All Blacks 2025
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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
@MiketheSnow said in All Blacks 2025:
@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
Yep. The aim should be to create space or mismatches before going wide. You need a half line break at least to have a set backline backpedalling enough for it to be useful - a gainline+ hit up or two is nowhere near sufficient in itself.
But if you can manipulate things - commit a few of the opposition backs to make tackles on forwards, re-align your backline while you're doing it to leave their forwards defending backs, or a small back defending someone like Sititi -those mismatches you're after and appropriate support runners, then you're in business. -
@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.
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2025:
@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.
Outlaw attacking players contesting at all. Safer, less useful tactic, more attacking rugby.
Or when they're not trying to catch it and fuck it up, rule it a deliberate knock on and yellow card the fluffybunnies. -
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@Bones said in All Blacks 2025:
@hikastags said in All Blacks 2025:
Quite surprised by the amount of people that are keen for us to keep practicing low percentage plays. Hilarious.
Yeah true, shouldn't practice box kick reception at all, great point.
That's not a low percentage play. Du'Plessis Kirifi and Peter Lakai throwing offloads 2cm above the ground is a low percentage play.
Great point, sounds like a winner.
@hikastags said in All Blacks 2025:
. Du'Plessis Kirifi and Peter Lakai throwing offloads 2cm above the ground is a low percentage play.
what, standing up like Ardie?
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@hikastags said in All Blacks 2025:
@Bones said in All Blacks 2025:
@hikastags said in All Blacks 2025:
Quite surprised by the amount of people that are keen for us to keep practicing low percentage plays. Hilarious.
Yeah true, shouldn't practice box kick reception at all, great point.
That's not a low percentage play. Du'Plessis Kirifi and Peter Lakai throwing offloads 2cm above the ground is a low percentage play.
Great point, sounds like a winner.
What's the percentage of contestable box kicks being caught?
@Bones said in All Blacks 2025:
@hikastags said in All Blacks 2025:
@Bones said in All Blacks 2025:
@hikastags said in All Blacks 2025:
Quite surprised by the amount of people that are keen for us to keep practicing low percentage plays. Hilarious.
Yeah true, shouldn't practice box kick reception at all, great point.
That's not a low percentage play. Du'Plessis Kirifi and Peter Lakai throwing offloads 2cm above the ground is a low percentage play.
Great point, sounds like a winner.
What's the percentage of contestable box kicks being caught?
According to Dagg, 0% for Reiko and 100% for any Cantab.
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@Bones said in All Blacks 2025:
@hikastags said in All Blacks 2025:
@Bones said in All Blacks 2025:
@hikastags said in All Blacks 2025:
Quite surprised by the amount of people that are keen for us to keep practicing low percentage plays. Hilarious.
Yeah true, shouldn't practice box kick reception at all, great point.
That's not a low percentage play. Du'Plessis Kirifi and Peter Lakai throwing offloads 2cm above the ground is a low percentage play.
Great point, sounds like a winner.
What's the percentage of contestable box kicks being caught?
According to Dagg, 0% for Reiko and 100% for any Cantab.
@Nepia said in All Blacks 2025:
@Bones said in All Blacks 2025:
@hikastags said in All Blacks 2025:
@Bones said in All Blacks 2025:
@hikastags said in All Blacks 2025:
Quite surprised by the amount of people that are keen for us to keep practicing low percentage plays. Hilarious.
Yeah true, shouldn't practice box kick reception at all, great point.
That's not a low percentage play. Du'Plessis Kirifi and Peter Lakai throwing offloads 2cm above the ground is a low percentage play.
Great point, sounds like a winner.
What's the percentage of contestable box kicks being caught?
According to Dagg, 0% for Reiko and 100% for any Cantab.
He made it out like that was the case after the Argentina loss so yeah, you're fairly accurate with that.
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@Bones said in All Blacks 2025:
@hikastags said in All Blacks 2025:
@Bones said in All Blacks 2025:
@hikastags said in All Blacks 2025:
Quite surprised by the amount of people that are keen for us to keep practicing low percentage plays. Hilarious.
Yeah true, shouldn't practice box kick reception at all, great point.
