All Blacks EOYT
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@Chris-B
There is zero issue with the height of Ricketelli and Eklund because you do not need to be tall to be a hooker. Aumua is no taller than Ricketelli or Ekland.
@brodean said in All Blacks EOYT:
@Chris-B
There is zero issue with the height of Ricketelli and Eklund because you do not need to be tall to be a hooker. Aumua is no taller than Ricketelli or Ekland.
The problem with being short is that it limits how big you can make them compared to taller players. You'll turn short guys into bowling balls.
Somewhere there's an article where Steve Hansen talks a lot about making players bigger and even talks about some specific weights.
Can't find it, but here's Fox talking a bit about Dane Coles.
https://www.allblacks.com/news/players-getting-bigger-and-stronger-in-the-modern-game
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@antipodean said in All Blacks EOYT:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks EOYT:
Someone tells me Razor'ss not playing enough rookies and I provide some stats showing that he picked 11 rookies in the latest test. But, apparently I'm a fluffybunny again.
C'mon - it was Japan. Coached by Eddie Jones.
Japan lost to us by a mere 7 points last time we played them.
Eddie Jones has coached teams that beat the All Blacks.
And to lose to Japan wouldn't look good on the Razor form book.
So I understand the conservatism even if I don't fully agree with it.
At least we saw Love, Proctor and Lakai in action.@nostrildamus said in All Blacks EOYT:
@antipodean said in All Blacks EOYT:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks EOYT:
Someone tells me Razor'ss not playing enough rookies and I provide some stats showing that he picked 11 rookies in the latest test. But, apparently I'm a fluffybunny again.
C'mon - it was Japan. Coached by Eddie Jones.
Japan lost to us by a mere 7 points last time we played them.
Yeah, when we handed out undeserving caps to players like Tuivasa-Sheck, demonstrated Christie was a donkey and Retallick got a red card.
Eddie Jones has coached teams that beat the All Blacks.
A quarter final with the resources of England assisted in no small part by Hansen's brain fart and a couple of Wallaby wins when they weren't shit.
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@brodean said in All Blacks EOYT:
@Chris-B
There is zero issue with the height of Ricketelli and Eklund because you do not need to be tall to be a hooker. Aumua is no taller than Ricketelli or Ekland.
The problem with being short is that it limits how big you can make them compared to taller players. You'll turn short guys into bowling balls.
Somewhere there's an article where Steve Hansen talks a lot about making players bigger and even talks about some specific weights.
Can't find it, but here's Fox talking a bit about Dane Coles.
https://www.allblacks.com/news/players-getting-bigger-and-stronger-in-the-modern-game
@Chris-B said in All Blacks EOYT:
@brodean said in All Blacks EOYT:
@Chris-B
There is zero issue with the height of Ricketelli and Eklund because you do not need to be tall to be a hooker. Aumua is no taller than Ricketelli or Ekland.
The problem with being short is that it limits how big you can make them compared to taller players. You'll turn short guys into bowling balls.
Somewhere there's an article where Steve Hansen talks a lot about making players bigger and even talks about some specific weights.
Can't find it, but here's Fox talking a bit about Dane Coles.
https://www.allblacks.com/news/players-getting-bigger-and-stronger-in-the-modern-game
You're using theoretical BS to back your argument. The reality is Ricketelli weights the same as Taylor and what Coles did. Sure Taylor and Coles have the potential to weigh more but they don't.
Ricketelli was one of the Blues best cleaners. There's nothing about his size that prevents him from performing all his core roles to a high level at test level.
The Blues had the best lineout in SR, the best maul, and one of the best scrums - best by the amount of penalties won.
He's far more likely too perform all his core roles to a high standard than Bell who looked sloppy and disinterested against Japan.
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks EOYT:
How many Super matches has AJ started at 12?
Is it more the 17 tests Dave has started at 12?No I doubt it.
https://www.blues.rugby/aj-lam-player-profile
lists him as a wing still!I ask someone to tell me how many time AJ has started at 12 - and I'm a fluffybunny yet again. With a narrative.
