All Blacks 2025
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I’ve seen some questions around the precise value of Josh Lord and what he brings to the All Blacks so I thought it would be interesting to briefly take a closer look at his profile as a rugby player. Saturday’s Bulls’ game against the Taniwha provides, I think, a nice summation of Josh Lord’s style of play and how he’s able to impact the contest on the pitch.
Four aspects – lineout ability, general skillset, defence, and rugby intelligence – stand out to me, with Lord shaping essentially as a tight five glue player at Test level, someone who shows good understanding of the flow and rules of the game, which he uses to put pressure on the set piece and skillset of the opposition.
Lineout ability
The first aspect, lineout ability, speaks rather for itself. Lord has long arms and a good jump, so even when the timing of the lift and height of the throw is somewhat off (not an unlikely scenario with some of the hookers around), Lord is often still able to grab the ball.
If the French series has shown anything, it’s the importance of genuinely tall units who can provide lineout ball as well as get up high in the air for contestable restarts.
General skillset
A typical facet of the current AB game plan is ball movement, the ball being kept alive through the phases in a quick and swift manner. In this regard, the tall lock has shown smooth hands throughout his career, being both comfortable as a backdoor passer as well as willing to serve as makeshift 9 in order to keep the play moving.
Lord trusts his handling and passing skills, quickly moving into the halfback position with Lennox caught up in the ruck.Furthermore, Lord is comfortable with the ball in his hands in space, showing good technique in the 47th minute by holding the ball in his two hands, using multiple pass fakes in order to manipulate opposition defenders.
Defensive ability
The Taranaki lock is massive (2.03m) but remarkably agile for his frame. He moves well around the field and is versatile in the tackle, being both able to chop carriers around their ankles as well as wrap ball and man in upper-body hits with a strong shoulder.In the 24th minute, for example, Lord engages in a double tackle, with O’Neill going low and Lord going high on Alaimalo, the lock targeting the carrying arm with force and forcing the spill.
Forcing the knock-on: Lord targets Alaimalo’s carrying arm, creating the turnoverA few minutes later, Lord goes low in the tackle on Caird, with Lennox and Poliko this time targeting the upper-body.
Lord going very low on Caird, stopping him in his tracksAdded to this tackle versatility is the ability to scan the opposition attack, anticipating overlaps and working hard to plug gaps in defence. Right after making the chop tackle on Caird, Lord spots that the Taniwha have numbers on the left and immediately starts sprinting towards the opposite side.
Lord gets up from the tackle, scans the Northland attack and starts sprinting to the other side of the fieldhttps://media1.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExamlmandrZWprMngyYjFrZXR6Z21tMHV4eGRtb25sY3RkZ2xkZzk1cyZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/ntaFZuzhPJJeEqPvpu/giphy.gif
The sequence in full, which is Josh Lord in a nutshell: equal parts vision and mongrel. Keep your eyes on Lord in back playHere, we see the combination of Lord’s work rate and shithousery: after going full throttle in order to help stop the Northland line break, he first bumps Pasitoa out of the play without the ball (that’s a clear penalty and probable yellow card) before assisting Tikoisolomone with the tackle on Trainor. While he gets away with it here, Lord clearly pushes the boundaries. Then again, the anticipation of the opposition line break shows a remarkable rugby brain in action.
Rugby intelligence
Throughout the game, Lord showed signs of being quick on his feet, literally and figuratively. Another, more legal instance was in his understanding of the offside line, for example, by quickly moving into the Taniwha attacking line when the ref called the ball out of the ruck.
Lord (5, in the front) moves as soon as the ref indicates that the ball is out. Someone like Eben Etzebeth has shown the importance of knowing the nuances of the offside line and breakdown rules to be effective as a Test lockAnother example occurred during a Northland lineout: with the Taniwha throwing to the front, Lord reacts immediately to the ball being shifted to the 9 (and the lineout being effectively over), making him able to pressure Nock’s transfer to the backline.
Quick as a flash: Lord nearly catches Nock by being aware of the lineout rules on offsideSummary
Josh Lord doesn’t offer the work rate of a Barrett or Holland, the attacking instincts and footwork of a Vaa’i or the carrying power of a Patrick Tuipulotu. But what he does offer in spades is rugby intelligence and mongrel, as well as the traditional set piece abilities of a 2m+ lock.But while he has, I think, qualities which should really shine in Test rugby, his inability to simply stay on the field makes it doubtful whether we will ever see him for a long period in the black jersey. In this sense, Saturday’s match against the Taniwha was perhaps the most indicative yet, Lord watching from the side lines after getting a knock, his body not quite able to produce what his rugby brain wants it to.