That's not a low percentage play. Du'Plessis Kirifi and Peter Lakai throwing offloads 2cm above the ground is a low percentage play.
Great point, sounds like a winner.
What's the percentage of contestable box kicks being caught?
You tell me. Contestable box kicks aren't even about being caught lol. They're about forcing errors in the air. Especially against the All Blacks as they're shit under the high ball. Do you seriously think we are improving there?
But yeah, stuff catching high balls. Let's practice falling offloads!
@hikastags said in All Blacks 2025:
@Bones said in All Blacks 2025:
@hikastags said in All Blacks 2025:
@Bones said in All Blacks 2025:
@hikastags said in All Blacks 2025:
Quite surprised by the amount of people that are keen for us to keep practicing low percentage plays. Hilarious.
Yeah true, shouldn't practice box kick reception at all, great point.
That's not a low percentage play. Du'Plessis Kirifi and Peter Lakai throwing offloads 2cm above the ground is a low percentage play.
Great point, sounds like a winner.
What's the percentage of contestable box kicks being caught?
You tell me. Contestable box kicks aren't even about being caught lol. They're about forcing errors in the air. Especially against the All Blacks as they're shit under the high ball. Do you seriously think we are improving there?
But yeah, stuff catching high balls. Let's practice falling offloads!
You aren't going to beat my broken record Jordaning with your ridiculous assertion that a few seconds long puff piece on social media equates to the only thing ABs are training and the reason for their failures elsewhere.
I would say give it up, but it's pretty funny.
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So a question.
If you assume that Scooter is going to be picked because he's the captain.
If all of our locks are fit - who else gets to play?
Vaa'i, Tuipolotu, Holland, Lord, Darry
@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2025:
So a question.
If you assume that Scooter is going to be picked because he's the captain.
If all of our locks are fit - who else gets to play?
Vaa'i, Tuipolotu, Holland, Lord, Darry
You've summed up the issues with this AB team.
Form doesn't matter if you are one of those who can't be touched. -
@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2025:
So a question.
If you assume that Scooter is going to be picked because he's the captain.
If all of our locks are fit - who else gets to play?
Vaa'i, Tuipolotu, Holland, Lord, Darry
You've summed up the issues with this AB team.
Form doesn't matter if you are one of those who can't be touched. -
So a question.
If you assume that Scooter is going to be picked because he's the captain.
If all of our locks are fit - who else gets to play?
Vaa'i, Tuipolotu, Holland, Lord, Darry
@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2025:
So a question.
If you assume that Scooter is going to be picked because he's the captain.
If all of our locks are fit - who else gets to play?
Vaa'i, Tuipolotu, Holland, Lord, Darry
Form wise, I'd probably plump for PT and FH, but very tough on Va'ai - I'm not averse to seeing more of him at 6. Lord and Darry can bide their time, pretty tough on Darry too.
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2025:
So a question.
If you assume that Scooter is going to be picked because he's the captain.
If all of our locks are fit - who else gets to play?
Vaa'i, Tuipolotu, Holland, Lord, Darry
Form wise, I'd probably plump for PT and FH, but very tough on Va'ai - I'm not averse to seeing more of him at 6. Lord and Darry can bide their time, pretty tough on Darry too.
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2025:
@Bones Holland or Patty on the bench?
Specialist bench man PT. Holland is a starter only for me and I'd probably still keep PT on the bench if Holland was out.
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@gt12 Well, it's not often the captain gets dumped - you have to go back to about 1989.
And it's a boring question if you allow Scott to be dumped, since a fair proportion of non-Crusaders fans will advocate for it.
@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2025:
@gt12 Well, it's not often the captain gets dumped - you have to go back to about 1989.
And it's a boring question if you allow Scott to be dumped, since a fair proportion of non-Crusaders fans will advocate for it.
Why not be innovative and have him as the team captain? That doesn't mean he starts every game. Put Codie Taylor at captain when Scott's form isn't good enough.
Here's the issue: As you are explaining it, they should avoid the hard calls because no one has done it for 30 odd years.
And, non Cantab supporters may argue for it, because on form there would little reason for Scott to be thrown back to the starting job if everyone was fit.
