All Blacks 2026
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Fakatava was the 2nd best halfback on display last night
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2026:
Fakatava was the 2nd best halfback on display last night
If Hotham can stay fit then great but he has form for getting injured every 5 minutes. Fakatava appeals as a player who can handle the physicality of test rugby and come off the bench and offer something different to Riogard and Hotham unlike Ratima and Christie.
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Both Holtham and Fakatava to me are competing for the impact player role- I would be happy with either, Holtham did outplay Fakatava last night, but one game doesn't tell the future.
Box kicking from Fakatava was poor but can be fixed.
Injuries will select more than form unfortunately.
Cam - Cortez - Holtham and fakatava top 4 -
@pakman said in All Blacks 2026:
@sparky said in All Blacks 2026:
@mariner4life Both looked limited on the EOYT last year. It will be interesting to see if a new Head Coach can adjust "the environment" to get more out of them.
The Fern never has much love for tight loosies.
The posters would struggle to select PSDT in Black were he available.
Yeah that is dead on if he was an unknown young player with the same skillset and didn't have 2 RWC medals.. Many would probably say he doesn't fit in with Ardie Savea so he would only be squad cover and play when Ardie was too busy leading prayer group, giving Andrew Tate tutorials, busy with Instagram commitments or sulking because Julian wasn't selected in the team..
@tubbyj said in All Blacks 2026:
@pakman said in All Blacks 2026:
@sparky said in All Blacks 2026:
@mariner4life Both looked limited on the EOYT last year. It will be interesting to see if a new Head Coach can adjust "the environment" to get more out of them.
The Fern never has much love for tight loosies.
The posters would struggle to select PSDT in Black were he available.
Yeah that is dead on if he was an unknown young player with the same skillset and didn't have 2 RWC medals.. Many would probably say he doesn't fit in with Ardie Savea so he would only be squad cover and play when Ardie was too busy leading prayer group, giving Andrew Tate tutorials, busy with Instagram commitments or sulking because Julian wasn't selected in the team..
I actually think it's the reverse of that. If you're going to have Savea there (and pick e.g. Sititi), then the only player in the world who could balance the trio might actually be PSDT.
Unfortunately, we don't have one. -
Both Holtham and Fakatava to me are competing for the impact player role- I would be happy with either, Holtham did outplay Fakatava last night, but one game doesn't tell the future.
Box kicking from Fakatava was poor but can be fixed.
Injuries will select more than form unfortunately.
Cam - Cortez - Holtham and fakatava top 4@kidcalder said in All Blacks 2026:
Box kicking from Fakatava was poor but can be fixed.
Fakatava debuted in Super Rugby in 2019. It's 2026 and we are still waiting. I wouldnt hold my breath.
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At the 2027 RWC Barrett will be 36, Mo'unga 33, and McKenzie 32.
Love will be 26, Perofeta 30, Jacomb 26, and Reihana 27.
@Tim said in All Blacks 2026:
At the 2027 RWC Barrett will be 36, Mo'unga 33, and McKenzie 32.
Love will be 26, Perofeta 30, Jacob 26, and Reihana 27.
I've said it before, but Carter - a hugely superior 10 who wasn't reliant on pace - retired younger than Barrett. He's no chance.
For Mo'unga and (marginally more so) McKenzie it's maybe a credible last hurrah, if their form holds. -
(Hmm. Don't see a reply button on @restofit 's post @duluth FYI.)
Anyway ..
@restofit said in All Blacks 2026:
Now that Smith's gone, we need an equivalent rugby mind involved in the setup - Rennie, Schmidt, or Brown,
Or perhaps a head coach who doesn't need a mentor.
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@pakman said in All Blacks 2026:
@sparky said in All Blacks 2026:
@mariner4life Both looked limited on the EOYT last year. It will be interesting to see if a new Head Coach can adjust "the environment" to get more out of them.
The Fern never has much love for tight loosies.
The posters would struggle to select PSDT in Black were he available.
Yeah that is dead on if he was an unknown young player with the same skillset and didn't have 2 RWC medals.. Many would probably say he doesn't fit in with Ardie Savea so he would only be squad cover and play when Ardie was too busy leading prayer group, giving Andrew Tate tutorials, busy with Instagram commitments or sulking because Julian wasn't selected in the team..
@tubbyj said in All Blacks 2026:
@pakman said in All Blacks 2026:
@sparky said in All Blacks 2026:
@mariner4life Both looked limited on the EOYT last year. It will be interesting to see if a new Head Coach can adjust "the environment" to get more out of them.
The Fern never has much love for tight loosies.
The posters would struggle to select PSDT in Black were he available.
Yeah that is dead on if he was an unknown young player with the same skillset and didn't have 2 RWC medals.. Many would probably say he doesn't fit in with Ardie Savea so he would only be squad cover and play when Ardie was too busy leading prayer group, giving Andrew Tate tutorials, busy with Instagram commitments or sulking because Julian wasn't selected in the team..
This post suggest you don't actually read the Fern. It's pretty much the complete opposite of the feelings of the majority of posters on here.
