All Blacks 2022

[Bovidae]

@Duluth said in All Blacks 2022:

Agree with the main point of that rugbypass article that it's time to get some new blood in at halfback

Smith, Christie & someone new

And there are plenty of tests left to develop that 3rd halfback before the RWC, and beyond 2023.

[Bones]

@cgrant pretty hard to justify Barrett at fullback on form but otherwise good...

[booboo]

@Kirwan said in All Blacks 2022:

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2022:

@Kirwan said in All Blacks 2022:

So who’s captain if not Cane?

He’s getting outplayed week to week by Dalton. Ardie Savea?

Dalton.

Go all in.

I flirted with that idea but then had Taine Randall flashbacks.

Taine had his moments, but am not sure the two are comparable.

[Frank]

@cgrant said in All Blacks 2022:

On pure current form, the AB team could be :

De Groot
ST
Ofa T
Sangster
Lord
Ioane
Papali'i
Sotutu
Ratima
Perofeta
Clarke
TUJ
Ioane
Jordan
Barrett

This guy good enough to be an AB?

[Kirwan]

@booboo said in All Blacks 2022:

@Kirwan said in All Blacks 2022:

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2022:

@Kirwan said in All Blacks 2022:

So who’s captain if not Cane?

He’s getting outplayed week to week by Dalton. Ardie Savea?

Dalton.

Go all in.

I flirted with that idea but then had Taine Randall flashbacks.

Taine had his moments, but am not sure the two are comparable.

More referring to being given the captaincy so early on.

[cgrant]

@Frank
Not yet, that's for sure, but it is a form XV, not a possible AB team.

[Crazy Horse]

I had a question that I couldn't answer confidently from an Aussie sports fan who takes a passing interest in rugby. Are there any ABs that one could confidently name in the top ten players in the world at the moment? I couldn't name one.

[MajorPom]

@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks 2022:

I had a question that I couldn't answer confidently from an Aussie sports fan who takes a passing interest in rugby. Are there any ABs that one could confidently name in the top ten players in the world at the moment? I couldn't name one.

Will Jordan & perhaps Ardie Savea.

[cgrant]

Rieko Ioane.

[Victor Meldrew]

@MajorRage said in All Blacks 2022:

@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks 2022:

I had a question that I couldn't answer confidently from an Aussie sports fan who takes a passing interest in rugby. Are there any ABs that one could confidently name in the top ten players in the world at the moment? I couldn't name one.

Will Jordan & perhaps Ardie Savea.

I'd suggest Jordie is pretty close too.

[Stargazer]

@cgrant If he still played on the wing, yes. Not as a midfielder.

[Crucial]

Maybe the forum is a week or two behind in assessing form but QT’s little sojourn on the wing has really lifted his confidence and ignited his play at 12.
I wouldn’t be dismissive of his position in the pecking order just yet.

[Crazy Horse]

@Stargazer said in All Blacks 2022:

@cgrant If he still played on the wing, yes. Not as a midfielder.

Yeah RI is all I came up with too - as a wing.

[mariner4life]

@Stargazer said in All Blacks 2022:

@cgrant If he still played on the wing, yes. Not as a midfielder.

there isn't a team in the world that wouldn't take RI on current form at 13

He would transform Ireland to RWC favourites instantly for instance

[Crucial]

@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2022:

@Stargazer said in All Blacks 2022:

@cgrant If he still played on the wing, yes. Not as a midfielder.

there isn't a team in the world that wouldn't take RI on current form at 13

He would transform Ireland to RWC favourites instantly for instance

I don’t see why people are obsessed with putting him back on the wing. He adds more to the team at centre with ALB gone. We can still put Reece and Jordan on the outsides. If the game plan calls for someone who can dot the ball in the corner through a tackle then we need to select one of those but not Ioane.

Our back line picks itself at the moment. Need to work on the understudies though.

[KiwiMurph]

@Crucial said in All Blacks 2022:

I don’t see why people are obsessed with putting him back on the wing.

There's a reputation lag. Because he was a work in progress centre a few years ago people still see him as that despite him really developing at 13.

The same reputation lag applies in reverse to Jack Goodhue - who had a great 2018 at 13 for the ABs.

[gt12]

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2022:

@Crucial said in All Blacks 2022:

I don’t see why people are obsessed with putting him back on the wing.

There's a reputation lag. Because he was a work in progress centre a few years ago people still see him as that despite him really developing at 13.

The same reputation lag applies in reverse to Jack Goodhue - who had a great 2018 at 13 for the ABs.

Reputation lag basically describes the starting AB pack from last year.

[taniwharugby]

@Crucial said in All Blacks 2022:

Our back line picks itself at the moment.

really? For me, only 9, 13 and then Jordan on form pick themselves, where the latter goes depends on several things (who plays 10, where/if they play JB)

[Crazy Horse]

@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2022:

@Stargazer said in All Blacks 2022:

@cgrant If he still played on the wing, yes. Not as a midfielder.

there isn't a team in the world that wouldn't take RI on current form at 13

He would transform Ireland to RWC favourites instantly for instance

I don't watch enough of overseas rugby to know whether he is the best centre in the world or not.

[Stargazer]

@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2022:

@Stargazer said in All Blacks 2022:

@cgrant If he still played on the wing, yes. Not as a midfielder.

there isn't a team in the world that wouldn't take RI on current form at 13

He would transform Ireland to RWC favourites instantly for instance

The question was which players would be in the world top 10. I think Rieko is developing nicely into a world class 13, but already in the top 10 overall (regardless of position)? No. A world top 10 of centres: yes.