All Blacks 2026
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@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
if surf Jesus does fall off his board and takes his incompetent assistants with him, I'd like to see an honest review into why the Crusaders were successful with the same staff.
I've long suspected many players etc have come through NZ rugby's preeminent high performance unit and by virtue of that association have been made to look better than they were and subsequently elevated to positions well above their level.of competency.
And the sneaking position behind all of this is it was largely the great All Blacks who created that environment.
Problem with that is many underperforming ABs have not come through that high performance unit.
just as many that have,have not, there is more Chiefs in that squad than any other SR Team.The Chiefs haven't been winning SR ad nauseum. Nor their coaching staff all elevated to the national team.
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@antipodean Definitely way too many Chiefs players in the ABs though. Parker, Jacobson, Sititi, Carter, ALB, Ratima ...
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My dilemma is i cant see NZR firing the lot, while equally cant see the current coaches walk.
Of all of them i still think Ryan has alot to offer, and have wondered if this coaching team just isnt gelling or some seriously.mixed messages given the improvements our pack made when Ryan came in with Fozzie and Schmidt, while largely the same pack has regressed under Ryan since Razor has been at the helm...adds fuel to the fire of a poor environment.
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@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
if surf Jesus does fall off his board and takes his incompetent assistants with him, I'd like to see an honest review into why the Crusaders were successful with the same staff.
I've long suspected many players etc have come through NZ rugby's preeminent high performance unit and by virtue of that association have been made to look better than they were and subsequently elevated to positions well above their level.of competency.
And the sneaking position behind all of this is it was largely the great All Blacks who created that environment.
Problem with that is many underperforming ABs have not come through that high performance unit.
just as many that have,have not, there is more Chiefs in that squad than any other SR Team.The Chiefs haven't been winning SR ad nauseum. Nor their coaching staff all elevated to the national team.
No they haven’t but they have the most players I see a problem there as well.
And a lot under perform so not just a problem from one high performance unit
To me a problem with selection and coaching. -
If Savea says he doesn’t want to play for coaches he doesn’t like, then he shouldn’t be picked in the squad. He’s not bigger than the All Blacks. No one is greater than the team. Utterly ridiculous to have players telling who should and should not be coach of the national rugby team. Next Savea will demand a coach with a Samoan background be the head coach. You already see religion brought in with him. Next it will be political messages. You play whoever is the coach. NZR should make that very clear to the players. Savea thinks he owns the All Blacks.
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@xman said in All Blacks 2026:
If Savea says he doesn’t want to play for coaches he doesn’t like, then he shouldn’t be picked in the squad. He’s not bigger than the All Blacks. No one is greater than the team. Utterly ridiculous to have players telling who should and should not be coach of the national rugby team. Next Savea will demand a coach with a Samoan background be the head coach. You already see religion brought in with him. Next it will be political messages. You play whoever is the coach. NZR should make that very clear to the players. Savea thinks he owns the All Blacks.
I haven't seen these posts, but is that what's happening? Or is it just Savea saying yeah nah not for me thanks?
In which case, what's the problem? Seems like a very good decision to me. He certainly wouldn't be the first, in fact there's a very recent and prominent example.
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@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
if surf Jesus does fall off his board and takes his incompetent assistants with him, I'd like to see an honest review into why the Crusaders were successful with the same staff.
I've long suspected many players etc have come through NZ rugby's preeminent high performance unit and by virtue of that association have been made to look better than they were and subsequently elevated to positions well above their level.of competency.
And the sneaking position behind all of this is it was largely the great All Blacks who created that environment.
Problem with that is many underperforming ABs have not come through that high performance unit.
just as many that have,have not, there is more Chiefs in that squad than any other SR Team.The Chiefs haven't been winning SR ad nauseum. Nor their coaching staff all elevated to the national team.
No they haven’t but they have the most players I see a problem there as well.
And a lot under perform so not just a problem from one high performance unit
To me a problem with selection and coaching.Sure, not that it has much relevance to my point; I want to know what it is about the Crusaders that makes them successful.
