All Blacks EOYT
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@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks v Japan:
@booboo said in All Blacks v Japan:
@Dan54 said in All Blacks v Japan:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks v Japan:
Positives:
- Roigard's 1st Test since injury and he went OK
- Aumua (except esrly throwing)
- DMac's defence
- Telea showing some form
- Pat T's breakdown work
- Wallace confirming he's starting XV material
Negatives
- Poor defence
- Lack of focus - particularity in second half
- Scrum didn't dominate
- Poor kick options - esp.DMAC
Agree with most of that, buggered if I know what the defence coach is doing! It's not bad tackling, but just not being set in a defence pattern.
Seriously: did I missed something? Defence was pretty much impregnable from where I sat.
I thought the first quarter/half was really poor. Far too many holes were opening up and some of the tackling was ineffective. Reckon we'd have shipped a couple of tries and least against better opposition like England.
I just havnt seen enough this year to show me we can win our next 3 matches.
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@Jet said in All Blacks v Japan:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks v Japan:
@booboo said in All Blacks v Japan:
@Dan54 said in All Blacks v Japan:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks v Japan:
Positives:
- Roigard's 1st Test since injury and he went OK
- Aumua (except esrly throwing)
- DMac's defence
- Telea showing some form
- Pat T's breakdown work
- Wallace confirming he's starting XV material
Negatives
- Poor defence
- Lack of focus - particularity in second half
- Scrum didn't dominate
- Poor kick options - esp.DMAC
Agree with most of that, buggered if I know what the defence coach is doing! It's not bad tackling, but just not being set in a defence pattern.
Seriously: did I missed something? Defence was pretty much impregnable from where I sat.
I thought the first quarter/half was really poor. Far too many holes were opening up and some of the tackling was ineffective. Reckon we'd have shipped a couple of tries and least against better opposition like England.
I just havnt seen enough this year to show me we can win our next 3 matches.
Robertson had a choice of picking a team for the future and take a few losses as a learning experience or picking a team including experienced players at the end of their careers to improve his win ratio.
I hope we don't get the worst of both worlds.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks v Japan:
@Jet said in All Blacks v Japan:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks v Japan:
@booboo said in All Blacks v Japan:
@Dan54 said in All Blacks v Japan:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks v Japan:
Positives:
- Roigard's 1st Test since injury and he went OK
- Aumua (except esrly throwing)
- DMac's defence
- Telea showing some form
- Pat T's breakdown work
- Wallace confirming he's starting XV material
Negatives
- Poor defence
- Lack of focus - particularity in second half
- Scrum didn't dominate
- Poor kick options - esp.DMAC
Agree with most of that, buggered if I know what the defence coach is doing! It's not bad tackling, but just not being set in a defence pattern.
Seriously: did I missed something? Defence was pretty much impregnable from where I sat.
I thought the first quarter/half was really poor. Far too many holes were opening up and some of the tackling was ineffective. Reckon we'd have shipped a couple of tries and least against better opposition like England.
I just havnt seen enough this year to show me we can win our next 3 matches.
Robertson had a choice of picking a team for the future and take a few losses as a learning experience or picking a team including experienced players at the end of their careers to improve his win ratio.
I hope we don't get the worst of both worlds.
And he could've made an argument to the rugby public that was his intention and with goodwill, they'd have understood if he selected form youngsters and gave them adequate time to develop into Test players. Practically no other incoming AB coach has had that opportunity.
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@African-Monkey said in All Blacks EOYT:
@SBW1 said in All Blacks EOYT:
If we can get our governance sorted out we maybe able to attract guys like Goodhue back. A lot of players who have gone offshore weren't on long contracts. Leicester, Richie and Shannon appear to be coming back, this could be a sign of more to come.
I swear this is an AI Crusaders account sometimes.
What on earth would make you think that? By the way ...
