The Silver Fern

Maybe if Lakai didn't play an entire match last week it would make sense to start him and not Cane. But I don't think we need to to go to the bottom of the well of all the replacement loosies we've brought across in this tour.

@Mr-Fish said in Exodus:

Off the top of my head, only including past All Blacks...

PR - Laulala, Tu'inukuafe
HK - N/A
LK - Hemopo, Retallick
LF - Frizell, Ioane, Cane, Sowakula, Whitelock
HB - Smith, Perenara, Weber, Kerr-Barlow
FH - Mo'unga
CT - Laumape, Goodhue, Saili, Ngatai
OB - Bridge, Fainga'anuku

There's maybe five or six guys there that would definitely shore up the current squad but only a few who'd be in contention for starting - Smith, Mo'unga, Laumape, Fainga'anuku?

I don't think there's any point including guys like Smith. If not playing the NH he'd likely be retired.

Same with including a guy like Ioane in these lists, the current coaches will never pick him.

Also, is the Whitelock in your loose forwards Luke? Lucky lucky lucky Luke?

The hypotheticals need to be realistic ...

@Steven-Harris said in Super Rugby 2025:

@Canes4life 💯..it’s quite an irony that when Godfrey was on the field for HB they looked more threatening.
I have just that got that feeling that he’s got another ceiling

He was great after he came back into the side at 15 after we'd been running that non tackling Welsh dude, but as this discussion is about 10 let's not pretend he was good there in the game he played in that position.

Jury is still out on him as a 10, cracking fullback though.

@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks MOTM v France:

Went Roigard, Williams and Vaa'i. Honorable mentions to Reiko, RD and Lakai.

You know you can click on the vote total and it tells you who did it?

EDIT: Quoted the wrong post.
@voodoo

Damn, seems like everyone else saw a different Ardie than I did. Thought he was ok, some good runs in that 6 channel as mariner mentioned, but still not peak Ardie and/or MOTM Ardie for me.

Might have to do a Reuben Thorne style rewatch of the game to see where I went wrong.

Congrats to France.

Thought that was a cracking match as a fan, aside from the result.

The NH seem intent on over officiating rugby into the ground. Well, except of course for dummy runners taking out players. There was one play where dummy runners came through and connected with both ALB and Rieko and nothing.

I don't want to raise the hackles of the Cantabs and @Chris-B but I think @Bones is right, Jordan isn't the right fit at fullback. Maybe a finishing wing is his ceiling? Especially if he want so keep up his strike rate.

Also, Reece is out of form and in a year when Telea has copped shit over his speed then how are we picking a guy who makes a tugboat look fast. Posters on here have a meltdown if DMac even steps slightly across field yet Reece runs sideways constantly putting added pressure on our team frequently.

And not to leaves the Canes fluffers out, actually Moana now, are we happy with the not as good version of Savea we have now? Maybe a decent off season will get him back to his usual form. Conversely Roigard is actually living up to the hype of his Canes marketing team. Also Lakai put in a decent shift.

I think we overdid the successful sideline play that worked so well in the early stages of the game. There were times when there was space out wide yet we just kept turning it back inside. TBH, I think this is a NZ thing as I often notice our Super teams do it as well.

Weird that I'm not as upset as I should be with this loss.

Aura still intact enough that the NH include wins over the ABs when rating a players career alongside 6 Nations trophies etc - Cian Healy tying with Coulda Doid for the most capped Irish player.

I enjoyed this game, but, the NH seem to take glee in cards being handed out. I don't understand it.

@Bones He's no longer in charge is he? Plus, I'd put his overexcited-ness down to him being Oz rather than Lebo.

@darylmitchell said in All Blacks v France:

@Nepia said in All Blacks v France:

@darylmitchell said in All Blacks v France:

Must be 1st time since 2006 EOYT (Collins, Masoe, Luaki) All Blacks have a non-NZ Euro starting LF trio?

Also, I actually can't ever recall us having an entire forward bench with no NZ Euro guys, is this a first?

I think we've rolled out Ioane/Frizell, Papali'i, Savea at some stage in the last couple of years.

I forgot about Dalton's PI heritage, i'm curious if Ioane/Frizzell, Papali'i, Savea have actually started together, usually it was Cane at 7, then when he got injured Blackadder, Papali'i, Savea was the combo for most of 2021, then Frizzell Cane Savea for 2022-2023

You forgot about Dalton PAPALI'I's PI heritage?

Cane and obviously Blackadder were injured a lot.

@darylmitchell said in All Blacks v France:

Must be 1st time since 2006 EOYT (Collins, Masoe, Luaki) All Blacks have a non-NZ Euro starting LF trio?

Also, I actually can't ever recall us having an entire forward bench with no NZ Euro guys, is this a first?

I think we've rolled out Ioane/Frizell, Papali'i, Savea at some stage in the last couple of years.

