All Blacks 2026
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@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2026:
@game_film said in All Blacks 2026:
Ardie sin-binned for dissent in his first match back in Japan. Make him captain right now and don’t think twice!!
The messiah's team lost 46-0 to Deans' Wild Knights.
No doubt he looked devastated on Insta
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2026:
@game_film said in All Blacks 2026:
Ardie sin-binned for dissent in his first match back in Japan. Make him captain right now and don’t think twice!!
The messiah's team lost 46-0 to Deans' Wild Knights.
No doubt he looked devastated on Insta
He's such an inspirational player and human being. He gives his all for the team week in, week out, never backs down, leaves it all on the field, puts in the hard yards, empties the tank, battles to the end and never gives up. He has the heart of a lion. There's no quit in him. You can tell how much he cares.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@mohikamo said in All Blacks 2026:
The thing is, I think the people that hired him knew exactly what they were getting.
A marketing man's dream?
The problem I have with this argument is that he's absolutely not. He's barely coherent in an interview.
Does bloody great PowerPoint presentations though, apparently.
It's pretty obvious why he'd be picked: absolutely excellent Super rugby coaching results. I don't think it is valid to say that marketing had become more important than results to NZR and that's why he got the job - he had the bloody results, that was literally the strongest argument in his favour.
It's the powerpoint presentations which should have countered that - and that's on the people doing the hiring. Every time he opens his mouth seems like a red flag to me.
Nah. The people who hired him wanted someone who looked like a winner at international level - plus he was fresh and "different". They knew he was untested at international level but that was an inconvenience to be ignored.
There simply are not going to be candidates who are tested and a proven success at tier one international level on any sort of regular basis.
Tony Brown, Jamie Joseph, Joe Schmidt and Dave Rennie say "Hi"
Correct me if I'm wrong but at the time of Robertson's appointment:
Brown had not been an international head coach (and still hasn't).
Joseph had coached tier 2 Japan.
Joe Schmidt had not been an international head coach.
Dave Rennie had just been sacked from the Wallabies - after he had been passed over for Foster, who had also not been an international head coach.@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@mohikamo said in All Blacks 2026:
The thing is, I think the people that hired him knew exactly what they were getting.
A marketing man's dream?
The problem I have with this argument is that he's absolutely not. He's barely coherent in an interview.
Does bloody great PowerPoint presentations though, apparently.
It's pretty obvious why he'd be picked: absolutely excellent Super rugby coaching results. I don't think it is valid to say that marketing had become more important than results to NZR and that's why he got the job - he had the bloody results, that was literally the strongest argument in his favour.
It's the powerpoint presentations which should have countered that - and that's on the people doing the hiring. Every time he opens his mouth seems like a red flag to me.
Nah. The people who hired him wanted someone who looked like a winner at international level - plus he was fresh and "different". They knew he was untested at international level but that was an inconvenience to be ignored.
There simply are not going to be candidates who are tested and a proven success at tier one international level on any sort of regular basis.
Tony Brown, Jamie Joseph, Joe Schmidt and Dave Rennie say "Hi"
Correct me if I'm wrong but at the time of Robertson's appointment:
Brown had not been an international head coach (and still hasn't).
Joseph had coached tier 2 Japan.
Joe Schmidt had not been an international head coach.
Dave Rennie had just been sacked from the Wallabies - after he had been passed over for Foster, who had also not been an international head coach.I think you're missing my point. Robertson was clearly seen by many in NZR as their poster-boy from the time he applied for the job in '19. They should have taken a cold, hard look at other candidates to replace Foster.
There were plenty of people available with Test experience had NZR taken the time to manage that talent pool. Instead, they seem to have pissed them off.
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Obviously it wasn't clear but I was referring to Mo'unga.
Savea's team also lost a close game. Akira Ieremia got a red card for the winners.
@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2026:
Obviously it wasn't clear but I was referring to Mo'unga.
Savea's team also lost a close game. Akira Ieremia got a red card for the winners.
Had a customary missed touch from a penalty too.
These games are so far away from top level, it is almost hard to watch. -
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@mohikamo said in All Blacks 2026:
The thing is, I think the people that hired him knew exactly what they were getting.
A marketing man's dream?
The problem I have with this argument is that he's absolutely not. He's barely coherent in an interview.
Does bloody great PowerPoint presentations though, apparently.
It's pretty obvious why he'd be picked: absolutely excellent Super rugby coaching results. I don't think it is valid to say that marketing had become more important than results to NZR and that's why he got the job - he had the bloody results, that was literally the strongest argument in his favour.
It's the powerpoint presentations which should have countered that - and that's on the people doing the hiring. Every time he opens his mouth seems like a red flag to me.
Nah. The people who hired him wanted someone who looked like a winner at international level - plus he was fresh and "different". They knew he was untested at international level but that was an inconvenience to be ignored.
