Scotland v All Blacks
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I know people have bagged Jacobson but I thought he was the Chiefs best forward this year and he is a better loose forward than all of the others in the squad apart from Savea. Of the current squad the ABs would do a lot better with Jacobson at 7 and Savea back to 8. I'd put Finau at 6 and continue with him.
Probably Lakai on the bench.
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@brodean said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
I know people have bagged Jacobson but I thought he was the Chiefs best forward this year and he is a better loose forward than all of the others in the squad apart from Savea. Of the current squad the ABs would do a lot better with Jacobson at 7 and Savea back to 8. I'd put Finau at 6 and continue with him.
Probably Lakai on the bench.
Sititi and Paps are lower-ranked for you than Savea LJ Lakai and Finau? or just don't fit as well?
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@brodean said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
Agree with everything here apart from the Squire comment. Squire played with far more intensity than Parker.
Probably too much intensity for his own good
There is certain sort of skill in inflicting more pain on your opponent than on yourself.
Parker maybe hasn't got the balance quite right yet. -
@brodean said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
Of the current squad the ABs would do a lot better with Jacobson at 7 and Savea back to 8. I'd put Finau at 6 and continue with him.
Jacobson has been in the squad the whole season and hasn't even made a 23 yet?
I think he has been available for every game as well?
He must be due a run. -
@gt12 said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
@ACT-Crusader said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
@gt12 said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
Big difference between Crusaders side to side and Chiefs style fast ruck rugby. I look at these guys are being used and I wonder if the roles suits the skill set. Sounds like a good question for @Mauss
Part and parcel with being an AB. I look at a guy like Rodders and as an AB he played very different to how he played for the Canes and probably what was expected. And to me he was a class number 8 in his mix with Jerry and McCaw.
If we are building around Ardie then someone like Jacobson to me is the perfect sort of player to have in the mix.
Then we are basically getting to the same thing, even though I fundamentally disagree with the premise.
Parker is not a Jacobson like player, and would likely be a much better fit alongside Savea if we paired him with a Jacobson. I’m not sure Lakai is that guy but we’ll find out I guess.
I like Lakai, but it’s Lakai or Savea, not both. And I would put Sititi in that camp too. We can get away with one starting and one on the bench.
I think we might see a couple of changes beyond injuries for this Scotland test.
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@mohikamo said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
@brodean said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
Of the current squad the ABs would do a lot better with Jacobson at 7 and Savea back to 8. I'd put Finau at 6 and continue with him.
Jacobson has been in the squad the whole season and hasn't even made a 23 yet?
I think he has been available for every game as well?
He must be due a run.Pretty sure there was a period he was injured and then went back to the NPC.
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@mohikamo said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
@brodean said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
Agree with everything here apart from the Squire comment. Squire played with far more intensity than Parker.
Probably too much intensity for his own good
There is certain sort of skill in inflicting more pain on your opponent than on yourself.
Parker maybe hasn't got the balance quite right yet.His opponents have had an extremely pain free run so far
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@ACT-Crusader said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
@gt12 said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
@ACT-Crusader said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
@gt12 said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
Big difference between Crusaders side to side and Chiefs style fast ruck rugby. I look at these guys are being used and I wonder if the roles suits the skill set. Sounds like a good question for @Mauss
Part and parcel with being an AB. I look at a guy like Rodders and as an AB he played very different to how he played for the Canes and probably what was expected. And to me he was a class number 8 in his mix with Jerry and McCaw.
If we are building around Ardie then someone like Jacobson to me is the perfect sort of player to have in the mix.
Then we are basically getting to the same thing, even though I fundamentally disagree with the premise.
Parker is not a Jacobson like player, and would likely be a much better fit alongside Savea if we paired him with a Jacobson. I’m not sure Lakai is that guy but we’ll find out I guess.
I like Lakai, but it’s Lakai or Savea, not both. And I would put Sititi in that camp too. We can get away with one starting and one on the bench.
I think we might see a couple of changes beyond injuries for this Scotland test.
Then we are in the same spot. 100% agreed on those three.
So, they are trying to get guys to be something they aren’t, or have a plan to have similar sorts of players on the field in different zones, hoping that the imbalance will be distributed evenly across everyone (I.e., some kind of total rugby mindset) or towards others specifically in which our loosies don’t operate as a unit themselves but rather as a unit alongside others from their zone (e.g., cleaning and arrivals by the fatties, more tackles and carries by the locks)
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@nostrildamus said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
@brodean said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
I know people have bagged Jacobson but I thought he was the Chiefs best forward this year and he is a better loose forward than all of the others in the squad apart from Savea. Of the current squad the ABs would do a lot better with Jacobson at 7 and Savea back to 8. I'd put Finau at 6 and continue with him.
Probably Lakai on the bench.
Sititi and Paps are lower-ranked for you than Savea LJ Lakai and Finau? or just don't fit as well?
Paps is not in the squad. I do think he should be in the squad and the starting 7.
Sititi I think has been hugely inconsistent and is massively overrated. He needs to mature quite a bit. Im not convinced hes suited to test rugby. Hes another Savea like player who is too small for 8 but doesnt have the requisite skills for 7.