@booboo said in World rugby chair from the SH for the first time?:

Honestly wouldn't have minded Benazzi, for whatever reason I think he's less likely to be captured by the establishment (perhaps because he is Moroccan) but am pleased Robinson got it.

In all honesty I reckon they missed a trick with Pichot.

This does beg the question as to how many Tests the All Blacks will be playing in Montevideo, Vancouver and Tblisi now to pay for the votes ...

Is Robinson our puppet?

Benazzi may be Morrocan, but he's also French and NH so I'm not as confident as you that he wouldn't have been captured by the establishment.

@Daffy-Jaffy said in All Blacks v France:

All Blacks sadly in their away strip this week -

I preferred the old days when the home team always wore their alternate jersey for clashes. Or even better when France had a jersey that didn't clash. Although I suspect that WR would have enforced alternate's by now.

Just saw the team now, as I predicted Razor will swap around 10s creating uncertainty until he brings back Richie. (We need a tinfoil hat emoji).

Be interesting to see how Ardie goes at 7 (if he has a half decent game his team of Ardie at 7 fluffers are going to break the forum with I told you so's). I was actually looking forward to seeing how Lakai would go starting.

Not much of not outside of that.

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks vs Ireland:

@Nepia said in All Blacks vs Ireland:

but by the virtue of them being a defending player they're liable to be penalised if they don't secure the ball,

I'd put it a different way - liable to be penalised if they aren't genuinely competing to secure the ball.

If you are a defender who is legitimately part of the contest for the high ball you aren't going to get penalised as it relates to this new emphasis

Like most things in rugby that's down to interpretation. A player could start sprinting back, realise they're not going to make the ball, pull up and get penalised because they didn't make a path.

I don't like it, it was like the law makers were fixing a hole that wasn't broken. Meanwhile the NH team's run players, at best parallel with the ball player, and it's not a problem.

Anyway, that's my opinion, I'm not going to fight you if you like the law.

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks vs Ireland:

@antipodean said in All Blacks vs Ireland:

@Lancaster-Park said in All Blacks vs Ireland:

Also whats the new ruling about defending a high ball chase? The commentators seemed to suggest its a new tweak but could understand why we got pinged when no one obviously changed their line. Was I just blind?

I'd like to know too as it appeared to my weary eyes that players were penalised for running a straight line back to there the ball was predicted to land.

Below is what I have been able to gather - noting World Rugby have done an awful job communicating this.

From what I can gather it's an emphasis on ensuring the kick receipt team allow more access for the chaser to have a clean challenge.

Basically it's no longer good enough to subtly block or 'escort' by running back towards the ball.

You need to allow access or get out of the way

I actually see the merit in it and I think it's paying dividends.

I've seen more one on one contests and less dangerous contests as chasers can time their contest better as they don't have to deal with as much 'traffic'

Below I found in some different articles.

Basically, match officials have been told by World Rugby that they needed to clamp down on 'kick escorting' this autumn. A 'kick escort' is a player who retreats downfield after the opposition has kicked, impeding chasing players and allowing their team-mate to have a better chance of catching the ball cleanly.

Players who block their opponents from contesting a high-ball against their team-mate are known as 'escort runners', and up until now, provided you didn't change your running line, then everything was legal.

Officials will be more strict with this in the autumn games. If players slow down with an attacking chaser behind them, then they will risk being penalised.

This puts the thumb on the scales in favour of the attacking team. A retreating player can be in exactly the same position to compete for the ball as an attacking player, but by the virtue of them being a defending player they're liable to be penalised if they don't secure the ball,

@antipodean said in All Blacks vs Ireland:

@Lancaster-Park said in All Blacks vs Ireland:

Also whats the new ruling about defending a high ball chase? The commentators seemed to suggest its a new tweak but could understand why we got pinged when no one obviously changed their line. Was I just blind?

I'd like to know too as it appeared to my weary eyes that players were penalised for running a straight line back to there the ball was predicted to land.

Me too.

Enari's selection must just be to fill the Bay cap in the the Canes. I'm glad for him but he's a strange signing.

@NTA said in England vs. Australia (2024):

@ACT-Crusader said in England vs. Australia (2024):

Happy for the kid, because after the announcement a while ago that he was changing codes there were a number in league circles who turned on him. They would’ve been ready with the daggers this morning had he not been so influential.

And now they'll use it as proof that Rugby "Yawnion" is easy

You can let them know an amateur club rugby back switched over and became a regular first grader and test player at prop - Leo Thompson.

I'm glad I decided to watch this game while eating breakfast. Was a fun match to watch for a neutral.

@BerniesCorner said in Poll: AB wins on EOYT for a decent season:

Good year for Razor. Some great young players coming through too.

Um.

It will be an ok year if we go through unbeaten on this tour.