All Blacks 2025
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I felt like this was worthy of a thread of its own in regards to squad selection. This is my guess for the ABs Squad and ABs XV Squad. Hard to know how many there will be in the XV, but I am picking around 30 for them and 36+1 for the ABs, as am expecting Bower to be with them as a 7th prop:
All Blacks
Props:
Ethan de Groot
Tamaiti Williams
Ollie Norris
Fletcher Newell
Pasilio Tosi
Tevita Mafileo
George Bower (Injury Cover)All Blacks XV
Props:
Xavier Numia
Pouri Rakete-Stones
Josh Fusitua
George Dyer
Josh BartlettNot Available: Tyrel Lomax, Ofa Tu'ungafasi & Saula Ma'u (XV)
Notes: Could be a bit of a race to the bottom at prop for the XV if they do pick Bower for the ABs. Bartlett seems to fit the mould of Tosi and Norris as an impactful ball carrier so they may look to get him into the environment.All Blacks
Hookers:
Codie Taylor
Samisoni Taukei'aho
Brodie McAllisterAll Blacks XV
Hookers:
George Bell
Kurt Eklund
Jack TaylorNot Available: Asafo Aumua
Notes: If Aumua is really out with concussion, that has to be a major concern, but he has not been sighted for a while. Also would not be stunned if Bell and McAllister were the other way around.All Blacks
Locks:
Scott Barrett (c)
Fabian Holland
Patrick Tuipulotu
Sam DarryAll Blacks XV
Locks:
Josh Lord
Naitoa Ah Kuoi
Josh BeehreNot Available: Tupou Vaa'i
Notes: I would have Darry over Lord, but it is hard to keep up with who they rank higher out of those two. Deserved call-up for Beehre to the XV. Suspect Lord ends up as cover for the ABs at some point, in which case they will need another one. Walker-Leawere has been in and around it, so he is the most likely. Antonio Shalfoon won't be far off it either.All Blacks
Loose Forwards:
Simon Parker
Ardie Savea
Peter Lakai
Wallace Sititi
Luke Jacobson
Du'Plessis Kirifi
Samipeni FinauAll Blacks XV
Loose Forwards:
TK Howden
Devan Flanders
Dalton Papalii
Sean Withy
Christian Lio-Willie (c)Not Available: Corey Kellow & Ethan Blackadder
Notes: Think if Vaa'i was fit, Finau would have been squeezed down into the XV, but in the absence of an outstanding candidate to replace him, he survives for now. Howden to be rewarded for a good year I think, and is a Jamie Joseph favourite, and he should have some influence. Kellow, had he stayed fit I think would have been a bolter to blow past Kirifi into the top squad. Haig was there last year, so if he is seen as a player of the future he may be retained as a continuity pick. Bound to be a few injuries at play here.All Blacks
Halfbacks:
Cam Roigard
Cortez Ratima
Finlay ChristieAll Blacks XV
Halfbacks:
Dylan Pledger
Kyle Preston
Xavier RoeNot Available: Noah Hotham
Notes: Probably the position with the most intrigue given the emergence of Pledger? I think they resist the urge to rush him as the number three, so the ginger will be retained, but hard to see him playing outside of the Wales test. I would not be surprised if he links up with the ABs top squad after the two XV games. Fakatava deserves to be here on form, and given Joseph is coach, he may sneak in, but otherwise expecting them in the same order they were called up.All Blacks
First Fives:
Beauden Barrett
Damian McKenzieAll Blacks XV
First Fives:
Josh Jacomb
Rivez ReihanaNot Available: Stephen Perofeta
Notes: Perofeta has been unsighted, so am assuming he is out. Jacomb is the obvious one, and they may only pick one if they decide to release Love down into the XV for one of the two games. Reihana leads the chasing group, though there is daylight.All Blacks
Midfielders:
Jordie Barrett
Quinn Tupaea
Billy Proctor
Rieko Ioane
Anton Lienert-BrownAll Blacks XV
Midfielders:
Dallas McLeod
Brayden Ennor
David Havili
AJ LamNot Available: Timoci Tavatavanawai & Riley Higgins (XV)
Notes: Assuming they pick five in the top squad, it will be those five. Quite funny that we have gone full circle and realised that Rieko is actually a centre, and a very good defensive centre at that. The XV will be continuity picks I think. Ennor a bolter for the top side over ALB, but otherwise McLeod and Havili have been in and around it. Have Lam down as the other centre, though they might go with a bit more of a bolter than thatAll Blacks
Outside Backs:
Caleb Clarke
Leicester Fainga'anuku
Leroy Carter
Emoni Narawa
Will Jordan
Ruben LoveAll Blacks XV
Outside Backs:
Sevu Reece
Caleb Tangitau
Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens
Etene Nanai-Seturo
Fehi FineanganofoNot Available: ?