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@brodean said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
Sititi I think has been hugely inconsistent and is massively overrated. He needs to mature quite a bit. Im not convinced hes suited to test rugby. Hes another Savea like player who is too small for 8 but doesnt have the requisite skills for 7.
He's made a good fist of coming off of the bench the last 2 tests. Encouraging
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@brodean said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
@nostrildamus said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
@brodean said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
I know people have bagged Jacobson but I thought he was the Chiefs best forward this year and he is a better loose forward than all of the others in the squad apart from Savea. Of the current squad the ABs would do a lot better with Jacobson at 7 and Savea back to 8. I'd put Finau at 6 and continue with him.
Probably Lakai on the bench.
Sititi and Paps are lower-ranked for you than Savea LJ Lakai and Finau? or just don't fit as well?
Paps is not in the squad. I do think he should be in the squad and the starting 7.
Sititi I think has been hugely inconsistent and is massively overrated. He needs to mature quite a bit. Im not convinced hes suited to test rugby. Hes another Savea like player who is too small for 8 but doesnt have the requisite skills for 7.
Yeah but being big in itself isn't everything. Look at Parkers ( non ) impact.
Sititi is an ideal guy to bring on carrying hard against tired defences. I agree he has been disappointing after last year though.
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@nostrildamus said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
Interesting question. I'd suspect Beauden is a little banged up. Lakai-not sure about, he worked hard, but I just don't really see him as nailing down that 8 position. I can see Sititi starting at 6 or 8 and Parker out of the 23, thought he lacked presence and impact.
Lakai isn't an 8. He should be selected at 7 or nothing.
I wouldn't mind seeing Finau get a chance to put a shot on Russell. Let him sit deep in the pocket for 60mins!
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@brodean said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
@nostrildamus said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
@brodean said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
I know people have bagged Jacobson but I thought he was the Chiefs best forward this year and he is a better loose forward than all of the others in the squad apart from Savea. Of the current squad the ABs would do a lot better with Jacobson at 7 and Savea back to 8. I'd put Finau at 6 and continue with him.
Probably Lakai on the bench.
Sititi and Paps are lower-ranked for you than Savea LJ Lakai and Finau? or just don't fit as well?
Paps is not in the squad. I do think he should be in the squad and the starting 7.
Sititi I think has been hugely inconsistent and is massively overrated. He needs to mature quite a bit. I m not convinced hes suited to test rugby. Hes another Savea like player who is too small for 8 but doesnt have the requisite skills for 7.
Strange comment? Sititi is only 23 but already 10kg heavier than Savea.
Wallace Sititi - Chiefs
North Harbour loose forward Wallace Sititi is the son of Semo Sititi, the former Manu Samoa captain who also played for the Hurricanes in Super Rugby. Sititi was deputy head […]
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@restofit said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
Strange comment? Sititi is only 23 but already 10kg heavier than Savea.
Wallace Sititi - Chiefs
North Harbour loose forward Wallace Sititi is the son of Semo Sititi, the former Manu Samoa captain who also played for the Hurricanes in Super Rugby. Sititi was deputy head […]
Yes and despite 'official' stats, from photos of them together, I think he is taller than Savea too (but most international 8s probably are).
Looks like he may have worked out how to be bulky and keep some speed-hope that balance continues. -
@brodean said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
@gt12 said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
He’s giving Squire Vibes a bit at the moment, as tbf, does Finau. Might be able to bully around against the less physical packs but might lack the edge against really physical sides.
In Parker’s defense, unlike the Chiefs, the ABs don’t have a clean-up specialist and don’t seem to take advantage of his strengths. He’s anonymous at LO time, and hardly used with ball in hand.
I’m becoming less and less convinced about Ryan - I cant think of a player, maybe Newell excepted, who actually looks the same or better at this level - that’s been a trademark of great ABs, as the level of play goes up, their performance rises alongside.
Despite his scoring achievements, for that reason I’m not prepared to say that Jordan is nearing ‘great AB’ status. Jordie can get there, maybe Clark if he stays healthy, Taylor might be the only other forward, but I don’t know if he is ‘better’.
Definitely none of the loosies are playing at ‘great’ level.
Beauden was a great AB, and Dmac will never get the chance.
Agree with everything here apart from the Squire comment. Squire played with far more intensity than Parker.
I’m not interested in running him down, given the difficulties he faced, but he was Tarzan against Australia and Jane against the Springboks.
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@No-Quarter said in Scotland Vs All Blacks, 8th November 2025:
@gt12 the Jordan thing annoys me, he would be approaching "great" status if he stayed on the wing. At fullback his weaknesses are amplified. It's like if you tried to chuck Jonah at fullback, he'd get found out despite being such a threat ball in hand, so his performances would always be marred by defensive mistakes, poor passing etc. Jordan is the worlds best winger in my opinion, he's nowhere near the worlds best fullback.
Produces magic out of a hat on the wing. Been pretty anonymous at 15 for me - even in the latter parts of the game when there's more broken play
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@Victor-Meldrew perfect bench player.