There simply are not going to be candidates who are tested and a proven success at tier one international level on any sort of regular basis.
Tony Brown, Jamie Joseph, Joe Schmidt and Dave Rennie say "Hi"
Correct me if I'm wrong but at the time of Robertson's appointment:
Brown had not been an international head coach (and still hasn't).
Joseph had coached tier 2 Japan.
Joe Schmidt had not been an international head coach.
Dave Rennie had just been sacked from the Wallabies - after he had been passed over for Foster, who had also not been an international head coach.as @Tim noted, Ireland are technically an international team.
But can I add Gatland (3 6N titles) ? John Kirwan was also an ex-international head coach. And Robbie Deans. And John Mitchell. Maybe we missed a bullet.So, aside from bullets dodged - Schmidt then - who probably didn't want the job?
Point remains, we can't expect to have a range of first rate internationally tier 1 experienced head coach candidates available when we want them. It's just not realistic.@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
Point remains, we can't expect to have a It's just not realistic.
No-one is expecting NZR to have range of first rate internationally tier 1 experienced head coach candidates available when we want them.
But the point remains that NZR chose a bloke with no experience of Test rugby whatsoever. rather than court other candidates.
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This might not be the right thread, as many of the points may be more related to Super rugby and alignment in the domestic game, but interesting interview with Pat Lam on Devlin. He talked about how much time he gets with their players (like 30 games) and how they know that unless a player is with their international side, they have them there with them - he contrasted that with NZ and the piecemeal approach that you get as a Super rugby coach. Quite damning when you look at our organization in comparison to what they are doing up North.
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@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
Point remains, we can't expect to have a It's just not realistic.
No-one is expecting NZR to have range of first rate internationally tier 1 experienced head coach candidates available when we want them.
But the point remains that NZR chose a bloke with no experience of Test rugby whatsoever. rather than court other candidates.
Also it's not just the top job (culture coach), I'm astounded that NZR got into a situation where the 3 selectors are all from the same franchise. In previous appointments there was an effort to have a variety of backgrounds. It's unthinkable that Henry could've had two Blues selectors with him etc
One of the reasons that the cartel succeeded was because they challenged each other and Henry didn't win every argument
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Also it's not just the top job (culture coach), I'm astounded that NZR got into a situation where the 3 selectors are all from the same franchise. In previous appointments there was an effort to have a variety of backgrounds. It's unthinkable that Henry could've had two Blues selectors with him etc
One of the reasons that the cartel succeeded was because they challenged each other and Henry didn't win every argument
@Duluth said in All Blacks 2026:
Also it's not just the top job (culture coach), I'm astounded that NZR got into a situation where the 3 selectors are all from the same franchise. In previous appointments there would be an effort to have a variety of backgrounds. It's unthinkable that Henry could've had two Blues selectors with him etc
One of the reasons that cartel succeeded was that they challenged each other and Henry didn't win every argument
Good point. And it's interesting that the 2 Assistants who have left were non-Cantabs, I'd still have Ryan there though, done a pretty good job/
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@Duluth said in All Blacks 2026:
Also it's not just the top job (culture coach), I'm astounded that NZR got into a situation where the 3 selectors are all from the same franchise. In previous appointments there would be an effort to have a variety of backgrounds. It's unthinkable that Henry could've had two Blues selectors with him etc
One of the reasons that cartel succeeded was that they challenged each other and Henry didn't win every argument
Good point. And it's interesting that the 2 Assistants who have left were non-Cantabs, I'd still have Ryan there though, done a pretty good job/
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@Duluth said in All Blacks 2026:
Also it's not just the top job (culture coach), I'm astounded that NZR got into a situation where the 3 selectors are all from the same franchise. In previous appointments there would be an effort to have a variety of backgrounds. It's unthinkable that Henry could've had two Blues selectors with him etc
One of the reasons that cartel succeeded was that they challenged each other and Henry didn't win every argument
Good point. And it's interesting that the 2 Assistants who have left were non-Cantabs, I'd still have Ryan there though, done a pretty good job/
But arguably is the worst for provincial bias, going by the rumors about his thoughts on Sotutu and (unconfirmed) Akira.
Edit: Seems confirmed, thanks @African-Monkey
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@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@Duluth said in All Blacks 2026:
Also it's not just the top job (culture coach), I'm astounded that NZR got into a situation where the 3 selectors are all from the same franchise. In previous appointments there would be an effort to have a variety of backgrounds. It's unthinkable that Henry could've had two Blues selectors with him etc
One of the reasons that cartel succeeded was that they challenged each other and Henry didn't win every argument
Good point. And it's interesting that the 2 Assistants who have left were non-Cantabs, I'd still have Ryan there though, done a pretty good job/
But arguably is the worst for provincial bias, going by the rumors about his thoughts on Sotutu and (unconfirmed) Akira.
