All Blacks 2026
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Given what we’ve learned, I think it’s important to look back on individual player performances the last 2 years and not be too critical…. as we were in real time.
Yes, the sand has run through the hourglass for half a dozen of them and they should move on. But for the younger ones, and those with plenty in the tank - If these guys were struggling in a dysfunctional culture, clashes over tactics and concerns about their team-mates then it’s bound to be reflected in their performance.
On the other hand, the fact that they achieved some decent results despite this bodes well.
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@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
@Cyclops said in All Blacks 2026:
It still feels like a massive longshot that he ever gets the gig again though.
Won't happen. His supposed strengths are the very reason he got booted. This wasn't a case of not having unfamiliar skills - it's a complete grotesque failure of the very thing he was supposed to be best at.
It really puts into perspective the success the Crusaders setup has had .
The much maligned Rob Penney took them to a title with Rivez Reihana playing 10.
I don't actually mind Rob Penney either. He'd probably be more prepared than Razor if he got a go as ABs coach in a weird sort of way (obviously he won't).
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@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
@Cyclops said in All Blacks 2026:
It still feels like a massive longshot that he ever gets the gig again though.
Won't happen. His supposed strengths are the very reason he got booted. This wasn't a case of not having unfamiliar skills - it's a complete grotesque failure of the very thing he was supposed to be best at.
It really puts into perspective the success the Crusaders setup has had .
Know it's unfair, but I have this nagging feeling NZR were conned.
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Yeah in the end it wasn't the results or the player discontent that did him in . . . it was the "trajectory."
Goin forward I thought it was lookin very shitty, and obviously Kirk did too.
It may still be shitty goin forward; but there is a better chance of changing that shitty lookin "trajectory" with a new leadership team.Sacking a HC mid-term is a bit of a jolt, and hopefilly It will get rid of some of that smug complacency that has permeated NZR HQ for the last few years, as well.
If using speed and skill was the basic strategy, I actually agree with that.
Would have been realatively straight-forward in the 80's 90s 00s 10s . . . but it's a bit different now.
The other teams are now well prepared to face that type of game, and can even play that way themselves a bit.
Still not as good as we can imo.
But you have to have some flexibility; plans B and C; and be able to adjust during an actual game; and take care of the basics. -
Yeah frustrating, but a bit of a tip of the hat to TSF.
Lurked here myself for decades (just for a read).
Starting to feel the TSF has secured for itself not only a leading position as a story breaker; but may also be starting to indirectly lead opinion as well.
The slower media seem to have acted with surprise at this weeks events; but no TSF regular would have been. -
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@Nepia said in All Blacks 2026:
Wait what? Were you not in NZ at the time? They were a clusterfuck off the field. There's a number of player books from that era that provide examples. There was cliques and factions all over the place which was one of the first things the new coaches had to fix in 2004.
Yeah the likes of Mark Shaw. He was a complete DH at that time.
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@mohikamo It’s a real credit to the sleuthing skills in this group. Once we caught a whiff that something was there, everyone tapped into their own networks to piece the puzzle together. I think the critical mass of connections we have here is quite unrivaled.
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@kev said in All Blacks 2026:
Be interested to see what a Kirk led board will do with the shit sandwich that is the non performing Silver Lake deal. Having given away permanent ownership / revenue share you have to make it work somehow.
Kirk will definitely be able to deal with that shit sandwich better than any other person in NZ rugby, EVER!
If he cant get a good outcome, it aint possible. -
@MN5 said in All Blacks 2026:
I certainly get he wasn't exactly popular but that seems to pale in comparison to what I've heard on this thread about Razor.
It's close, but I think Mitchell is the winner.
Only cos I think Razor didn't really know what the fuck he was doin.
Mitchell and his assistants knew they were bein dicks, and didn't care.
But the ex-AB coach tag would have been enough to allow him to stay in the game and have some learnings in the last 20 years.
No way is he comin back tho, F that. -
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
@Cyclops said in All Blacks 2026:
It still feels like a massive longshot that he ever gets the gig again though.
Won't happen. His supposed strengths are the very reason he got booted. This wasn't a case of not having unfamiliar skills - it's a complete grotesque failure of the very thing he was supposed to be best at.
It really puts into perspective the success the Crusaders setup has had .
Know it's unfair, but I have this nagging feeling NZR were conned.
I can see that argument, but what explains his success at the Crusaders?
Surely the guys that played under him there - Whitelock, S Barrett, Taylor in particular - would not have stood for him if he was a genuine conman?
Not sticking up for Razor here - the guy is clearly an intellectual midget with an over-inflated ego and looking at his AB stint in isolation, it's clear there's a bit of the chancer about him - but I just don't see how a genuine conman gets away with it for 7 years.
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@mohikamo said in All Blacks 2026:
If using speed and skill was the basic strategy, I actually agree with that.
That would be fine if we had enough speed and skill - but we don't.
In fact, our biggest area of strength is the fat, slow blokes.
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@junior The Saders success indicates that Razor could achieve outstanding results when he had a monoculture to manage.
In fact, I have no doubt he was able to bring the players to the boil to the point where they felt they could run through brick walls.
I think he achieved that in first half of Ellis Park last year.
But it seems clear that the ABs have fractured into cliques and Razor was unable to unify them as ABs first and foremost.
And when the going got tough those splits came to the surface, most notably in Wellington.
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@junior said in All Blacks 2026:
That would be fine if we had enough speed and skill - but we don't.
Not right now.
But generally I think NZ will always have an edge in that area.
And it should be the first strategy.
Never guna beat England/France/Saffers consistently with just a power type game.Only Fiji can edge us in the speed and skill dept.
But we can deal with them in those other ways.