Well that wasn't me.
DH is more experienced, no argument from me.
Is he the better 12? I'd like to see A J Lam given at least a chance there to see. Plus Lam is faster than our latest 2 wings so provides some wing cover.
DH can cover 15 and 10 but we have enough fullbacks and I wonder if he is truly considered a 10 backup by the coaches.I don't think DH has had a full season to show he is fit and in form.
But Lam has had that season.
Started only 4 times at 12 and 5 times at 13 this year as far as I can tell, so, 9. Scored 5 times in his 15 or so games this season.
https://www.rugbydatabase.co.nz/team/player.php?teamId=4&playerId=229how many times has DH played in the midfield this year? 6? Scoring in 1 out of 9 games?
https://www.rugbydatabase.co.nz/team/player.php?teamId=7&playerId=169And A J Lam can kick at international level!
So you can argue, for sure, that DH is more experienced but I claim what is more important is who would be better for the ABs. And we simply don't know yet. But I'd argue Lam's 2024 season warrants a look. And arguably Lam has been the better 12. And he covers 13 and wing (has played at 11 and 14).
@nostrildamus An upvote for doing some research and providing some factual content.
The thing is - they have picked AJ as a midfielder - for NZ A. IMO that's the right step for someone who's showed some promise but hardly played in the midfield.
Rieko has been playing centre for the ABs since 2020 and has played 36 tests there and there's no shortage of punters (not me) who still think he's not a proper centre and should be shunted back to the wing!
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks EOYT:
@brodean said in All Blacks EOYT:
@Chris-B
There is zero issue with the height of Ricketelli and Eklund because you do not need to be tall to be a hooker. Aumua is no taller than Ricketelli or Ekland.
The problem with being short is that it limits how big you can make them compared to taller players. You'll turn short guys into bowling balls.
Somewhere there's an article where Steve Hansen talks a lot about making players bigger and even talks about some specific weights.
Can't find it, but here's Fox talking a bit about Dane Coles.
https://www.allblacks.com/news/players-getting-bigger-and-stronger-in-the-modern-game
You're using theoretical BS to back your argument. The reality is Ricketelli weights the same as Taylor and what Coles did. Sure Taylor and Coles have the potential to weigh more but they don't.
Ricketelli was one of the Blues best cleaners. There's nothing about his size that prevents him from performing all his core roles to a high level at test level.
The Blues had the best lineout in SR, the best maul, and one of the best scrums - best by the amount of penalties won.
He's far more likely too perform all his core roles to a high standard than Bell who looked sloppy and disinterested against Japan.
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the ongoing discussion about the 3rd (but really 4th) hooker is pretty funny.
I am far more worried about the currently 2nd hooker. He looked great ball in hand on Saturday, but he's a ropey thrower, part of a front row that could not budge the japanese at scrum time, and it was his glaring miss that opened the hole for the first try. He's nowhere near test standard at the moment.
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the ongoing discussion about the 3rd (but really 4th) hooker is pretty funny.
I am far more worried about the currently 2nd hooker. He looked great ball in hand on Saturday, but he's a ropey thrower, part of a front row that could not budge the japanese at scrum time, and it was his glaring miss that opened the hole for the first try. He's nowhere near test standard at the moment.
@mariner4life said in All Blacks EOYT:
the ongoing discussion about the 3rd (but really 4th) hooker is pretty funny.
I am far more worried about the currently 2nd hooker. He looked great ball in hand on Saturday, but he's a ropey thrower, part of a front row that could not budge the japanese at scrum time, and it was his glaring miss that opened the hole for the first try. He's nowhere near test standard at the moment.
Fair to say Taukeiaho's injury has caused all this mess about discussing who should be the 3rd/4th hooker and Aumua's very inconsistent form.
We really miss him.
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@brodean And yet the selectors didn't pick him.