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@reprobate said in All Blacks 2025:
@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2025:
@sparky said in All Blacks 2025:
Finley Christie's continued selection is troubling. Kyle Preston offers something different, I guess but Folau Fakatava and Xavier Roe are better players. Weird that Josh Lord (who is injured) gets picked ahead of Sam Darry who isn't.
Fakatave struggles to get start with Hawkes Bay.
What round are we in again?
I thought he did last year too, certainly didn't gat a lot for Highlanders this season as well.
@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2025:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2025:
@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2025:
@sparky said in All Blacks 2025:
Finley Christie's continued selection is troubling. Kyle Preston offers something different, I guess but Folau Fakatava and Xavier Roe are better players. Weird that Josh Lord (who is injured) gets picked ahead of Sam Darry who isn't.
Fakatave struggles to get start with Hawkes Bay.
What round are we in again?
I thought he did last year too, certainly didn't gat a lot for Highlanders this season as well.
15 games, 13 starts last year. So, no.
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@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks 2025:
Personally think there's the bones of a really good squad here, though the injury coverage definitely raises a few eyebrows.
I'm not surprised (nor hugely disheartened) that Christie is in the squad. Don't think there's any point in throwing out first caps willy nilly to young halfbacks when Roigard, Hotham and Ratima will all be expected to make the 2027 World Cup. I imagine that if only one of that trio had been injured, Preston would have received the call-up over Christie (although I'm not necessarily convinced he's the future either).
Front row remains strong. Suspect George Dyer is injured otherwise he would've been called up ahead of Mafileo.
Darry has played almost no rugby for 12 months so makes sense for him to get some more minutes under his belt before bringing him back into the fold and Lord is a known entity.
Glad to see Parker in the loosie mix. Knowing who was selected in the initial July squad, there aren't really any surprises here (i.e. the injury cover players have dropped out). Would personally have Papali'i in there ahead of Kirifi (or even Blackadder) but otherwise fairly consistent.
Backs are pretty much unchanged. Don't mind seeing Carter in there as injury cover, more just as a reward for a decent Super season, but can't imagine he'll actually get on the field.
Tamaiti Williams is out for Pumas 1, and Lomax won’t travel. Mafileo can play either side, which helps with training.
I expect EDG, Bower, Fletch and Tosi to play first game. -
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I’ve seen some questions around the precise value of Josh Lord and what he brings to the All Blacks so I thought it would be interesting to briefly take a closer look at his profile as a rugby player. Saturday’s Bulls’ game against the Taniwha provides, I think, a nice summation of Josh Lord’s style of play and how he’s able to impact the contest on the pitch.
Four aspects – lineout ability, general skillset, defence, and rugby intelligence – stand out to me, with Lord shaping essentially as a tight five glue player at Test level, someone who shows good understanding of the flow and rules of the game, which he uses to put pressure on the set piece and skillset of the opposition.
Lineout ability
The first aspect, lineout ability, speaks rather for itself. Lord has long arms and a good jump, so even when the timing of the lift and height of the throw is somewhat off (not an unlikely scenario with some of the hookers around), Lord is often still able to grab the ball.If the French series has shown anything, it’s the importance of genuinely tall units who can provide lineout ball as well as get up high in the air for contestable restarts.
General skillset
A typical facet of the current AB game plan is ball movement, the ball being kept alive through the phases in a quick and swift manner. In this regard, the tall lock has shown smooth hands throughout his career, being both comfortable as a backdoor passer as well as willing to serve as makeshift 9 in order to keep the play moving.
Lord trusts his handling and passing skills, quickly moving into the halfback position with Lennox caught up in the ruck.Furthermore, Lord is comfortable with the ball in his hands in space, showing good technique in the 47th minute by holding the ball in his two hands, using multiple pass fakes in order to manipulate opposition defenders.
Defensive ability
The Taranaki lock is massive (2.03m) but remarkably agile for his frame. He moves well around the field and is versatile in the tackle, being both able to chop carriers around their ankles as well as wrap ball and man in upper-body hits with a strong shoulder.In the 24th minute, for example, Lord engages in a double tackle, with O’Neill going low and Lord going high on Alaimalo, the lock targeting the carrying arm with force and forcing the spill.
