consistency-wise, I think [Proctor] would have been one of the hardest working midfielders. He’s a very accurate defender and he’s an effective attacker"
When I read that I kept thinking so why didn't they select A J Lam over still recovering from injury Havili?
-
?
-
-
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks vs England I:
@Bovidae said in All Blacks vs England I:
“Consistency-wise, I think [Proctor] would have been one of the hardest working midfielders. He’s a very accurate defender and he’s an effective attacker"
This has been blindingly obvious for 2 years. It would be nice if Leon would provide a bit more insight - though I never found his comments as Blues coach especially enlightening.
-
@nostrildamus Rangi probably doesn't like AJ Lam either....
-
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks vs England I:
@nostrildamus Rangi probably doesn't like AJ Lam either....
What are Lam's weaknesses? I haven't seen enough of him to know but everything I have seen recently looks test-material..
-
This post is deleted!
-
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks vs England I:
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks vs England I:
@nostrildamus Rangi probably doesn't like AJ Lam either....
What are Lam's weaknesses? I haven't seen enough of him to know but everything I have seen recently looks test-material..
At times on the wing defensively he could be a bit passive - he seems to defend better in the middle of the park - once he shifted to 12 his defensive was terrific
-
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks vs England I:
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks vs England I:
@nostrildamus Rangi probably doesn't like AJ Lam either....
What are Lam's weaknesses? I haven't seen enough of him to know but everything I have seen recently looks test-material..
inepexperience. He's only had half a season at 12.
Ther'es a stronger argument to bring him into the wider squad than Havili
-
Interesting to see BOK hanging with the ABs.
The Waikato Times
209K views · 5.9K reactions | Business time 😤 | All Blacks