They picked Bell - who, I agree, had a pretty poor Super season.
I'm pretty sure the primary reason will be Ricky's size - with age relative to Bell a secondary issue.
@Chris-B said in All Blacks EOYT:
@brodean And yet the selectors didn't pick him.
They picked Bell - who, I agree, had a pretty poor Super season.
I'm pretty sure the primary reason will be Ricky's size - with age relative to Bell a secondary issue.
I'm pretty sure the reason is they have a bias towards Crusaders players for the wider squads.
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks EOYT:
@brodean And yet the selectors didn't pick him.
They picked Bell - who, I agree, had a pretty poor Super season.
I'm pretty sure the primary reason will be Ricky's size - with age relative to Bell a secondary issue.
I'm pretty sure the reason is they have a bias towards Crusaders players for the wider squads.
@brodean said in All Blacks EOYT:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks EOYT:
@brodean And yet the selectors didn't pick him.
They picked Bell - who, I agree, had a pretty poor Super season.
I'm pretty sure the primary reason will be Ricky's size - with age relative to Bell a secondary issue.
I'm pretty sure the reason is they have a bias towards Crusaders players for the wider squads.
Jobs for da Boyz
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the ongoing discussion about the 3rd (but really 4th) hooker is pretty funny.
I am far more worried about the currently 2nd hooker. He looked great ball in hand on Saturday, but he's a ropey thrower, part of a front row that could not budge the japanese at scrum time, and it was his glaring miss that opened the hole for the first try. He's nowhere near test standard at the moment.
@mariner4life said in All Blacks EOYT:
the ongoing discussion about the 3rd (but really 4th) hooker is pretty funny.
I am far more worried about the currently 2nd hooker. He looked great ball in hand on Saturday, but he's a ropey thrower, part of a front row that could not budge the japanese at scrum time, and it was his glaring miss that opened the hole for the first try. He's nowhere near test standard at the moment.
Owen Franks was scrum coach for Japan? He might be one to keep an eye on.
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks EOYT:
the ongoing discussion about the 3rd (but really 4th) hooker is pretty funny.
I am far more worried about the currently 2nd hooker. He looked great ball in hand on Saturday, but he's a ropey thrower, part of a front row that could not budge the japanese at scrum time, and it was his glaring miss that opened the hole for the first try. He's nowhere near test standard at the moment.
Fair to say Taukeiaho's injury has caused all this mess about discussing who should be the 3rd/4th hooker and Aumua's very inconsistent form.
We really miss him.
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks EOYT:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks EOYT:
the ongoing discussion about the 3rd (but really 4th) hooker is pretty funny.
I am far more worried about the currently 2nd hooker. He looked great ball in hand on Saturday, but he's a ropey thrower, part of a front row that could not budge the japanese at scrum time, and it was his glaring miss that opened the hole for the first try. He's nowhere near test standard at the moment.
Fair to say Taukeiaho's injury has caused all this mess about discussing who should be the 3rd/4th hooker and Aumua's very inconsistent form.
We really miss him.
Yes and of further concern was that ST seemed to take steps back last year... and there is no guarantee that he even comes back the same player.
Bell should get there with time, he is still very young for an international hooker, but definitely a concern short-term.
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Samisoni was treated really shoddily by Foster. He was playing the absolute house down while Taylor was shitting the bed, and still couldn't get a decent run.
Taylor clearly wasn't in the right head-space to play at the time, so in reality he was treated poorly too in my opinion. -
Samisoni was treated really shoddily by Foster. He was playing the absolute house down while Taylor was shitting the bed, and still couldn't get a decent run.
Taylor clearly wasn't in the right head-space to play at the time, so in reality he was treated poorly too in my opinion.@reprobate said in All Blacks EOYT:
Samisoni was treated really shoddily by Foster. He was playing the absolute house down while Taylor was shitting the bed, and still couldn't get a decent run.