But, they aren't - Pat T and Vaaii are out.
So, for this week, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Lord moved back to the bench, and Barrett back in alongside Holland. Darry could be a smokey for a bench role, but that seems hard on Lord.
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2025:
@gt12 Well, it's not often the captain gets dumped - you have to go back to about 1989.
And it's a boring question if you allow Scott to be dumped, since a fair proportion of non-Crusaders fans will advocate for it.
Why not be innovative and have him as the team captain? That doesn't mean he starts every game. Put Codie Taylor at captain when Scott's form isn't good enough.
Here's the issue: As you are explaining it, they should avoid the hard calls because no one has done it for 30 odd years.
And, non Cantab supporters may argue for it, because on form there would little reason for Scott to be thrown back to the starting job if everyone was fit.
But, they aren't - Pat T and Vaaii are out.
So, for this week, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Lord moved back to the bench, and Barrett back in alongside Holland. Darry could be a smokey for a bench role, but that seems hard on Lord.
@gt12 said in All Blacks 2025:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2025:
@gt12 Well, it's not often the captain gets dumped - you have to go back to about 1989.
And it's a boring question if you allow Scott to be dumped, since a fair proportion of non-Crusaders fans will advocate for it.
Why not be innovative and have him as the team captain? That doesn't mean he starts every game. Put Codie Taylor at captain when Scott's form isn't good enough.
Here's the issue: As you are explaining it, they should avoid the hard calls because no one has done it for 30 odd years.
And, non Cantab supporters may argue for it, because on form there would little reason for Scott to be thrown back to the starting job if everyone was fit.
But, they aren't - Pat T and Vaaii are out.
So, for this week, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Lord moved back to the bench, and Barrett back in alongside Holland. Darry could be a smokey for a bench role, but that seems hard on Lord.
Not sure the captaincy can work that way.
Don't know what job you do - but, imagine if your CEO came in and said - your manager's been a bit shit lately, so we're going to send him off to be the filing clerk for a few months and you're in charge.
A couple of months later - he looks like he's recaptured his form. Right - you guys are all back to your old jobs and he's back giving the orders.
I think he's got to be gone - as I think Taine and Reuben were when new regimes came in.
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@gt12 said in All Blacks 2025:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2025:
@gt12 Well, it's not often the captain gets dumped - you have to go back to about 1989.
And it's a boring question if you allow Scott to be dumped, since a fair proportion of non-Crusaders fans will advocate for it.
Why not be innovative and have him as the team captain? That doesn't mean he starts every game. Put Codie Taylor at captain when Scott's form isn't good enough.
Here's the issue: As you are explaining it, they should avoid the hard calls because no one has done it for 30 odd years.
And, non Cantab supporters may argue for it, because on form there would little reason for Scott to be thrown back to the starting job if everyone was fit.
But, they aren't - Pat T and Vaaii are out.
So, for this week, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Lord moved back to the bench, and Barrett back in alongside Holland. Darry could be a smokey for a bench role, but that seems hard on Lord.
Not sure the captaincy can work that way.
Don't know what job you do - but, imagine if your CEO came in and said - your manager's been a bit shit lately, so we're going to send him off to be the filing clerk for a few months and you're in charge.
A couple of months later - he looks like he's recaptured his form. Right - you guys are all back to your old jobs and he's back giving the orders.
I think he's got to be gone - as I think Taine and Reuben were when new regimes came in.
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@Chris-B because captaining a rugby team is just like having an office job?
I've seen it before, maybe not so often in rugby but it's not uncommon in other sports.
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If SB can recapture his form, then he and Holland with PT on the bench is seriously strong. If he can't recapture that form, then they will need to look for a new captain after the tour. Trouble is, there aren't many obvious options to take over. People have vouched for Ardie, but his decision making is not crash hot, twice he has attempted chip kicks from our own 22 at awful times in the match.
I think we have a couple of future AB captains in Roigard and Sititi, but Sititi got the 2nd season blues (which he is now overcoming), and it'd be too much to put on Roigard's plate right now given his inexperience how dependent we already are on him.