Notes: Hard to see a world where the ABs don't go for those six outsides. If Narawa is out, am picking they will go Tangitau over Reece. Just seems they have made the decision to move on from the latter. The XV have many options, because a lot of them are very similar. Pretty confident in the first three, less sure on the last two.@frugby said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
All Blacks
Halfbacks:
Cam Roigard
Cortez Ratima
Finlay ChristieAll Blacks XV
Halfbacks:
Dylan Pledger
Kyle Preston
Xavier RoeNot Available: Noah Hotham
Notes: Probably the position with the most intrigue given the emergence of Pledger? I think they resist the urge to rush him as the number three, so the ginger will be retained, but hard to see him playing outside of the Wales test. I would not be surprised if he links up with the ABs top squad after the two XV games. Fakatava deserves to be here on form, and given Joseph is coach, he may sneak in, but otherwise expecting them in the same order they were called up.With Roigard and Ratima fit, I would take Preston on tour with the ABs and have Christie with the AB XV.
Christie can be on emergency call similar to the RC.
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@brodean said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Is Chay Fihaki injured?
He’s playing today and our goal kicker.
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2 Rugby championships under Razor and we are no further ahead, no RC in the trophy cabinet and if anything, in my opinion we have regressed. Beating the Wallabies and retaining the Bledisloe will take the heat off the coaching group, but it shouldn’t. The record loss(at home too) isn’t talked about enough.
A silver lining is a couple young guys coming through so far this year in Fabian Holland and Leroy Carter, both look the part and look like they could own the jersey. Tupaea stepping up last night is also a step forward for the midfield(still baffled he was subbed, can only assume it was pre determined which does my head in).
End of year tour is going to be extremely interesting, not just in results but with how the public respond if the inconsistencies continue. All Blacks through thick and thin but shit it feels like a weird time to support them right now, something just seems off. Let’s hope it all clicks soon.
Bring on the EOYT.
@Landers92 said in All Blacks 2025:
2 Rugby championships under Razor and we are no further ahead, no RC in the trophy cabinet and if anything, in my opinion we have regressed. Beating the Wallabies and retaining the Bledisloe will take the heat off the coaching group, but it shouldn’t. The record loss(at home too) isn’t talked about enough.
A silver lining is a couple young guys coming through so far this year in Fabian Holland and Leroy Carter, both look the part and look like they could own the jersey. Tupaea stepping up last night is also a step forward for the midfield(still baffled he was subbed, can only assume it was pre determined which does my head in).
End of year tour is going to be extremely interesting, not just in results but with how the public respond if the inconsistencies continue. All Blacks through thick and thin but shit it feels like a weird time to support them right now, something just seems off. Let’s hope it all clicks soon.
Bring on the EOYT.
A big EOYT as well. The can probably afford 1 loss as par. 2, and the pressure is right on. -
One thing we haven't had yet under this current regime is that dominant performance against a top side. We've had a few hard fought victories, but we haven't had that big 80 min Performance where we can say that this current crop has turned a corner......yet.
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Taniela telea maybe? I like what he brings to the table
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@brodean said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Sullivan has done some good things with Hawkes Bay.
Maybe having mum cooking dinner and dessert every day, not to mention not having to do his own washing, motivates him to play better!
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Taniela telea maybe? I like what he brings to the table
@family-man said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Taniela telea maybe? I like what he brings to the table
I think Nogusta said that he isn't very highly rated by the people higher up.
