All Blacks 2026
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@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:
@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:
@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
Am hearing from good sources those players were asked.
I can not see NZR not asking them it would set up a lot of problems going forward in a lot of areas.Crusaders methods can't be that different that pretty much all of the non-Saders players find them objectionable?
Of course not players come into that environment all the time short term and long term they always say they loved it there.
They wouldn't keep or attract players if it was.So Razor managed to create an us vs them mentality within the camp. From a so called players coach I'm flabbergasted
It seems that way which doesn't really add up why that changed.
Not to mention his coaching team, which fractured within the first year and didn't stop there
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@george33 said in All Blacks 2026:
@Chris You would think the AB captain was asked oh not sure seems likely.
My source said they weren't involved at all .If that's true that just seems bizarre. Taylor and Barrett are part of the senior players group
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@george33 said in All Blacks 2026:
@george33 And I'm hearing that Leon McDonald will be involved obviously not head coach tho.
you'd hope its not going to be one of those cases where NZ is bring in assistants before the head coach is appointed
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@Kiwiwomble No don't think that's the case just saying he's in the mix as an assistant.
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@george33 said in All Blacks 2026:
@Kiwiwomble No don't think that's the case just saying he's in the mix as an assistant.
how do you understand that working? like all the other names people have brought up as possibilities or you've heard NZR has positioned him? if that latter then they better have a head coach already or its putting the horse before the cart
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@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:
@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
@Kirwan said in All Blacks 2026:
One thing has been pretty clear. Every criticism of Roberston from when he was initially appointed (lacked international experience, wasn't actually doing the hands on coaching at the Crusaders, was not detailed oriented enough, I could go on...) turned out to be 100% accurate.
He also turned out to wildly provincially biased, in both his coaching and player selections. It was a massive blindspot.
At this point we could appoint a high school rugby coach and it would be an improvement for the All Blacks.
He didn't pick any Blues (except the dud ones), but if anything he picked too many Chiefs, not Crusaders.
I don't really buy the international experience either.
A lack of detail though, fuck yes that was pretty obvious.Seems he lacked knowledge of cultures outside of Christchurch and Summer
A bit harsh considering he played and coached in France and played in Japan.
He did show provincial bias at times, but in odd cases which did his standing with the squad no favours (Fihaki springs to mind, EB too although at least he was one of the better SR performers in his position). I'm not convinced that he was anti-Blues players per se. But he clearly only had his eyes on playing fast and loose, and picked lots of players trying to fit that mode (Sititi et al) without an appreciation for the grafters that do the prep work so that the show ponies can shine. And no doubt the way he dealt with guys like DP and Hoskins was unprofessional and unlikely to win over those players or others who sympathised and were suspicious of his motives
He also dropped Crusaders players Havilli,Blackadder and selected more Chiefs than any other team.
So I don't buy in to the Crusader bias, Fihaki trained as did a lot of players with the squad he never was picked in a squad.Yeah, the provincial bias (ie pro crusaders bias) thing is complete bullshit which just doesn’t stack up when you look at the players who have actually been selected. I think it stems from the carry on about guys like Strange, Havili and Blackadder being guaranteed spots before Robertson had even selected a first squad. It has continued with Fihaki joining the squad for a couple of training sessions somehow being evidence of massive bias.
An anti Blues bias might have some more truth to it. But as far as i know there have never been any “tsf sauce” confirmed rumours about any actual falling out etc. At least until this most recent Dalton stuff.To me the whole “International experience” thing is a bit of a red herring. Ryan and Hansen both had international experience as assistants. And Robertson was very successful building/maintaining a team culture with guys from all over NZ and the odd import under the Crusaders banner.
It would be much more appropriate to focus on the complete shit show that was selection, team preparation, tactics, defensive systems and game plans. Those things alone were enough to sack the coaches.
That’s even without going into any of the communication/buy in from players issues that have surfaced. But I suspect the players themselves, senior players especially, should be shouldering a decent chunk of the blame for that also.The next coaching team is going to have their work cut out for them sorting the above and somehow building a leadership group with some rugby brains and leadership qualities. So for me at least, their actual ideas on fixing these things should be higher up on the priority list than some generic international experience coaching some shit team up north.
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@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:
@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
@Kirwan said in All Blacks 2026:
One thing has been pretty clear. Every criticism of Roberston from when he was initially appointed (lacked international experience, wasn't actually doing the hands on coaching at the Crusaders, was not detailed oriented enough, I could go on...) turned out to be 100% accurate.
He also turned out to wildly provincially biased, in both his coaching and player selections. It was a massive blindspot.
At this point we could appoint a high school rugby coach and it would be an improvement for the All Blacks.
