All Blacks 2025
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Given some of our plays from the past 5 or 6 years, you wonder what they practice
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And just to advocate for the devil even more. One of the most commented on, frustrating things from the past few years is when we've very rarely seen the ABs absolutely dominate with their "up the middle", fast paced game played around the breakdown with offloads and quick ball, bodies in motion.
When it's been pulled out it's been devastating for opposition and it's extremely rarely used - I'm definitely not against seeing more of it.
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@Bones said in All Blacks 2025:
And just to advocate for the devil even more. One of the most commented on, frustrating things from the past few years is when we've very rarely seen the ABs absolutely dominate with their "up the middle", fast paced game played around the breakdown with offloads and quick ball, bodies in motion.
When it's been pulled out it's been devastating for opposition and it's extremely rarely used - I'm definitely not against seeing more of it.
Never understood why teams once they get momentum and a 1-2 phases of go forward decide to spin it wide, often with miss passes in midfield
The backs are lined up FFS
Far more productive to keep it straight, narrow and fast with quick drives, drops, and pick & gos
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On the high balls, my issue isn't so much with our ability to field opposition kicks, it's more about our ability to disrupt when chasing our own high balls. Jordie would obviously make a difference at the back defensively as he is world class under the high ball, but the way it's currently refereed it's not really a fair contest. The defender HAS to catch the high ball, whereas the chasers just have to get up and try it slap it back which is much easier to do. What frustrates me is we don't seem to exploit this the way other teams do. Every high ball we put up should have one player going up and disrupting, and 2 - 3 players waiting to pounce on the ball.
I do wonder if WR could look at implementing a law that states the chasing players has to actually make a genuine effort to catch the ball rather than just slapping it back, similar to the intercept where if it's not a genuine attempt to catch the ball, the knock on becomes a penalty. It does become a bit subjective, but the way teams just put it up and try and disrupt these days doesn't make for great viewing.
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Don't the ABs have an even higher win rate when George Bridge was playing?
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@No-Quarter I have a great solution that would get rid of contested kicking: You kick it and contest, the defending team can smash you in the air.
That would see a change in tactics.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2025:
Don't the ABs have an even higher win rate when George Bridge was playing?
He scored more tries against SA than Jonah ever did too
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@Bones said in All Blacks 2025:
And just to advocate for the devil even more. One of the most commented on, frustrating things from the past few years is when we've very rarely seen the ABs absolutely dominate with their "up the middle", fast paced game played around the breakdown with offloads and quick ball, bodies in motion.
When it's been pulled out it's been devastating for opposition and it's extremely rarely used - I'm definitely not against seeing more of it.
It's also a bloody good way to calm things down and begin to take control of the game. McCaw's teams did it a lot, we currently do it in patches.
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@Bones said in All Blacks 2025:
And just to advocate for the devil even more. One of the most commented on, frustrating things from the past few years is when we've very rarely seen the ABs absolutely dominate with their "up the middle", fast paced game played around the breakdown with offloads and quick ball, bodies in motion.
When it's been pulled out it's been devastating for opposition and it's extremely rarely used - I'm definitely not against seeing more of it.
Nor am I, but if we are releasing social media footage of us practicing this then it raises a bit of a concern that England will be prepared to stop it or that this is a bluff and we have no intention of using this strategy.
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@Bones said in All Blacks 2025:
Christ on a bike, this moaning for moaning's sake is getting a bit silly. ABs should apparently either release no media, or only release media of fans popular problem areas, or special tactics.
I saw footage on the news of them passing, running and then tackling. Lets hope they surprise England this Saturday and don't do any of this.
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@MN5 said in All Blacks 2025:
@Bones said in All Blacks 2025:
Christ on a bike, this moaning for moaning's sake is getting a bit silly. ABs should apparently either release no media, or only release media of fans popular problem areas, or special tactics.
I saw footage on the news of them passing, running and then tackling. Lets hope they surprise England this Saturday and don't do any of this.
Oh fucking hell. Hope like hell there wasn't any footage of them pushing in scrums otherwise we're completely fucked.
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@No-Quarter said in All Blacks 2025:
I do wonder if WR could look at implementing a law that states the chasing players has to actually make a genuine effort to catch the ball
Hmmm, the rugby league "Disruptor" rule.
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@Bones said in All Blacks 2025:
Christ on a bike, this moaning for moaning's sake is getting a bit silly. ABs should apparently either release no media, or only release media of fans popular problem areas, or special tactics.
Yeah, this is just media/PR fluff.
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@Bones said in All Blacks 2025:
"up the middle", fast paced game played around the breakdown with offloads and quick ball, bodies in motion.In the club comp I foillowed this year (not an NZ one, but a huge amount of Kiwis in it) this was the basic strategy of all teams, all grades.
A great watch.
Going wide was the option play. Only after you had achieved the go-forward.