Forcing the knock-on: Lord targets Alaimalo’s carrying arm, creating the turnoverA few minutes later, Lord goes low in the tackle on Caird, with Lennox and Poliko this time targeting the upper-body.
Lord going very low on Caird, stopping him in his tracksAdded to this tackle versatility is the ability to scan the opposition attack, anticipating overlaps and working hard to plug gaps in defence. Right after making the chop tackle on Caird, Lord spots that the Taniwha have numbers on the left and immediately starts sprinting towards the opposite side.
Lord gets up from the tackle, scans the Northland attack and starts sprinting to the other side of the fieldhttps://media1.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExamlmandrZWprMngyYjFrZXR6Z21tMHV4eGRtb25sY3RkZ2xkZzk1cyZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/ntaFZuzhPJJeEqPvpu/giphy.gif
The sequence in full, which is Josh Lord in a nutshell: equal parts vision and mongrel. Keep your eyes on Lord in back playHere, we see the combination of Lord’s work rate and shithousery: after going full throttle in order to help stop the Northland line break, he first bumps Pasitoa out of the play without the ball (that’s a clear penalty and probable yellow card) before assisting Tikoisolomone with the tackle on Trainor. While he gets away with it here, Lord clearly pushes the boundaries. Then again, the anticipation of the opposition line break shows a remarkable rugby brain in action.
Rugby intelligence
Throughout the game, Lord showed signs of being quick on his feet, literally and figuratively. Another, more legal instance was in his understanding of the offside line, for example, by quickly moving into the Taniwha attacking line when the ref called the ball out of the ruck.
Lord (5, in the front) moves as soon as the ref indicates that the ball is out. Someone like Eben Etzebeth has shown the importance of knowing the nuances of the offside line and breakdown rules to be effective as a Test lockAnother example occurred during a Northland lineout: with the Taniwha throwing to the front, Lord reacts immediately to the ball being shifted to the 9 (and the lineout being effectively over), making him able to pressure Nock’s transfer to the backline.
Quick as a flash: Lord nearly catches Nock by being aware of the lineout rules on offsideSummary
Josh Lord doesn’t offer the work rate of a Barrett or Holland, the attacking instincts and footwork of a Vaa’i or the carrying power of a Patrick Tuipulotu. But what he does offer in spades is rugby intelligence and mongrel, as well as the traditional set piece abilities of a 2m+ lock.But while he has, I think, qualities which should really shine in Test rugby, his inability to simply stay on the field makes it doubtful whether we will ever see him for a long period in the black jersey. In this sense, Saturday’s match against the Taniwha was perhaps the most indicative yet, Lord watching from the side lines after getting a knock, his body not quite able to produce what his rugby brain wants it to.
@Mauss said in All Blacks 2025:
I’ve seen some questions around the precise value of Josh Lord and what he brings to the All Blacks so I thought it would be interesting to briefly take a closer look at his profile as a rugby player.
Fake news
I don’t mind that they are giving Lord another chance. There is a skill set there that would fit in with the way we want to attack. On the defensive side, whilst the effort is there we will need to see an improvement in impact.
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@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2025:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2025:
@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2025:
@sparky said in All Blacks 2025:
Finley Christie's continued selection is troubling. Kyle Preston offers something different, I guess but Folau Fakatava and Xavier Roe are better players. Weird that Josh Lord (who is injured) gets picked ahead of Sam Darry who isn't.
Fakatave struggles to get start with Hawkes Bay.
What round are we in again?
I thought he did last year too, certainly didn't gat a lot for Highlanders this season as well.
15 games, 13 starts last year. So, no.
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2025:
@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2025:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2025:
@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2025:
@sparky said in All Blacks 2025:
Finley Christie's continued selection is troubling. Kyle Preston offers something different, I guess but Folau Fakatava and Xavier Roe are better players. Weird that Josh Lord (who is injured) gets picked ahead of Sam Darry who isn't.
Fakatave struggles to get start with Hawkes Bay.
What round are we in again?
I thought he did last year too, certainly didn't gat a lot for Highlanders this season as well.
15 games, 13 starts last year. So, no.