Edit: Seems confirmed, thanks @African-Monkey
@gt12 said in All Blacks 2026:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@Duluth said in All Blacks 2026:
Also it's not just the top job (culture coach), I'm astounded that NZR got into a situation where the 3 selectors are all from the same franchise. In previous appointments there would be an effort to have a variety of backgrounds. It's unthinkable that Henry could've had two Blues selectors with him etc
One of the reasons that cartel succeeded was that they challenged each other and Henry didn't win every argument
Good point. And it's interesting that the 2 Assistants who have left were non-Cantabs, I'd still have Ryan there though, done a pretty good job/
But arguably is the worst for provincial bias, going by the rumors about his thoughts on Sotutu and (unconfirmed) Akira.
@chchfanatic (wherever he is now) can confirm for us that they hated Akira. He was at a bbq with them and Akira's name got bought up and they all laughed at him circa 2018.
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@gt12 said in All Blacks 2026:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@Duluth said in All Blacks 2026:
Also it's not just the top job (culture coach), I'm astounded that NZR got into a situation where the 3 selectors are all from the same franchise. In previous appointments there would be an effort to have a variety of backgrounds. It's unthinkable that Henry could've had two Blues selectors with him etc
One of the reasons that cartel succeeded was that they challenged each other and Henry didn't win every argument
Good point. And it's interesting that the 2 Assistants who have left were non-Cantabs, I'd still have Ryan there though, done a pretty good job/
But arguably is the worst for provincial bias, going by the rumors about his thoughts on Sotutu and (unconfirmed) Akira.
@chchfanatic (wherever he is now) can confirm for us that they hated Akira. He was at a bbq with them and Akira's name got bought up and they all laughed at him circa 2018.
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2026:
@chchfanatic (wherever he is now) can confirm for us that they hated Akira. He was at a bbq with them and Akira's name got bought up and they all laughed at him circa 2018.
Laughed at Akira, circa 2018? Professional coaches did that?
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Pat Lam actually touched on a lot of what’s being debated in this thread — not just results, but the system underneath the All Blacks. He was pretty blunt about NZ not being the benchmark anymore and said that’s actually an advantage if NZ Rugby is honest about it and makes the right decisions around development, Super Rugby, and funding.
What I found interesting is that he wasn’t having a go at Razor or the players at all — more the structures, the crowds dropping, and whether NPC/Super Rugby are still doing the job they used to.
I wrote up a piece pulling together his main points if anyone’s interested:
https://wetalkrugby.com/pat-lam-on-the-all-blacks/ -
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2026:
@chchfanatic (wherever he is now) can confirm for us that they hated Akira. He was at a bbq with them and Akira's name got bought up and they all laughed at him circa 2018.
Laughed at Akira, circa 2018? Professional coaches did that?
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2026:
@chchfanatic (wherever he is now) can confirm for us that they hated Akira. He was at a bbq with them and Akira's name got bought up and they all laughed at him circa 2018.
Laughed at Akira, circa 2018? Professional coaches did that?
According to him, yes.
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@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2026:
@chchfanatic (wherever he is now) can confirm for us that they hated Akira. He was at a bbq with them and Akira's name got bought up and they all laughed at him circa 2018.
Laughed at Akira, circa 2018? Professional coaches did that?
According to him, yes.
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2026:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2026:
@chchfanatic (wherever he is now) can confirm for us that they hated Akira. He was at a bbq with them and Akira's name got bought up and they all laughed at him circa 2018.
Laughed at Akira, circa 2018? Professional coaches did that?
According to him, yes.
I'm a little bit shocked!
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Pat Lam actually touched on a lot of what’s being debated in this thread — not just results, but the system underneath the All Blacks. He was pretty blunt about NZ not being the benchmark anymore and said that’s actually an advantage if NZ Rugby is honest about it and makes the right decisions around development, Super Rugby, and funding.
What I found interesting is that he wasn’t having a go at Razor or the players at all — more the structures, the crowds dropping, and whether NPC/Super Rugby are still doing the job they used to.
I wrote up a piece pulling together his main points if anyone’s interested:
https://wetalkrugby.com/pat-lam-on-the-all-blacks/Welcome aboard.
It was interesting interview, and he brought up many interesting points, including that he hardly knew Robbie Deans when he was asked to coach with him on the AB ticket. His story on that really showed how stupid it has been to make coaches find a team - often independent from others - of what the whole team would look like. He's right that they should hire the head coach, who then gets to help select the right and best assistants.
On many other points, I think he makes good points - falling interest from the public etc, but his solution (a Giteau rule to free up more money) was rightly questioned by Devlin - taking more stars out of the NZ game isn't going to get punters to the games.
