All Blacks 2026
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@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2026:
@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.
Left field thought after reading this post: if we wanted someone in the camp who has been exceptional in recent memory, a heap of mana, high standards to set an example for others, no nonsense to keep people in line... I wonder how much coaching Ma'a has been getting done between his playing appearances?
I think he achieved more than enough as a player to bother with coaching.
I'm happy with his legacy as the best ever AB 12 with extraordinary longevity.
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@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2026:
Yes. The fixture list is confirmed. 3 tests in South Africa (plus tour matches). Then a final 4th test in Baltimore USA
Stuff are reporting the 4th test was going to be in Dublin (Aviva or Croke) but the IRFU weren't happy about that.
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@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2026:
@DaGrubster said in All Blacks 2026:
@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2026:
@Kiwidom said in All Blacks 2026:
Fourth test vs South Africa confirmed for Baltimore, Maryland in the USA on September 12th
So it effectively becomes a 3 test series with a 4th exhibition test tacked on
Has it been confirmed it is a 3 test series or is it a 4 test series (including Us game?)
Yes. The fixture list is confirmed. 3 tests in South Africa (plus tour matches). Then a final 4th test in Baltimore USA
Which clarified means a three test series in South Africa and an additional exhibition match to keep the sponsors happy.
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@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
@sparky said in All Blacks 2026:
The bit about a player being a Machiavellian genius and manipulating twenty other people against the coach is the part I find significantly harder to believe.
I wouldn't mind seeing such a skill employed by our 10 against the opposing team though..
Our team was led by a 10 playing checkers when the opposition was often playing 4D chess
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@kiwiinmelb said in All Blacks 2026:
End of the day ,
Razor might be the wrong coach and ardie might be a dick ,
Both can be true , doesn’t have to be one or the other .
If they are both true, the new coach has to straighten him out or kneecap him ASAP. No one should be bigger than the team, no one is expendable. I hope Kirk and the executive know what the dynamics were in the team and give the new coach a mandate to do whatever it takes to clean up the trash
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have to think someone like Mealamu who is obviously fairly close to things still would be well aware if one or two players are gettign too big for themselves and pull them back into line or be equally as keen to push them out the door if they are contributing to a toxic environment.
PLenty of these older players will be hurting from the past 5 or 6 years, regardless of Marshall being a twat, the issues he has had in the public eye with Akira stem from his love of the jersey and seeing it devalued, and probably like most, frustrated that someone as talented as Akira never quite turned that final corner and realised the immense talent he possessed.
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@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
I think our selection and development could be improved. The 4 deep a position promise didn't seem to happen in 2 years, I wonder if it is practical.
Aiming for players to be test level in two positions seemed really ambitious when we coulnd't get most to test level in one!
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@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2026:
have to think someone like Mealamu who is obviously fairly close to things still would be well aware if one or two players are gettign too big for themselves and pull them back into line or be equally as keen to push them out the door if they are contributing to a toxic environment.
PLenty of these older players will be hurting from the past 5 or 6 years, regardless of Marshall being a twat, the issues he has had in the public eye with Akira stem from his love of the jersey and seeing it devalued, and probably like most, frustrated that someone as talented as Akira never quite turned that final corner and realised the immense talent he possessed.
Marshall was quite adamant that Razor was doing an ok job as coach, wasn't he?
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This post is deleted!
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@george33 said in All Blacks 2026:
Let's be clear Hansen and Ryan will be shown the door only contract wise they aren't sacked yet that day is coming.
If there was any truth to Ryan being part of the Sotutu situation I'd happily see him go. We aren't good enough to discount players out of hand that might have turned a corner. And it's not like our forward pack dominated last season. A guy like Cotter or JJ himself could hopefully do that job
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Re-enactment of coaches from certain places being cool with the extra-curricular activities of certain players
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@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks 2026:
@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2026:
have to think someone like Mealamu who is obviously fairly close to things still would be well aware if one or two players are gettign too big for themselves and pull them back into line or be equally as keen to push them out the door if they are contributing to a toxic environment.
PLenty of these older players will be hurting from the past 5 or 6 years, regardless of Marshall being a twat, the issues he has had in the public eye with Akira stem from his love of the jersey and seeing it devalued, and probably like most, frustrated that someone as talented as Akira never quite turned that final corner and realised the immense talent he possessed.
