All Blacks 2022

gt12

Bet the selectors go with something like the Knowler choices.

mariner4life

Those teams fucking suck

antipodean

@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2022:

Just as well our Stuff scribes aren't the AB selectors. All seem to be big fans of Frizell. Hinton's backline looks familiar.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/300571028/picking-all-blacks-xvs-as-the-second-phase-of-super-rugby-pacific-kicks-off

Marc Hinton’s All Blacks XV: Will Jordan, Sevu Reece, Rieko Ioane, Jordie Barrett, Caleb Clarke, Beauden Barrett, Aaron Smith; Ardie Savea, Dalton Papalii, Luke Jacobson, Tupou Vaa’i, Brodie Retallick, Ofa Tuungafasi, Codie Taylor, Ethan de Groot.

That fluffybunny reads this thread. Bet if I had made a forward pack he'd have selected that too. Certainly would've been better than the crap he's saddled my backline with.

cgrant

I fear Foster thinks "We lost to France and Ireland because we were tired after three months on the road", which is not untrue. So Knowler's team could be not far from the one we might see in June. As far as I am concerned, I would like to see new blood injected into the team (De Groot and Newell in the front row to get rid of Bower, Laulala and Ta'avao who are good Super Rugby players but not of international calibre - Lord for Whitelock, LF for Bridge).
Hookers : Taylor and Taukei'aho are obvious choices. If Coles is not fit, I would go with Eklund who is in the form of his life. It's a shame Tyrone Thompson can't throw because he is the best ball carrier after ST.

mariner4life

I'm elevating Hoskins Sotutu to my starting test 8

Strong in the tackle, strong at ruck, good lineout option and can smash through a tackle
Has nice hands in attack too

Bovidae

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2022:

@nzzp said in All Blacks 2022:

Anyone know when the dates get confirmed for the Tests this year? Doesn't seem to be anything online

Irish travel sites are saying the 3 tests are

Saturday 2nd July
Saturday 9th July
Saturday 16th July

Those dates are confirmed on the WR website but the venues are still listed as TBC.

And these are the refs for those tests:

Karl Dickson (RFU)
Jaco Peyper (SARU)
Wayne Barnes (RFU)

Bones

@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2022:

I'm elevating Hoskins Sotutu to my starting test 8

Strong in the tackle, strong at ruck, good lineout option and can smash through a tackle
Has nice hands in attack too

Imagine Ardie coming on frothing with 30 mins to go.

While Cane watches from the stands.

Old Samurai Jack

@mariner4life Do you start the better rugby player OR do you play the better No.8?

junior

@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2022:

I'm elevating Hoskins Sotutu to my starting test 8

Strong in the tackle, strong at ruck, good lineout option and can smash through a tackle
Has nice hands in attack too

How are his post-contact metres, though...?

Victor Meldrew

@Bovidae

I sense Foster will make minimal changes so Knowler's XV is closer I think. I don't see Frizell making the cut (I'd go for Akira if fit) and the front row could change a bit.

Robert van Royen’s is weird. No way would you leave Jordie Barrett or Aaron Smith - two world-class players - out of a starting XV to play Ireland.

mariner4life

@Old-Samurai-Jack said in All Blacks 2022:

@mariner4life Do you start the better rugby player OR do you play the better No.8?

Well, traditionally, when the ABs fuck about, ypu pick the best rugby players

Then you get Cullen at centre.

I want A Savea at 7 or 20 because his skill set is too good to ignore all together. And he will provide great balance to the starting trio or great energy off the bench.

But he's not got the right attributes to be the best #8

KiwiMurph

@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2022:

Just as well our Stuff scribes aren't the AB selectors.

Knowler said he wouldn't even have Finlay Christie in his AB squad. Cripes they are battlers.

Chris B.

Fozzie was on The Breakdown tonight.

He said two interesting things:

He's expecting to select 36 players in the initial squad for Ireland (won't be more, could be less depending on who is injured).
The problem with red cards appear to not be so much with the tackle heights of the initial tackler as with the second man coming in to make a two man dominant tackle failing to adjust to the dynamics. He thinks they will need to look long and hard at how the All Blacks play this. Whether they send the second man in less hard, or whether they decide it's too risky to be worth doing at all.

My thought was maybe choose who can do it - don't use Scott Barrett for one.

Bones

@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2022:

Fozzie was on The Breakdown tonight.

He said two interesting things:

He's expecting to select 36 players in the initial squad for Ireland (won't be more, could be less depending on who is injured).

The problem with red cards appear to not be so much with the tackle heights of the initial tackler as with the second man coming in to make a two man dominant tackle failing to adjust to the dynamics. He thinks they will need to look long and hard at how the All Blacks play this. Whether they send the second man in less hard, or whether they decide it's too risky to be worth doing at all.

My thought was maybe choose who can do it - don't use Scott Barrett for one.

Yeah, Blackadder, Vaai, DP, Cane don't seem to suffer so much from this affliction.

Bovidae

Unco props and locks are the problem.

number9

These selections are joke, these reporters selected most of the time based upon fan favorites and have done no research.

I watched this weekends games with our props in mind especially the props. Looking at these selections I would have to say you can forget about de Groot.

I have never been impressed by him at all, he was solid at scrum time but was non-existant f
with his work around the paddock. George Bower is another mistake, strong Crusadera pack did not really trouble the Rebels in the first half. Williams off the bench with the game in the bag, he has a long way to go and his fitness is not up to scratch.

My selections for the July series would be at TH Ofa, Lomax and Laulala on the LH side Hodgman, Ross and Big Karl.

Bovidae

I still have doubts about Lomax's scrummaging, and he got penalised a few times against Qld. The Canes have the Brumbies next week so let's see how he goes against Sio and Slipper.

Laulala and Tu’inukuafe offer nothing around the field (slow and very lazy defenders) so are we only picking them for their scrummaging ability?

booboo

@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2022:

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2022:

@nzzp said in All Blacks 2022:

Anyone know when the dates get confirmed for the Tests this year? Doesn't seem to be anything online

Irish travel sites are saying the 3 tests are

Saturday 2nd July
Saturday 9th July
Saturday 16th July

Those dates are confirmed on the WR website but the venues are still listed as TBC.

And these are the refs for those tests:

Karl Dickson (RFU)
Jaco Peyper (SARU)
Wayne Barnes (RFU)

Are those guys still alive?

Bones

@booboo said in All Blacks 2022:

@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2022:

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2022:

@nzzp said in All Blacks 2022:

Anyone know when the dates get confirmed for the Tests this year? Doesn't seem to be anything online

Irish travel sites are saying the 3 tests are

Saturday 2nd July
Saturday 9th July
Saturday 16th July

Those dates are confirmed on the WR website but the venues are still listed as TBC.

And these are the refs for those tests:

Karl Dickson (RFU)
Jaco Peyper (SARU)
Wayne Barnes (RFU)

Are those guys still alive?

Wayne is reffing every game I seem to switch on over here. Jack was over here for 6n I think.

African Monkey

People keep wanting to get rid of Laulala, but he's the only decent scrummager at TH in this country so unless someone can do it better, then he stays there with Tu'ungafasi off the bench.

Tu'inukuafe makes the squad too with Moody injured, but he either starts or doesn't play at all imo as he is a slug around the field. Hodgman is good off the bench, so he can fill that role.

The Silver Fern

All Blacks 2022