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@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2026:
@chchfanatic (wherever he is now) can confirm for us that they hated Akira. He was at a bbq with them and Akira's name got bought up and they all laughed at him circa 2018.
Laughed at Akira, circa 2018? Professional coaches did that?
According to him, yes.
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2026:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2026:
@chchfanatic (wherever he is now) can confirm for us that they hated Akira. He was at a bbq with them and Akira's name got bought up and they all laughed at him circa 2018.
Laughed at Akira, circa 2018? Professional coaches did that?
According to him, yes.
Him being chchfanatic or Akira?
The Cantab mafia have been a bit quiet lately. I really enjoyed ChCh sauce as he clearly knows much and was happy to share. It would be fascinating to hear what is being said there at the moment. -
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2026:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2026:
@chchfanatic (wherever he is now) can confirm for us that they hated Akira. He was at a bbq with them and Akira's name got bought up and they all laughed at him circa 2018.
Laughed at Akira, circa 2018? Professional coaches did that?
According to him, yes.
Him being chchfanatic or Akira?
The Cantab mafia have been a bit quiet lately. I really enjoyed ChCh sauce as he clearly knows much and was happy to share. It would be fascinating to hear what is being said there at the moment.@gt12 said in All Blacks 2026:
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2026:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2026:
@chchfanatic (wherever he is now) can confirm for us that they hated Akira. He was at a bbq with them and Akira's name got bought up and they all laughed at him circa 2018.
Laughed at Akira, circa 2018? Professional coaches did that?
According to him, yes.
Him being chchfanatic or Akira?
The Cantab mafia have been a bit quiet lately. I really enjoyed ChCh sauce as he clearly knows much and was happy to share. It would be fascinating to hear what is being said there at the moment.Him being chchfanatic.
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@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2026:
@chchfanatic (wherever he is now) can confirm for us that they hated Akira. He was at a bbq with them and Akira's name got bought up and they all laughed at him circa 2018.
Laughed at Akira, circa 2018? Professional coaches did that?
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
Professional coaches did that?
Clearly not professional. Pity NZR are only just finding out, eh?
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Pat Lam actually touched on a lot of what’s being debated in this thread — not just results, but the system underneath the All Blacks. He was pretty blunt about NZ not being the benchmark anymore and said that’s actually an advantage if NZ Rugby is honest about it and makes the right decisions around development, Super Rugby, and funding.
What I found interesting is that he wasn’t having a go at Razor or the players at all — more the structures, the crowds dropping, and whether NPC/Super Rugby are still doing the job they used to.
I wrote up a piece pulling together his main points if anyone’s interested:
https://wetalkrugby.com/pat-lam-on-the-all-blacks/@giorgi1997 said in All Blacks 2026:
and whether NPC/Super Rugby are still doing the job they used to.
Well. Lam pretty much lining up with my thoughts, and this thread really.
It's kinda starting to become obvious to all the astute.As for NPC and SR, i've pretty much written them off as top level competitions.
I still like them, but they are not top class, and probably never will be going forward.
They are just for AB talent spotting now.
The preparation for Test rugby can not be done in those comps.
Instead of sending veteran ABs overseas on sabbatical/loan deals; maybe they should be sending the development players.The NZ rugby public are a little bit aware.
They realise that the star players are not playing in the NPC.
Taking the star players out of any sporting comp, is going to fuck it real quick.
NZR dont hesitate to take star players out of SR as well.And it's not just the star players either.
A while ago I counted about 500 NZ origin players; in pro leagues around the world.
Add to that nearly 200 NZ born players in the NRL.
In the past (amateurs) all those players were in NZ, pressing for places in provincial teams.
So you can see why you'd get crowds of tens of thousands at big inter-provincial games.
The GP can be stupid, but they can recognise an inferior product sometimes. -
I dont think being an international HC is an important requirement for being the AB HC.
But when the next AB HC is appointed; having experience with an overseas coaching system, should be an essential part of the resume.@mohikamo said in All Blacks 2026:
I dont think being an international HC is an important requirement for being the AB HC.
But when the next AB HC is appointed; having experience with an overseas coaching system, should be an essential part of the resume.But surely there is a bit of a change in focus for international vs club?
Club you get the guys for a full, uninterrupted season. Can train them exactly how you want, get them in camps early and build the team environment. Club pathways have fed you players familiar with the club style, you might pick up a signing or two but overall your tools are in front of you and you do the best with what you have. Your opponents are a fairly known quantity too so you can plan accordinglyWhereas international, you are not only identifying talent, you are basically starting with a blank canvas (obviously with some incumbents). You have them for a shorter time, guys might be in form (or not), you are trying to research other international teams that dont play week in week out. Build new relationships and timetables with these guys, drop vets and start rookies. Seems like a lot more to think about than a club side.
At least being familiar with this dynamic as a player or coach is surely a pretty valuable item on a resume