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2026:
these "leaks" make no sense
The guy that, from the outside anyway, looks to be at the heart of our struggles when we have the ball, is not only locked in the jersey, he's actively running the team?
A guy who plays every minute of every test with what appears no accountability for any of the weaknesses in his game won't play for them any more?I am many confused.
I can’t speak for the ardie not wanting to play under the AB coaching group. But I can tell you what I posted is true. I agree, it makes no sense
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@Bones said in All Blacks 2026:
@xman said in All Blacks 2026:
If Savea says he doesn’t want to play for coaches he doesn’t like, then he shouldn’t be picked in the squad. He’s not bigger than the All Blacks. No one is greater than the team. Utterly ridiculous to have players telling who should and should not be coach of the national rugby team. Next Savea will demand a coach with a Samoan background be the head coach. You already see religion brought in with him. Next it will be political messages. You play whoever is the coach. NZR should make that very clear to the players. Savea thinks he owns the All Blacks.
I haven't seen these posts, but is that what's happening? Or is it just Savea saying yeah nah not for me thanks?
In which case, what's the problem? Seems like a very good decision to me. He certainly wouldn't be the first, in fact there's a very recent and prominent example.
I'm not sure if the rumours are true re Ardie with the ABs but I remember his reasoning for leaving the Canes was pretty poor in my view. He was butthurt that his brother got the flick when he clearly wasn't performing to a high standard, Ardie took it personally and decided to move on and the rest is history.
Maybe he's having similar issues with the ABs and his way of dealing with it is saying sayonara and hello to a fulltime contract in Japan. If true, he should never have been AB captain because that will come across as piss weak.
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@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
if surf Jesus does fall off his board and takes his incompetent assistants with him, I'd like to see an honest review into why the Crusaders were successful with the same staff.
I've long suspected many players etc have come through NZ rugby's preeminent high performance unit and by virtue of that association have been made to look better than they were and subsequently elevated to positions well above their level.of competency.
And the sneaking position behind all of this is it was largely the great All Blacks who created that environment.
Problem with that is many underperforming ABs have not come through that high performance unit.
just as many that have,have not, there is more Chiefs in that squad than any other SR Team.The Chiefs haven't been winning SR ad nauseum. Nor their coaching staff all elevated to the national team.
No they haven’t but they have the most players I see a problem there as well.
And a lot under perform so not just a problem from one high performance unit
To me a problem with selection and coaching.Sure, not that it has much relevance to my point; I want to know what it is about the Crusaders that makes them successful.
Recruitment
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@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
if surf Jesus does fall off his board and takes his incompetent assistants with him, I'd like to see an honest review into why the Crusaders were successful with the same staff.
I've long suspected many players etc have come through NZ rugby's preeminent high performance unit and by virtue of that association have been made to look better than they were and subsequently elevated to positions well above their level.of competency.
And the sneaking position behind all of this is it was largely the great All Blacks who created that environment.
Problem with that is many underperforming ABs have not come through that high performance unit.
just as many that have,have not, there is more Chiefs in that squad than any other SR Team.The Chiefs haven't been winning SR ad nauseum. Nor their coaching staff all elevated to the national team.
No they haven’t but they have the most players I see a problem there as well.
And a lot under perform so not just a problem from one high performance unit
To me a problem with selection and coaching.Sure, not that it has much relevance to my point; I want to know what it is about the Crusaders that makes them successful.
If you talk to the players it is the enviroment the care taken in the jersey,to leave it a good place when you leave, Honour the fans and the legacy that went before you.
Doesn’t that sound like the mantra the ABs used to have when you hear greats from the past talk about it.
So how does that thinking get corrupted in the AB set up now,
Influences that do not think that way they think just about me.
They would be players who have not come through the Crusader system you would think.
As it is ingrained in the Crusaders players. -
@junior which would go to my point about it being a great player led environment that demands high standards of the journeymen in the squad.
An obvious mistake to make if that premise is correct is to assign the success to the coaches...
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@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
if surf Jesus does fall off his board and takes his incompetent assistants with him, I'd like to see an honest review into why the Crusaders were successful with the same staff.