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@pakman said in All Blacks 2026:
@sparky said in All Blacks 2026:
@mariner4life Both looked limited on the EOYT last year. It will be interesting to see if a new Head Coach can adjust "the environment" to get more out of them.
The Fern never has much love for tight loosies.
The posters would struggle to select PSDT in Black were he available.
Yeah that is dead on if he was an unknown young player with the same skillset and didn't have 2 RWC medals.. Many would probably say he doesn't fit in with Ardie Savea so he would only be squad cover and play when Ardie was too busy leading prayer group, giving Andrew Tate tutorials, busy with Instagram commitments or sulking because Julian wasn't selected in the team..
@tubbyj said in All Blacks 2026:
@pakman said in All Blacks 2026:
@sparky said in All Blacks 2026:
@mariner4life Both looked limited on the EOYT last year. It will be interesting to see if a new Head Coach can adjust "the environment" to get more out of them.
The Fern never has much love for tight loosies.
The posters would struggle to select PSDT in Black were he available.
Yeah that is dead on if he was an unknown young player with the same skillset and didn't have 2 RWC medals.. Many would probably say he doesn't fit in with Ardie Savea so he would only be squad cover and play when Ardie was too busy leading prayer group, giving Andrew Tate tutorials, busy with Instagram commitments or sulking because Julian wasn't selected in the team..
Andrew Tate?
Really? -
@tubbyj said in All Blacks 2026:
@pakman said in All Blacks 2026:
@sparky said in All Blacks 2026:
@mariner4life Both looked limited on the EOYT last year. It will be interesting to see if a new Head Coach can adjust "the environment" to get more out of them.
The Fern never has much love for tight loosies.
The posters would struggle to select PSDT in Black were he available.
Yeah that is dead on if he was an unknown young player with the same skillset and didn't have 2 RWC medals.. Many would probably say he doesn't fit in with Ardie Savea so he would only be squad cover and play when Ardie was too busy leading prayer group, giving Andrew Tate tutorials, busy with Instagram commitments or sulking because Julian wasn't selected in the team..
Andrew Tate?
Really? -
@kidcalder said in All Blacks 2026:
Box kicking from Fakatava was poor but can be fixed.
Fakatava debuted in Super Rugby in 2019. It's 2026 and we are still waiting. I wouldnt hold my breath.
@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2026:
@kidcalder said in All Blacks 2026:
Box kicking from Fakatava was poor but can be fixed.
Fakatava debuted in Super Rugby in 2019. It's 2026 and we are still waiting. I wouldnt hold my breath.
When you put it like that.... Ratima is a shadow of himself. If he can't be turned around Fakatava has a chance. Otherwise it will be Cam, Ratima and Hotham. But on paper Fakatava would be a good impact player
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Roigard‘s backups are all in the same position - they’ve been less than spectacular in the last year or two and shouldn’t be automatic selections. Perform well this Super season and they can make the squad. Fakatava, Ratima, Hotham and the others Robertson shouldn’t have selected are all lucky Pledger is injured - he could have been the end of their test careers.
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I thought Fakatava played well in the NZXV. I mean, he's competing against Christie for christ sake.
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I thought Fakatava played well in the NZXV. I mean, he's competing against Christie for christ sake.
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
I thought Fakatava played well in the NZXV. I mean, he's competing against Christie for christ sake.
He did, and he was one of very few players to play well in that horrible NZ/AU team, and he had a very good NPC. But he was pretty shit last night.
He does have a decent point of difference when he's playing well, in that his running and offloading game in close, and ability to put a close runner in a gap is better than the alternatives. That's why he gets a lot of try assists, and it's potentially a very attractive asset off the bench.
But he needs to tidy his kicking up and get more consistent. -
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
I thought Fakatava played well in the NZXV. I mean, he's competing against Christie for christ sake.
He did, and he was one of very few players to play well in that horrible NZ/AU team, and he had a very good NPC. But he was pretty shit last night.
He does have a decent point of difference when he's playing well, in that his running and offloading game in close, and ability to put a close runner in a gap is better than the alternatives. That's why he gets a lot of try assists, and it's potentially a very attractive asset off the bench.
But he needs to tidy his kicking up and get more consistent.@reprobate I thought it was interesting when they showed he was 5th for assists last night....Ratima is 2nd!
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@reprobate I thought it was interesting when they showed he was 5th for assists last night....Ratima is 2nd!
@Bones Interesting, and impressive. Chiefs probably a few more tries than the Highlanders though eh?
To my eye at least, I'd assume Ratima would probably get a lot through being the final pass due to being an excellent support player, whereas Fakatava would get more from hitting a runner at the try line like Smith used to, or making a half break and offloading. -
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
I thought Fakatava played well in the NZXV. I mean, he's competing against Christie for christ sake.
He did, and he was one of very few players to play well in that horrible NZ/AU team, and he had a very good NPC. But he was pretty shit last night.
He does have a decent point of difference when he's playing well, in that his running and offloading game in close, and ability to put a close runner in a gap is better than the alternatives. That's why he gets a lot of try assists, and it's potentially a very attractive asset off the bench.
But he needs to tidy his kicking up and get more consistent.@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
.
But he needs to tidy his kicking up and get more consistent.Kicking seems to be a NZ-wide Achilles heel..