*In the great annals of rugby lore, Scott Robertson stands as a figure not just of legend but of near-mythic proportions, much like the messianic figure in The Life of Brian. Picture it: a coach who strides onto the pitch not in sandals, but in track shoes, delivering game-winning strategies instead of parables. The players gather around him, hanging onto his every word—not because he asks them to, but because they feel an almost celestial pull, a gravitational allure emanating from his teachings.
He is a coach who is humble but unstoppable, unassuming yet invincible. The fans chant his name, lifting his reputation to a height that even the rugby heavens can’t contain. They whisper tales of his breakdancing victory celebrations, spinning and twisting as if to mimic the very cosmos that dances to his every whim. When he’s in the room, the laws of physics bend; he is not simply a tactician—he is a tactician and an entertainer, a unique combination of razor-sharp rugby intellect and charismatic flair.
Opposing teams gaze upon him and marvel. "Is he the Messiah?" they ask each other. And the answer is clear: "He's not the Messiah; he's a very, very good coach." Yet for the Crusaders and now for the All Blacks, his influence is no less divine. His players follow his strategies as though they are commandments etched in stone, designed to bring them to the promised land—where titles are won and legends are made.
In the temple of rugby, Scott Robertson is not merely the rabbi of the ruck, the sage of the scrum, or the prophet of the penalty. He is the man who has turned tactical innovation into gospel, transforming every player under his guidance. And as they chant, “All hail Razor!” they aren’t just celebrating a coach; they’re honoring a man whose very essence seems woven from the rugby gods themselves.*
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Personally i would have Du'Plessis Kirifi as an off the bench option in the All Black match day 23 , he is so good over the ball and is an absolute nuisance at the breakdown in the same way South Africa uses Kwagga Smith
We have very little impact off the bench and i sence the current coaching group is too focussed on using players that can cover different loose forwards positions as opposed to have the best specialist playing in their respective positions
Just on Kirifi’s discipline i think hes come a long way regarding this aspect of the game
I have no issue that he plays right on the edge. -
@Steven-Harris said in All Blacks EOYT:
Personally i would have Du'Plessis Kirifi as an off the bench option in the All Black match day 23 , he is so good over the ball and is an absolute nuisance at the breakdown in the same way South Africa uses Kwagga Smith
We have very little impact off the bench and i sence the current coaching group is too focussed on using players that can cover different loose forwards positions as opposed to have the best specialist playing in their respective positions
Just on Kirifi’s discipline i think hes come a long way regarding this aspect of the game
I have no issue that he plays right on the edge.Razor will overlook all that and probably select Tom Christie.
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@ARHS said in All Blacks EOYT:
Expected Lio Willie to cover the hole. I hope Brayden Iose gets a call up for AB XV. Caleb Delaney and Oli Mathis hopefully get considered too.
On Super form the fact Iose isn’t in there is an absolute sham. Apart from Soututu he was easily the second best number 8.
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@nostrildamus said in All Blacks EOYT:
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks EOYT:
@SBW1 said in All Blacks EOYT:
If we can get our governance sorted out we maybe able to attract guys like Goodhue back. A lot of players who have gone offshore weren't on long contracts. Leicester, Richie and Shannon appear to be coming back, this could be a sign of more to come.
I swear this is an AI Crusaders account sometimes.
What on earth would make you think that? By the way ...
*In the great annals of rugby lore, Scott Robertson stands as a figure not just of legend but of near-mythic proportions, much like the messianic figure in The Life of Brian. Picture it: a coach who strides onto the pitch not in sandals, but in track shoes, delivering game-winning strategies instead of parables. The players gather around him, hanging onto his every word—not because he asks them to, but because they feel an almost celestial pull, a gravitational allure emanating from his teachings.
He is a coach who is humble but unstoppable, unassuming yet invincible. The fans chant his name, lifting his reputation to a height that even the rugby heavens can’t contain. They whisper tales of his breakdancing victory celebrations, spinning and twisting as if to mimic the very cosmos that dances to his every whim. When he’s in the room, the laws of physics bend; he is not simply a tactician—he is a tactician and an entertainer, a unique combination of razor-sharp rugby intellect and charismatic flair.