I've long suspected many players etc have come through NZ rugby's preeminent high performance unit and by virtue of that association have been made to look better than they were and subsequently elevated to positions well above their level.of competency.
And the sneaking position behind all of this is it was largely the great All Blacks who created that environment.
Problem with that is many underperforming ABs have not come through that high performance unit.
just as many that have,have not, there is more Chiefs in that squad than any other SR Team.The Chiefs haven't been winning SR ad nauseum. Nor their coaching staff all elevated to the national team.
No they haven’t but they have the most players I see a problem there as well.
And a lot under perform so not just a problem from one high performance unit
To me a problem with selection and coaching.Sure, not that it has much relevance to my point; I want to know what it is about the Crusaders that makes them successful.
I don't think it was ever Razor. Sam Whitelock was the cornerstone to the success of that Razor era in my opinion. There was a specific year that showed this when Sam Whitelock went overseas and came back late in the season (I can't remember the reason) to save the Crusaders campaign before they went on to lift the title. He was the heartbeat of their forward pack and the Crusaders were always much more beatable when he wasn't there.
The other big thing that has helped the Crusaders win so many titles in my opinion (especially over the last 10 years) is the freezing temperatures down in Chch during playoff footy. They dominate in those conditions because they play a very structured and set piece orientated game and most other teams who play more expansively just can't compete. The pending roofed stadium down in Chch may actually be a good thing for all other teams because they won't be going down there with the same daunting propsect of playing the Crusaders in a dewy, icy shithole.
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@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2026:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
if surf Jesus does fall off his board and takes his incompetent assistants with him, I'd like to see an honest review into why the Crusaders were successful with the same staff.
I've long suspected many players etc have come through NZ rugby's preeminent high performance unit and by virtue of that association have been made to look better than they were and subsequently elevated to positions well above their level.of competency.
And the sneaking position behind all of this is it was largely the great All Blacks who created that environment.
Problem with that is many underperforming ABs have not come through that high performance unit.
just as many that have,have not, there is more Chiefs in that squad than any other SR Team.The Chiefs haven't been winning SR ad nauseum. Nor their coaching staff all elevated to the national team.
No they haven’t but they have the most players I see a problem there as well.
And a lot under perform so not just a problem from one high performance unit
To me a problem with selection and coaching.Sure, not that it has much relevance to my point; I want to know what it is about the Crusaders that makes them successful.
I don't think it was ever Razor. Sam Whitelock was the cornerstone to the success of that Razor era in my opinion. There was a specific year that showed this when Sam Whitelock went overseas and came back late in the season (I can't remember the reason) to save the Crusaders campaign before they went on to lift the title. He was the heartbeat of their forward pack and the Crusaders were always much more beatable when he wasn't there.
The other big thing that has helped the Crusaders win so many titles in my opinion (especially over the last 10 years) is the freezing temperatures down in Chch during playoff footy. They dominate in those conditions because they play a very structured and set piece orientated game and most other teams who play more expansively just can't compete. The pending roofed stadium down in Chch may actually be a good thing for all other teams because they won't be going down there with the same daunting propsect of playing the Crusaders in a dewy, icy shithole.
I think you will find the Crusaders are smart enough to adjust their game plan and way to win under a roof.
It is also knowing how to apply and absorb finals pressure knowing how to win them,
I don’t think it will make a bit of difference if some other team wins it this year they will be because they are the better team come pressure finals time.On Whitelock he was hugh he along with Taylor and Mounga they steered that team on and off the field.
But 2 of them are not there and they still won last year and Razor wasn’t so not all Razor or all Sam. -
@xman said in All Blacks 2026:
If Robertson is sacked, the pressure on the next coach will be enormous to get better results. If the next coach loses the South Africa tour, loses the Bledisloe, loses the Eden Park streak, then what does NZR do? Don’t just assume Jamie Joseph will be the saviour of the All Blacks. Coaching Japan where you’re not expected to win, versus coaching the All Blacks where you’re expected to win every game is different level of pressure.
I suspect if he is gone it's not down to pure results. It will be the reported disintegratio of the team.
If he's gone.
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