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@nonpartizan said in All Blacks 2025:
One of the problems with the loosies that I feel would be relatively easy to remedy is reducing Ardies minutes.
I think part of the reason he doesn't give a good 80 minute performance is because he is burned out from over playing. When you play every minute of every match of course your batteries are low.
He needs to be rotated out of the team sometimes he also needs to be subbed. We need less minutes from him but higher quality minutes.
I can guarantee if he was South African he would not be playing as much for Rassie.
This is a great point. Kolisi playing 80 minute games or every game hasn't been a feature for years now.
@brodean said in All Blacks 2025:
@nonpartizan said in All Blacks 2025:
One of the problems with the loosies that I feel would be relatively easy to remedy is reducing Ardies minutes.
I think part of the reason he doesn't give a good 80 minute performance is because he is burned out from over playing. When you play every minute of every match of course your batteries are low.
He needs to be rotated out of the team sometimes he also needs to be subbed. We need less minutes from him but higher quality minutes.
I can guarantee if he was South African he would not be playing as much for Rassie.
This is a great point. Kolisi playing 80 minute games or every game hasn't been a feature for years now.
Yep. And it is wasting what is probably right now our biggest strength: depth. There are people on here who think any of Vaai, Barrett, Holland, Tuipolotu are our best locks. Guys like Jacobson, Papalii, Blackadder are all good, all workers. Kirifi and Savea. Hoskins, Sititi, CLW. Finau, Parker, Vaai.
Ask anyone who to pick and you'll get a different answer, which is because there are not 3 guys who as a combination, have been shown to be head and shoulders better than any other. We aren't in the McCaw, Read, Kaino era anymore. If we were to look at it as 'who can play better than (eg) Savea after he's already played 40 minutes flat out' the answer is lots of them, yet he's still playing 80, and we are still picking Ioane off the bench to cover centre - while Fainga'anuku is on the field - and wing - while Jordan is on the field - and bringing him on by rote for arguably our best back on the night. We are dumb. -
Anyone watching the Breakdown 🫣
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Anyone watching the Breakdown 🫣
@upthelanders said in All Blacks 2025:
Anyone watching the Breakdown 🫣
Will watch tomorrow can you give me some insight into what's in store........
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Anyone watching the Breakdown 🫣
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Anyone watching the Breakdown 🫣
@upthelanders said in All Blacks 2025:
Anyone watching the Breakdown 🫣
Lots of wank about Razor turning the corner with two wins in a row and unearthing a midfield superstar no doubt ?
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Most of us have argued for the last thirty years that having all the All Blacks based in New Zealand and on central contracts is wise and helps us compete better on the international stage in the professional era.
I still believe that. I don't want to see us sucked into any club Vs country shenanigans.
However, a problem at the moment is the current coaching team's insistence on picking the most highly paid NZ players regardless of their form, whether they are carrying a minor injury or whether they look like the best options to develop for the 2027 RWC.
It's good that we won the Bledisloe Cup yet again, it's good that we managed to string two consecutive wins together, it's good that we have unearthed a few gems this year, it's acceptable that we finished 2nd in the Rugby Championship behind an excellent Springbok squad.
But I remain deeply concerned about the current selection strategy and some key on-field tactics.
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Higgins is nearly ready to go again so he may get an AB XV spot.
@Canes4life said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Higgins is nearly ready to go again so he may get an AB XV spot.
Riley Higgins is ALWAYS ready to go again.
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Most of us have argued for the last thirty years that having all the All Blacks based in New Zealand and on central contracts is wise and helps us compete better on the international stage in the professional era.
I still believe that. I don't want to see us sucked into any club Vs country shenanigans.
However, a problem at the moment is the current coaching team's insistence on picking the most highly paid NZ players regardless of their form, whether they are carrying a minor injury or whether they look like the best options to develop for the 2027 RWC.
It's good that we won the Bledisloe Cup yet again, it's good that we managed to string two consecutive wins together, it's good that we have unearthed a few gems this year, it's acceptable that we finished 2nd in the Rugby Championship behind an excellent Springbok squad.
But I remain deeply concerned about the current selection strategy and some key on-field tactics.
