All Blacks 2024

[Dan54]

@ruggabee said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:

@Tim said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:

Jeff Wilson is obviously stupid, but he's still talking about Quentin Strange starting for the ABs. How dumb can he get?

He also declared in one of the first shows that he couldn't see anyone but the Crusaders winning the title.

Actually that's not correct, he said they would be there or thereabouts at finals time and could see them doing it. And I think he was saying what most thought anyway.

[Dan54]

@Duluth said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:

@Tim said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:

Jeff Wilson is obviously stupid, but he's still talking about Quentin Strange starting for the ABs. How dumb can he get?

I think that's a decent possibility

Not because he's good enough, but because the tight five will be selected by Ryan & Robertson

I genuinely can see Vaai starting at lock for ABs this year too, regardless of what I see on forums.

[Tim]

@Duluth Yes, sadly that's a risk. Ryan's selections for the AB XV team were the most biased since the Mains era. Some absolute chumps in those squads.

[Billy Tell]

I can’t wait until the squad is actually selected so that the echo chambers of mindless speculation are finished.

[mariner4life]

@Billy-Tell said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:

I can’t wait until the squad is actually selected so that the echo chambers of mindless speculation are finished.

loool

we'll just move to a new chamber

[Tim]

@ruggabee Also amusing is that he keeps talking about Kaleb Trask for the Chiefs, but he was ruled out for the season and was replaced by Jacomb.

[DaGrubster]

@Dan54

Probably only out of necessity due to the fact we have 15 tests this year.

It’s astonishing really that we have only have 1 test class lock in NZ currently.

[KiwiMurph]

@DaGrubster said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:

It’s astonishing really that we have only have 1 test class lock in NZ currently.

Lord is test class he just needs to stay fit. He was excellent vs Argies in B.A. last year.

[mariner4life]

@DaGrubster said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:

It’s astonishing really that we have only have 1 test class lock in NZ currently.

to be fair, what other country would have two ready-made replacements having just lost two guys at the same time who have been the premier duo for 12 years and have 262 tests between them?

[nzzp]

@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:

@DaGrubster said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:

It’s astonishing really that we have only have 1 test class lock in NZ currently.

to be fair, what other country would have two ready-made replacements having just lost two guys at the same time who have been the premier duo for 12 years and have 262 tests between them?

South Africa? Lost matfield and botha - and got Etzebeth and some other monsters (all from memory)
they seem to have a lock production line the way we produce(d) loosies.

[Billy Tell]

@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:

@Billy-Tell said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:

I can’t wait until the squad is actually selected so that the echo chambers of mindless speculation are finished.

loool

we'll just move to a new chamber

With Robertson and Ryan in I’m already raging. I just KNOW the ABs are going to be full of players from tauranga and buller. Such fckn favouritism.

[Duluth]

@Billy-Tell

The selectors have a history that I’m referencing. Apologies for having an opinion that you don’t like

[African Monkey]

@Duluth I do too. I have no problem with it if he does. He'd obviously be a stop gap, but we are a bit short in that area and he has worked with the coaches in the past obviously.

[Billy Tell]

@Duluth said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:

@Billy-Tell

The selectors have a history that I’m referencing. Apologies for having an opinion that you don’t like

Apology accepted.

[Dan54]

@DaGrubster I not convinced Vaai isn't good enough for test rugby. He's not Rettalick or Sam W, but I still think he better than many are giving him credit for. You know how it goes on forums, one or 2 say someone not up to it, and a few others get feel it the way to go. Ryan etc haven't been picking him for fun.

[KiwiMurph]

@Dan54 not picking Vaai at 6 would be a good start

[Kiwiwomble]

@KiwiMurph yeah, i think the whole 6 can play lock and vice versa needs to be wound back...theyre not the same position, scooter doing it when we had BBBR and Whitelock only just worked...but i think you need more specialists in those positions

[booboo]

@Kiwiwomble said in All Blacks 2024 - looking forward:

@KiwiMurph yeah, i think the whole 6 can play lock and vice versa needs to be wound back...theyre not the same position, scooter doing it when we had BBBR and Whitelock only just worked...but i think you need more specialists in those positions

A lock/6 does provide an option for bench cover.

[Kiwiwomble]

@booboo that's fair and i might not have worded it right, it can be handy if one of your three can do it like BBBR,whitelock and Scooter....but i dont think it should be the default for all our locks as i just think becoming world class in one position is hard enough....let alone two

[Bovidae]

It's easier to move a 6 into lock than vice versa. The main concern would be losing some power in the scrums but most 6s were often locks at age-group level. SB struggled defending from scrums, and he is one of the more mobile locks around.