Forwards for the All Blacks squad

Frank

I'd say Tuipulotu is a near certainty - he has been long term project with big upside if he develops well.
I'd also guess Akira Ioane is a near certainty for the EOYT.

Billy Tell

Moody has been excellent. I would definitely start him & franks with bench impact from faimuiaina & Crockett. 
I expect faimuiaina to jump ship after 2017 as his stated aim was becoming the first choice TH and I don't think he'll do it. Unless franks also heads overseas :(. 
Is Laulala a chance for the EOYT or are we looking at his return in 2017 only??

sparky

Steve Luatau is likely to be in the squad as well. I think Blake Gibson will be an All Black by the end of 2016. Brendon Edmonds can't be far away from a call up at Prop.

tubbyj

I like the look of Ardie Savea. Every Hurricanes game I have watched he has had something special about him. Could be the player we need to quieten down this Pocock is now the greatest stuff from over the other side of the Ta$man.

Crucial

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="sparky" data-cid="567925" data-time="1459184818">
<div>
Steve Luatau is likely to be in the squad as well. I think Blake Gibson will be an All Blacks by the end of 2016. Brendon Edmonds can't be far away from a call up at Prop.
</div>
</blockquote>
 
The ABs have invested heavily in Cane and he isn't exactly doing anything wrong. He may not be as dynamic as Ardie but he is playing a McCaw like role in getting to every breakdown and making a massive amount of effective tackles. 
As good as Gibson may look, I can't see him (barring injury) forcing his way up the pecking order.

sparky

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Crucial" data-cid="567933" data-time="1459193132">
The ABs have invested heavily in Cane and he isn't exactly doing anything wrong. He may not be as dynamic as Ardie but he is playing a McCaw like role in getting to every breakdown and making a massive amount of effective tackles. 
As good as Gibson may look, I can't see him (barring injury) forcing his way up the pecking order.</blockquote>
Yep, Cane very much the first choice open side, Ardie the back up 7, Gibson to get a debut against Italy.

leytonandamanda

A player who has really impressed me so far is vaea fifita of the Hurricanes 
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

bobily

Yep, Fifita has made more metres than Dixon with less game time. He also has a better tackling percentage, so far, and has made nearly as many tackles and is a handy lineout option. Also, Liam Squire, with much less game time (roughly half), has made the same number of metres with the ball as Dixon and has made 3/4 of the number of tackles (so more per min on the field), with a much better completion percentage.

Hooroo

Where do you get this information?

pukunui

Completely forgot about Luatua in my list. Man we have some depth in the back row.

bobily

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Hooroo" data-cid="567952" data-time="1459200114">
<div>
Where do you get this information?
</div>
</blockquote>
 
NZ Herald site. They get their stats from Opta, I believe, who supply the NZ super rugby teams with statistics. So it should be pretty accurate.
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby/statscentre.cfm'>http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby/statscentre.cfm</a>

Hooroo

Thanks

Higgins

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Hooroo" data-cid="567952" data-time="1459200114">
<div>
Where do you get this information?
</div>
</blockquote>
 
If you navigate through the options available in this link you will find what you are looking for
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby/statscentre.cfm?'>http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby/statscentre.cfm?</a>

Tim

I'm surprised that people are mentioning Manu at prop. He was 4th choice at best last year, and hasn't looked good this year.

Crucial

Pity you only get season totals though (unless I am driving it wrong). 
I was interested in seeing what Canes tackle count was against the Force which was looking huge during the first half but probably tailed off once the Chiefs blew them away.

Cantab79

It's interesting to speculate about the make up of Hansen's All Black squads this year, and the forward contingent within these squads.
 
The best hint to what Hansen will do in the future is to look at what he has done in the past. You can't really look at last year because they used an expanded squad for the RC and the RWC squad had slightly different requirements. So if you look at Hansen's 2014 squads, he selected a 31 man squad for the Rugby Championship comprised of 18 forwards and 13 backs. Of those 18 forwards he went with the following split; 2 hookers, 5 props, 4 locks, 7 loosies. I think their 2016 squads are likely to conform to this structure. So assuming that Savea, Ioane and Messam are unavailable because of 7s duties, Nepo Laulala is injured and NH bound Vito is not required unless we are desperate, I think Hansen's 31 man squad for Wales will look a bit like this;
 
Hookers: 
 
Coles
Taylor (I'm not sold on him yet but he took his limited opportunities last year and didn't let anyone down when he was on the field. The fact that the Crusaders set piece is the best of the NZ teams won't hurt his chances either)
 
Props:
 
Franks
Faumuina
Crockett
Moody
+ 1 more prop - I suspect Hansen will want to bring a youngster. This could be based on potential rather than what they have actually achieved. I'm going to be controversial and suggest Ofa Tuungafasi.
 
Locks:
 
Whitelock
Retallick
Romano
Tuipulotu
 
Loosies:
 
Read
Kaino
Cane
Dixon
Todd
Luatua
Liam Squires

Crucial

Don't forget the policy that has injured players return for a chance. 
Nathan Harris come on down

Toddy

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Crucial" data-cid="567964" data-time="1459203673">
Pity you only get season totals though (unless I am driving it wrong). 
I was interested in seeing what Canes tackle count was against the Force which was looking huge during the first half but probably tailed off once the Chiefs blew them away.</blockquote>
 
Try the Vodacom Super Rugby app. It'll give you a breakdown per round. 
It lists Cane ad having made 10 tackles. I've got no idea how accurate it is.

bobily

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Toddy" data-cid="567991" data-time="1459209452">
<div>
Try the Vodacom Super Rugby app. It'll give you a breakdown per round. 
It lists Cane ad having made 10 tackles. I've got no idea how accurate it is.
</div>
</blockquote>
 
Thanks for that! 
 
The stats in the app align perfectly with what is on the NZ Herald website, so they are legit.

Cantab79

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Crucial" data-cid="567990" data-time="1459209331">
<div>
Don't forget the policy that has injured players return for a chance. 
Nathan Harris come on down
</div>
</blockquote>
 
I think Nathan Harris will struggle to earn a recall to the test team. He came into the AB squad when depth at hooker was arguably at an all time low, and I don't remember him doing anything much. Codie Taylor is not close to being the finished product yet, but he can run an accurate lineout and he's by far the more athletic of the two. The beauty of Taylor is that he can play the same role as Coles, and make an impact off the bench. Harris never struck me as being an impact player.

The Silver Fern

Forwards for the All Blacks squad