Marshall was quite adamant that Razor was doing an ok job as coach, wasn't he?
Don’t recall, but sounds like he’s moved on https://www.planetrugby.com/news/justin-marshall-warns-all-blacks-that-possible-total-mindset-change-needed-in-super-rugby-pacific-after-scott-robertsons-departure
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@Mr-Fish the issues im talking about were during fosters time, but he's still had issues with things under Razor, probably less critical due to thier supposed friendship, although you wonder what thier 'mate' conversations were, I mean mates give one another shit about everything, surely that was touched on.
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@mohikamo said in All Blacks 2026:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
I'm also sceptical of the statement "They were all told to give bad reviews etc and that’s how it all started."
I'm hoping our All Blacks have a little more spine than that!
Very sceptical, all sounds extra "gossipy."
Like crusaders types sooking and wanting to throw some mud around.Which in itself speaks of the clique culture that has infested the environment.
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@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks 2026:
@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2026:
have to think someone like Mealamu who is obviously fairly close to things still would be well aware if one or two players are gettign too big for themselves and pull them back into line or be equally as keen to push them out the door if they are contributing to a toxic environment.
PLenty of these older players will be hurting from the past 5 or 6 years, regardless of Marshall being a twat, the issues he has had in the public eye with Akira stem from his love of the jersey and seeing it devalued, and probably like most, frustrated that someone as talented as Akira never quite turned that final corner and realised the immense talent he possessed.
Marshall was quite adamant that Razor was doing an ok job as coach, wasn't he?
I seem to recall Marshall becoming increasingly critical of the way the ABs were performing. But he drew the line at criticising Razor. Goldie and to a lesser extent Mils were also increasingly vocal. I suppose they weren't overly surprised when he got the chop, although they acted like they were. Maybe because no one had ever been fired mid cycle before?
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@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:
@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks 2026:
@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2026:
have to think someone like Mealamu who is obviously fairly close to things still would be well aware if one or two players are gettign too big for themselves and pull them back into line or be equally as keen to push them out the door if they are contributing to a toxic environment.
PLenty of these older players will be hurting from the past 5 or 6 years, regardless of Marshall being a twat, the issues he has had in the public eye with Akira stem from his love of the jersey and seeing it devalued, and probably like most, frustrated that someone as talented as Akira never quite turned that final corner and realised the immense talent he possessed.
Marshall was quite adamant that Razor was doing an ok job as coach, wasn't he?
I seem to recall Marshall becoming increasingly critical of the way the ABs were performing. But he drew the line at criticising Razor. Goldie and to a lesser extent Mils were also increasingly vocal. I suppose they weren't overly surprised when he got the chop, although they acted like they were. Maybe because no one had ever been fired mid cycle before?
I think you've nailed it with the last sentence. Decades of cautious Boards, and then suddenly they
axeand the coach mutually agree to end the coach's contract - was clearly quite surprising to all pundits once rumours started swirling that it might actually happen. -
@Godder said in All Blacks 2026:
@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:
@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks 2026:
@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2026:
have to think someone like Mealamu who is obviously fairly close to things still would be well aware if one or two players are gettign too big for themselves and pull them back into line or be equally as keen to push them out the door if they are contributing to a toxic environment.
PLenty of these older players will be hurting from the past 5 or 6 years, regardless of Marshall being a twat, the issues he has had in the public eye with Akira stem from his love of the jersey and seeing it devalued, and probably like most, frustrated that someone as talented as Akira never quite turned that final corner and realised the immense talent he possessed.
Marshall was quite adamant that Razor was doing an ok job as coach, wasn't he?
I seem to recall Marshall becoming increasingly critical of the way the ABs were performing. But he drew the line at criticising Razor. Goldie and to a lesser extent Mils were also increasingly vocal. I suppose they weren't overly surprised when he got the chop, although they acted like they were. Maybe because no one had ever been fired mid cycle before?
I think you've nailed it with the last sentence. Decades of cautious Boards, and then suddenly they
axeand the coach mutually agree to end the coach's contract - was clearly quite surprising to all pundits once rumours started swirling that it might actually happen.Another of Razor's unwanted firsts for the ABs
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@nostrildamus 4 deep as a concept is fine.
But it should be based on knowing your top 15-23 first, ensuring they play enough together to have a rock solid team dynamic and then, and only then deepening the pool.