Taylor clearly wasn't in the right head-space to play at the time, so in reality he was treated poorly too in my opinion.Last year? My memory of last year, was Taylor being the comfortable best of a bad bunch. I think there was a bit of surprise when ST was named on the bench over Coles for the final?
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@reprobate said in All Blacks EOYT:
Samisoni was treated really shoddily by Foster. He was playing the absolute house down while Taylor was shitting the bed, and still couldn't get a decent run.
Taylor clearly wasn't in the right head-space to play at the time, so in reality he was treated poorly too in my opinion.Last year? My memory of last year, was Taylor being the comfortable best of a bad bunch. I think there was a bit of surprise when ST was named on the bench over Coles for the final?
@frugby said in All Blacks EOYT:
@reprobate said in All Blacks EOYT:
Samisoni was treated really shoddily by Foster. He was playing the absolute house down while Taylor was shitting the bed, and still couldn't get a decent run.
Taylor clearly wasn't in the right head-space to play at the time, so in reality he was treated poorly too in my opinion.Last year? My memory of last year, was Taylor being the comfortable best of a bad bunch. I think there was a bit of surprise when ST was named on the bench over Coles for the final?
Taylor came back strong, but for a while he was playing terribly - must have been the year before.
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Taylor was dire in 2022 but was in good form last year. Taukei'aho was also in good form last year but for whatever reason Foster preferred Taylor.
Taukei'aho started this season very slowly for the Chiefs was in excellent form by the end of Super - only for injury to end his year.
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Taylor was dire in 2022 but was in good form last year. Taukei'aho was also in good form last year but for whatever reason Foster preferred Taylor.
Taukei'aho started this season very slowly for the Chiefs was in excellent form by the end of Super - only for injury to end his year.
@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks EOYT:
Taukei'aho was also in good form last year but for whatever reason Foster preferred Taylor.
Samisoni's 2023 form was nowhere near his 2022 form. Hopefully next year he can find his 2022 form.
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Hope Samisoni can get back to 2022 form, he was exactly what we need.
No mucking about, determined, no nonsense. -
@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks EOYT:
Taukei'aho was also in good form last year but for whatever reason Foster preferred Taylor.
Samisoni's 2023 form was nowhere near his 2022 form. Hopefully next year he can find his 2022 form.
@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks EOYT:
@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks EOYT:
Taukei'aho was also in good form last year but for whatever reason Foster preferred Taylor.
Samisoni's 2023 form was nowhere near his 2022 form. Hopefully next year he can find his 2022 form.
That's only because he was never given a proper chance to get going. He was good in Super Rugby then only started two Tests for the All Blacks - against Australia and Namibia.
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@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks EOYT:
@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks EOYT:
Taukei'aho was also in good form last year but for whatever reason Foster preferred Taylor.
Samisoni's 2023 form was nowhere near his 2022 form. Hopefully next year he can find his 2022 form.
That's only because he was never given a proper chance to get going. He was good in Super Rugby then only started two Tests for the All Blacks - against Australia and Namibia.
@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks EOYT:
@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks EOYT:
@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks EOYT:
Taukei'aho was also in good form last year but for whatever reason Foster preferred Taylor.
Samisoni's 2023 form was nowhere near his 2022 form. Hopefully next year he can find his 2022 form.
That's only because he was never given a proper chance to get going. He was good in Super Rugby then only started two Tests for the All Blacks - against Australia and Namibia.
Yeah I think they were always keen to get Codie Taylor starting which they did at the end of 2022. In fairness, Taylor has come back strong after his form slump with the odd game here and there where he's had the yips throwing wise, but largely he's been very good in the last couple of years.
Taukeiaho didn't do anything wrong and was our best in 2022 by a fair way. I still don't mind him coming off the bench in the last 30 though and the rotation worked well I thought last year.
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Taylor's form this year has been really good. Would be very good for the ABs if ST comes back firing so CT can get subbed at about the 50 minute mark rather than after 70
