All Blacks 2025
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@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks 2025:
I actually don’t think Plummer is a natural 10. For me he looked at his best at 12. Now for the Blues I admit he was a better 10 option than Barrett and Perofeta, but he was good at taking on the line but not a spectacular passer going left. I was a fan.
I think we need to get Love some decent minutes. If he’s not starting then we play him in the Cruden role when he started out.
Pretty good assessment. I do think Plummer was ideally suited to Vernball at 10 but we'll never know how he would have gone in test rugby without him getting a real chance. Direct running at 10 is what I think we've been missing since 2015.
Even just running straight onto the ball and passing Plummer did better than Barrett and Mckenzie.
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@brodean said in All Blacks 2025:
@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks 2025:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2025:
The reason I like Reihana is he possesses a skillset that aligns well with Test rugby. Hopefully the coaches recognise this and bring him into the environment to accelerate his development.
I am not adverse to bringing him in as a project type player, but I would be concerned if the ABs had to play him in a big game. If push comes to shove I would rather Love in that scenario.
I'd like to see both Love and Reihana in the squad. I agree that Love should be ahead of Reihana and we should be giving Love more time over Reihana.
It would help Love if his Canes coach would actually show some brains and stick with him at 10.
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@reprobate said in All Blacks 2025:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2025:
The reason I like Reihana is he possesses a skillset that aligns well with Test rugby. Hopefully the coaches recognise this and bring him into the environment to accelerate his development.
He can't really pass fast or that accurately, and I haven't seen him create anything on attack. So you just mean he can kick?
So kind of like Beauden Barret then except at least his kicking goes further than the hooker can throw it.
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@reprobate said in All Blacks 2025:
. McKenzie didn't do anything special either last night of course, but if you swapped the two players I don't think anyone really thinks the result changes
This. How would Reihana have gone last night with his team on the backfoot?
I'm good for him to get some game time with the ABs (or Love) but he's already getting messiah vibes in this thread all based on one game.
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It is a bit desperate but that is where years of midget 10s with pop gun boots has taken us. I think the fact that Reihana is not completely dissimilar in appearance and physique to the 10 Goat is adding to the second coming of the messiah clamour..
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@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks 2025:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2025:
The reason I like Reihana is he possesses a skillset that aligns well with Test rugby. Hopefully the coaches recognise this and bring him into the environment to accelerate his development.
I am not adverse to bringing him in as a project type player, but I would be concerned if the ABs had to play him in a big game. If push comes to shove I would rather Love in that scenario.
I like Love. But he had a promising half a SR season and that's all. It is a sign of how bare the cupboard is that he is our third test 10 playing option. Reihana did very well with a limited job description. This is smart, I feel like DMac and BB were expected to do too much in Razor's current set up
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@Nepia said in All Blacks 2025:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2025:
. McKenzie didn't do anything special either last night of course, but if you swapped the two players I don't think anyone really thinks the result changes
This. How would Reihana have gone last night with his team on the backfoot?
I'm good for him to get some game time with the ABs (or Love) but he's already getting messiah vibes in this thread all based on one game.
I can't speak for other posters. But I don't think he's the messiah. But Reihana is worth a shot, as was Plummer last year
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I would like to see Reihana run the cutter for the NZ Māori team , its always a good pointer that he can slot in with another group and manage a team around the paddock he will probably link up with his Northland 9 Sam Nock so they should have a combination if selected against the Japanese XV and Scotland
For me it would be a massive shock if hes selected for the ABs squad . -
@tubbyj said in All Blacks 2025:
It is a bit desperate but that is where years of midget 10s with pop gun boots has taken us. I think the fact that Reihana is not completely dissimilar in appearance and physique to the 10 Goat is adding to the second coming of the messiah clamour..
This is a confused post, BB isn't a midget and DMac doesn't have a pop gun boot.
Ah, so you're referring to Mo - the actual messiah. Carry on then.
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I think the reason Reihana is on people's radar, is both the inconsistency of BB and Dmac and the cupboard being bare behind them.
Sure Reihana was bloody good last night, last week and been playing well, but he has only really found his feet this year at super.
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@Steven-Harris said in All Blacks 2025:
I would like to see Reihana run the cutter for the NZ Māori team , its always a good pointer that he can slot in with another group and manage a team around the paddock he will probably link up with his Northland 9 Sam Nock so they should have a combination if selected against the Japanese XV and Scotland
For me it would be a massive shock if hes selected for the ABs squad .Yeah - a couple of months ago, he wasn't even first choice at the Crusaders.
He's been good (especially his goal kicking), but I want to see more before annointing him as "the answer".
e.g. according to the Super Rugby player stats, Havili and Jordan (6 apiece) both kicked more than Rivez (5).
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Who’s ready for Tavatavanawi to get snubbed tomorrow
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Maybe AB 10 expectations are a bit high. We have 4 candidates (I'm not counting Perofeta), and none are Dan Carter. But they'd have a good chance of leading other international sides. Just pick the best options balanced with an eye to the future!
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@tubbyj said in All Blacks 2025:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2025:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2025:
The reason I like Reihana is he possesses a skillset that aligns well with Test rugby. Hopefully the coaches recognise this and bring him into the environment to accelerate his development.
He can't really pass fast or that accurately, and I haven't seen him create anything on attack. So you just mean he can kick?
So kind of like Beauden Barret then except at least his kicking goes further than the hooker can throw it.
I am one of BB's biggest critics as a 10: he's crap there and always has been. But Beauden creates plenty, it's just that almost all of it is for himself - like a fullback. I haven't seen Reihana create for anyone else, or any magic chip kicks for himself. i haven't seen any real vision. He's kicked solidly, not made errors, kicked his goals - and also played in front of the best pack in the comp. Can someone point me to him identifying space and throwing a skip pass? To putting people in holes? To identifying mismatches and getting the ball there? Even to some 50/22s where he's seen gaps in the back field?
He's done well in a very limited role since Kemara was injured: and look, fucking well done to him for that, especially after last year when behind a mediocre pack his confidence looked shot and he was poor. But the ABs? A saviour? He's bloody miles away from that at this stage. -
There's a lot of straw men in this thread. Has anyone anointed Reihana as the answer?
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@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2025:
Maybe AB 10 expectations are a bit high. We have 4 candidates (I'm not counting Perofeta), and none are Dan Carter. But they'd have a good chance of leading other international sides. Just pick the best options balanced with an eye to the future!
Precisely. In Love and Reihana we can see options worth developing as opposed to sticking with the two failed candidates we've got. Where's the harm in seeing how they progress? The two incumbents aren't getting any better and we're losing games as a result.
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@SBW1 said in All Blacks 2025:
Rivez was also playing second fiddle to Taha Kemara before he got injured. What is really impressive is the fact he played against the two first choice 10s in the All Blacks, two weeks in a row.
He was actually injured when Taha was playing he only came back from injury the week before Taha got injured so not true.
