All Blacks 2026
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@Bones said in All Blacks 2026:
Yeah I can't really buy the whole thing, perfect story to try and make Razor the hero. Plus it's just a bit too Yankee movie drama for me.
I could see how elements of it might be true - or based on true events. Like, I can totally see Ardie being a bit of a ratbag (have heard some things myself about that), and I can also see him and Razor having some disagreements about various things along the way. But the whole thing put together in this context and as the reason for Razor's axing seems a bit of a stretch.
Edit: And let's not kid ourselves that there wouldn't be several guys in every touring squad - players and coaches - out there sampling foreign delicacies.
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In the shock of a century there are rumours of big personalities and guys playing away fixtures.
Whether it comes down to guys being caught out for rooting around, holding invite only kava sessions or not going to Codie's 100th test drinks; it is clear the clique culture got a bit toxic and wasn't conducive to a high performance environment.
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@SouthernMann said in All Blacks 2026:
it is clear the clique culture got a bit toxic and wasn't conducive to a high performance environment
Yeah, and that's probably the real story as far as Kirk is concerned. The so-called culture coach allowed this toxic culture to fester - or could do nothing to stop it.
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@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
@gt12 said in All Blacks 2026:
I wouldn’t discount sauce from chchfanatic.
He’s provided plenty of stuff over the years which has been shown to be legit. In this case, I don’t buy the part about Paps, we’ve even seen that reported in the media, but I’m prepared to buy that there will be some truth to other parts of what he has been told.
It sounds incredibly toxic if that is what is being said.
chchfanatic has sources close to the people involved,He has been spot on when quoting his source most of the time..
All very well for some people to bag his post who don't know where his sources come from they would look stupid if they knew.I have no doubt he does have sources etc, a few of us have some. But spreading gossip that suggests someone is playing around is I suggest just that gossiping and not caring about families etc of players. That's not rugby news, just salacious gossip, not caring who get's hurt.
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@allblackfan2 said in All Blacks 2026:
@nzzp said in All Blacks 2026:
@Frank said in All Blacks 2026:
@chchfanatic
So the rumor is basically Ardie is a wife cheating, cliquey, devious backstabber.you missed 'manipulative and petty'
Not necessarily great leadership traits , I hope it’s not the case.
Do we seriously think David Kirk would have been fooled by a scam like this? Does Ardie have all of the management staff in his pocket as well? Sounds far fetched to me. Doesn't mean to say it isn't true
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@junior said in All Blacks 2026:
@SouthernMann said in All Blacks 2026:
it is clear the clique culture got a bit toxic and wasn't conducive to a high performance environment
Yeah, and that's probably the real story as far as Kirk is concerned. The so-called culture coach allowed this toxic culture to fester - or could do nothing to stop it.
Yeah, it simply doesn't matter who the antagonist is. If it was any one of the problems that have been listed over the last weekish, it could be fixable. Not the several ones that are being publicly litigated through leaks and Chinese whispers. It is just amazing how bad Razor had it become within two years.
When thinking of these types of roles, properly coaching can end up playing second fiddle to man management. Don't have good buy-in doesn't matter what your playbook is. The goose is cooked.
The major difference Razor would have had between the Crusaders and the ABs is Team Razor was ingrained into his Crusaders boys. If they weren't in, it would have been identified at a reasonably young age. Instead of with the ABs having guys who didn't align with his systems/processes. Who you simply couldn't say piss off to.
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Yep, give people too much leeway, they'll take it.
IF, Ardie is as toxic as being suggested, it is likely this toxicity has grown under Razor, cos you know hed not have got away with that with the likes of Whitelock, Cane, BBBR, although id be a bit surprised SB and CT have allowed him to get so much 'control'.
Anywhoo, back to my knitting.
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Some of the speculation on here and elsewhere seems unnecessary and distracts from what has happened and what had to happen.
The ABs were going nowhere, if not backwards, and Razor apparently was unable to convince them that he had the answers.
So much at stake here and that is what prompted the board to do what they have done.