Opposing teams gaze upon him and marvel. "Is he the Messiah?" they ask each other. And the answer is clear: "He's not the Messiah; he's a very, very good coach." Yet for the Crusaders and now for the All Blacks, his influence is no less divine. His players follow his strategies as though they are commandments etched in stone, designed to bring them to the promised land—where titles are won and legends are made.
In the temple of rugby, Scott Robertson is not merely the rabbi of the ruck, the sage of the scrum, or the prophet of the penalty. He is the man who has turned tactical innovation into gospel, transforming every player under his guidance. And as they chant, “All hail Razor!” they aren’t just celebrating a coach; they’re honoring a man whose very essence seems woven from the rugby gods themselves.*
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@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks v Japan:
Robertson had a choice of picking a team for the future and take a few losses as a learning experience or picking a team including experienced players at the end of their careers to improve his win ratio.
I hope we don't get the worst of both worlds.
To be honest, I don't believe the vast majority of NZ will forgive losses just because Razor's playing some young guys. Particularly if they're not "my" young guys. For example, George Bell.
I think you've got to judge them on their results and in almost every case - particularly when we're still more than three years out from the next World Cup - I'm not particularly concerned about squeezing 15 minutes off the bench into a promising rookie.
I'm concerned about winning.
I'm happy for them to squeeze the last drops out of Cane and Perenara and maybe Beaudy if that's what they think gives them the best chance of winning (and I somewhat agree that it does).
But, aside from that - we are playing the promising rookies.
Listed with caps
Tosi (3)
Darry (5)
Finau (4)
Sititi (5)
Roigard (5)
Proctor (1)
Perofeta (5)
Bell (1)
Lord (6)
Lakai (0)
Love (0)That's effectively half this week's team with less than 6 caps. And we've got a whole lot of guys off on the A tour who are going to play Georgia in an almost test.
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks v Japan:
For example, George Bell.
Yeah true, that's a perfect example of a guy that's really shone at lower level and showed real promise. Absolutely tore it up in super rugby and NPC. I definitely couldn't think of a better one if I was trying to defend surf jesus to the hilt.
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@Bones said in All Blacks v Japan:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks v Japan:
For example, George Bell.
Yeah true, that's a perfect example of a guy that's really shone at lower level and showed real promise. Absolutely tore it up in super rugby and NPC. I definitely couldn't think of a better one if I was trying to defend surf jesus to the hilt.
Bloody hell, someone is sarcastic this morning !!!!!
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@Bones Let me see if I can find something to be disagree about with your post, Chris B.....
The thing about hookers is - we've had a very clear prototype since Fitzy. A big, mobile ballrunner. Advanced by Dane Coles and continued on by Taylor and Sami T.
Now, we could have picked the likes of Riccitelli or Eklund - but, frankly, they're too small to ever be effective against the best teams. Genetics are against them and that's a harsh fact of life for most of us when it comes to test rugby.
They would have got the shit beaten out of them this year by the bomb squad - and three years hence they'll still get the shit beaten out of them.
So instead, we've got four months of training into young Bell, who has the size to be useful in the future. We've lost no games because of that. And next year we should get Sami T back.
Looking like a great investment to me!
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks v Japan:
@Bones Let me see if I can find something to be disagree about with your post, Chris B.....
The thing about hookers is - we've had a very clear prototype since Fitzy. A big, mobile ballrunner. Advanced by Dane Coles and continued on by Taylor and Sami T.
Now, we could have picked the likes of Riccitelli or Eklund - but, frankly, they're too small to ever be effective against the best teams. Genetics are against them and that's a harsh fact of life for most of us when it comes to test rugby.
They would have got the shit beaten out of them this year by the bomb squad - and three years hence they'll still get the shit beaten out of them.
So instead, we've got four months of training into young Bell, who has the size to be useful in the future. We've lost no games because of that. And next year we should get Sami T back.
Looking like a great investment to me!
Does Keven Mealamu mean nothing to you ?
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