He didn't pick any Blues (except the dud ones), but if anything he picked too many Chiefs, not Crusaders.
I don't really buy the international experience either.
A lack of detail though, fuck yes that was pretty obvious.Seems he lacked knowledge of cultures outside of Christchurch and Summer
A bit harsh considering he played and coached in France and played in Japan.
He did show provincial bias at times, but in odd cases which did his standing with the squad no favours (Fihaki springs to mind, EB too although at least he was one of the better SR performers in his position). I'm not convinced that he was anti-Blues players per se. But he clearly only had his eyes on playing fast and loose, and picked lots of players trying to fit that mode (Sititi et al) without an appreciation for the grafters that do the prep work so that the show ponies can shine. And no doubt the way he dealt with guys like DP and Hoskins was unprofessional and unlikely to win over those players or others who sympathised and were suspicious of his motives
He also dropped Crusaders players Havilli,Blackadder and selected more Chiefs than any other team.
So I don't buy in to the Crusader bias, Fihaki trained as did a lot of players with the squad he never was picked in a squad.As a Blues fan I actually think he would have done better if he simply picked more Crusaders and played them.
They are familiar with that style of play and they are part of that culture. The players are gritty and know how to win at all costs.
Had he done that I believe he would have picked up a couple of extra games which would have taken him over 80%.
Having said that I don't think its remotely possible that he would have won an RWC with a team made up of more Crusaders players without incredible luck.
He made a mistake in picking a bunch of players all over the country and then trying to force them into a Crusaders style culture and game plan. By picking different players he should have adjusted the culture and the game plan to accommodate their strengths.
In summary picking more Crusaders would have meant better consistency based on his cultural approach and game plan but it would limit the peak ability of the team. It would have probably meant he could have kept his job. Would that have been the best long term approach for the ABs and NZ rugby? No.
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@george33 if thats the case, then they were absolutely spoken to before letting Razor go, plus increases the likelihood of it being one of Cotter or JJ who are both already contracted to NZR.
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@taniwharugby i feel it lowers the chance of it being Brown though unless he's outright playing games with his statement
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@taniwharugby that's my thinking NZR already made the call .
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@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:
Was what we got actually Crusaders rugby? I don't recall our forward pack being anywhere near as physical as the Saders packs of my memory. I also seem to recall Saders teams playing with more structure, something we can't accuse this latest ABs team of
Absolutely not. What Crusaders team has a loose forward attempting chip kicks in front of his own posts?
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obvious preface with "I don't really know i can only comment on what i saw from my couch" but it looked to me like there were two very different parts of the Razor reign.
The team started 2024 playing flat out at all costs, DMac touched the ball damn near every phase, including kick return. Then after that Aus win that was closer than it should have been Razor rissoled DMac and reinstated BB.
At that point i think we saw a complete change in teh way we play. We reverted to a 10 standing in the pocket shovelling the ball, forwards started playing as first receiver (like we had been doing for ages) and we kicked a shitload more. Does this coincide with BB also taking over training and setting up a "pattern" he was far more comfortable operating? I don't know. -
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:
Was what we got actually Crusaders rugby? I don't recall our forward pack being anywhere near as physical as the Saders packs of my memory. I also seem to recall Saders teams playing with more structure, something we can't accuse this latest ABs team of
Absolutely not. What Crusaders team has a loose forward attempting chip kicks in front of his own posts?
That's what makes the whole episode so bizarre. Razor gets the job he covets, then departs from everything that seemed to underpin his success up to that point
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@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:
Was what we got actually Crusaders rugby? I don't recall our forward pack being anywhere near as physical as the Saders packs of my memory. I also seem to recall Saders teams playing with more structure, something we can't accuse this latest ABs team of
Absolutely not. What Crusaders team has a loose forward attempting chip kicks in front of his own posts?
That's what makes the whole episode so bizarre. Razor gets the job he covets, then departs from everything that seemed to underpin his success up to that point
Maybe he does just let the senior players he has dictate the style of play and sticks to motivating. I imagine Sam Whitelock would want to play a different way to Beauden Barrett.
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@ShaquilleOatmeal said in All Blacks 2026:
@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:
Was what we got actually Crusaders rugby? I don't recall our forward pack being anywhere near as physical as the Saders packs of my memory. I also seem to recall Saders teams playing with more structure, something we can't accuse this latest ABs team of
Absolutely not. What Crusaders team has a loose forward attempting chip kicks in front of his own posts?
That's what makes the whole episode so bizarre. Razor gets the job he covets, then departs from everything that seemed to underpin his success up to that point
Maybe he does just let the senior players he has dictate the style of play and sticks to motivating. I imagine Sam Whitelock would want to play a different way to Beauden Barrett.
Just seems odd