I am trusting that Kirk, Mealamu and Tricker have got it right and we will emerge from this a stronger team. -
Whoever comes in and takes over has to lay down the law right from the jump if he wants any chance of success. I agree that man management matters the most. These guys know how to play, otherwise they wouldn't be there. But managing the egos and strong personalities is an underappreciated skill. Just ask Phil Jackson
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@SouthernMann said in All Blacks 2026:
@junior said in All Blacks 2026:
@SouthernMann said in All Blacks 2026:
it is clear the clique culture got a bit toxic and wasn't conducive to a high performance environment
Yeah, and that's probably the real story as far as Kirk is concerned. The so-called culture coach allowed this toxic culture to fester - or could do nothing to stop it.
Yeah, it simply doesn't matter who the antagonist is. If it was any one of the problems that have been listed over the last weekish, it could be fixable. Not the several ones that are being publicly litigated through leaks and Chinese whispers. It is just amazing how bad Razor had it become within two years.
When thinking of these types of roles, properly coaching can end up playing second fiddle to man management. Don't have good buy-in doesn't matter what your playbook is. The goose is cooked.
The major difference Razor would have had between the Crusaders and the ABs is Team Razor was ingrained into his Crusaders boys. If they weren't in, it would have been identified at a reasonably young age. Instead of with the ABs having guys who didn't align with his systems/processes. Who you simply couldn't say piss off to.
That's an interesting way of looking at it. I can see it too, as it reminds me of a very successful part of an organization I know well that cannot bring in new people, as to them it is a completely toxic environment where you have to drink the coolaid to get a go.
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@SouthernMann said in All Blacks 2026:
The major difference Razor would have had between the Crusaders and the ABs is Team Razor was ingrained into his Crusaders boys. If they weren't in, it would have been identified at a reasonably young age. Instead of with the ABs having guys who didn't align with his systems/processes. Who you simply couldn't say piss off to.
If you compare when Razor came into the Crusaders as coach to when he came into the ABs it's two very different scenarios
When Razor came into the Crusaders as coach they had come off a relatively lean period of success (by Crusaders standards), some of the old players had left (McCaw, Carter) and he himself was part of the foundational Crusaders successful era as a player (late 90s/early 00s). The Crusaders hadn't won a title for 8 or so seasons whereas he was part of multiple title winning teams, including a 3 peat. He could harken back to the Crusaders culture that he was part of. This is on addition to his exploits as Canterbury NPC coach.
Whereas he comes into the ABs. He has no test experience. He has a number of players with a lot of test experience. Whilst Razor was an AB he played during frankly an awful era of modern AB rugby ("hey guys I was in the ABs during the era we lost the Bledisloe then couldn't get it back"). He is also following a head coach who was seemingly very well loved by his players (in Fozzie) and quite an awkward way Razor got the job (start of the world cup year, he basically had a weak NZR over a barrell). Throw in that i'm sure there was some resentment from non Crusader ABs over his success and cult like status (breakdancing etc).
In hindsight if I was Razor I would have spent the 6 months post RWC 2023 doing everything I could to try and break down barriers and misconceptions about being the Crusaders coach as opposed to being coach of the whole country
However, I think even attempts to do this would have been very challenging as frankly he comes across as an awkward communicator (at best). I struggle to think of a long time successful coach who came across worse in press conferences than Razor. I understand press conferences aren't the be all and end all and are different to coaching but he REALLY struggled to articulate himself. I found him an absolute punishing listen to be honest and it was painful to watch after a while. I am usually really interested to hear from the horses mouth what AB coaches but not Razor. Listening to him made me lose confidence if i'm honest .
Of course the above is an over simplification but based on all of the above it's not surprising if the team developed factions and struggled to "buy-in" to the Razor regime.
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@Dan54 why would I care about Ardie. REDACTED Everyone knew about that. Oops more rumours.
Isn’t that what a forum is about. -
@Bones said in All Blacks 2026:
@junior said in All Blacks 2026:
have heard some things myself about that
Yeah funnily enough I've just heard another (years ago though).
Don't hold out on us ( or you can PM me hun xx )
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Without mentioning the content of alleged rumour/gossip I find it strange a VC and sometimes captain would be told off for something serious but was not punished (stripped of vice captaincy) and it was not leaked more widely. Aaron Smith never had it so lucky.
And if we probe too much regards a supposed Cantab club versus outsider/other clique that won't help the ABs.
Rumours may have sunk Ewen McKenzie (although that could well have been a peripheral media beatup). But they don't help the team moving forward.