Hell did he get that many, I thought Hastie got more, I need o use fingers and toes to count . Lol
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@reprobate said in All Blacks 2025:
@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2025:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2025:
@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2025:
@sparky said in All Blacks 2025:
Finley Christie's continued selection is troubling. Kyle Preston offers something different, I guess but Folau Fakatava and Xavier Roe are better players. Weird that Josh Lord (who is injured) gets picked ahead of Sam Darry who isn't.
Fakatave struggles to get start with Hawkes Bay.
What round are we in again?
I thought he did last year too, certainly didn't gat a lot for Highlanders this season as well.
15 games, 13 starts last year. So, no.
Hell did he get that many, I thought Hastie got more, I need o use fingers and toes to count . Lol
@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2025:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2025:
@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2025:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2025:
@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2025:
@sparky said in All Blacks 2025:
Finley Christie's continued selection is troubling. Kyle Preston offers something different, I guess but Folau Fakatava and Xavier Roe are better players. Weird that Josh Lord (who is injured) gets picked ahead of Sam Darry who isn't.
Fakatave struggles to get start with Hawkes Bay.
What round are we in again?
I thought he did last year too, certainly didn't gat a lot for Highlanders this season as well.
15 games, 13 starts last year. So, no.
Hell did he get that many, I thought Hastie got more, I need o use fingers and toes to count . Lol
I think you are both talking about different seasons
Hastie definitely started more than 2 games in 2025
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Saw a post on Instagram yesterday from the mythofdmac account showcasing the depth across NZ at the moment. thought i'd chuck it up here for reference of what Razors trying to build.
- just so no one jumps down their back, the criteria was mentioned as adding in capped players before the uncapped.
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Godfrey over Reihana? Whoever wrote this can piss off.
Razor's idea is cool in theory but ultimately he is going to alienate a bunch of players spreading caps to thin. How will players become world class if the caps are being shared around?
We will see higher exodus because of this.
Players will be able to command more money overseas once they can show they're an All Black after one or two caps.
Rassies system only works due to their selection policy allowing overseas selections.
Also I personally don't believe you can build excellence with this approach. What we will end up with is a bunch of mediocre teams.
The forth teams backline would be mediocre even at Super Rugby level.
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@SBW1 Kyle Preston has a good kicking game?
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where the fuck has this vast depth building narrative come from?
The same core guys play nearly every game, and for the most part, changes are injury forced. Chucking toekn minutes to guys or bringing them in because one of the core is hurt is not building depth its the reality of modern rugby.
This bloke is so sucked off its incredible
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in fact the more i look at that ridiculous graphic the more annoyed i get.
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where the fuck has this vast depth building narrative come from?
The same core guys play nearly every game, and for the most part, changes are injury forced. Chucking toekn minutes to guys or bringing them in because one of the core is hurt is not building depth its the reality of modern rugby.
This bloke is so sucked off its incredible
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2025:
where the fuck has this vast depth building narrative come from?
The same core guys play nearly every game, and for the most part, changes are injury forced. Chucking toekn minutes to guys or bringing them in because one of the core is hurt is not building depth its the reality of modern rugby.
This bloke is so sucked off its incredible
Look to Rassie if you want to see how to build depth. That annoys me just to type it
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Fuck Rassie. Overrated flog. Absolutely carried to that last world cup by a bunch of shocking refereeing decisions that should have seen them eliminated before the final, and then got them over the line by a ball hair despite us losing two players.
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"oh but he's so innovative, he did a midfield lineout maul, and uses traffic lights". fuck off. If World Rugby had any fucking balls whatsoever he would spend most of the time suspended for ref abuse.
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where the fuck has this vast depth building narrative come from?
The same core guys play nearly every game, and for the most part, changes are injury forced. Chucking toekn minutes to guys or bringing them in because one of the core is hurt is not building depth its the reality of modern rugby.
This bloke is so sucked off its incredible
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2025:
where the fuck has this vast depth building narrative come from?
The same core guys play nearly every game, and for the most part, changes are injury forced. Chucking toekn minutes to guys or bringing them in because one of the core is hurt is not building depth its the reality of modern rugby.
This bloke is so sucked off its incredible
It's either forced by injury, playing for a rusty B team (usually) against lesser opposition, or a handful of minutes from the bench every now and then. Robertson hasn't actively tried to build depth at all. He's used the bench poorly and hasn't played promising players alongside the core group unless forced to. A lot of the time, he really just says whatever he thinks sounds good at the time, or tries to justify selections however he can.
