All Blacks 2025
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So you know who to criticise when the AB squad is announced, the AB selection panel is now only three.
Ryan - tight five
Robertson - loose forwards
Hansen - backsThey will also be bringing in a lineout specialist, to add to the huge number of other people on the NZR payroll.
@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2025:
So you know who to criticise when the AB squad is announced, the AB selection panel is now only three.
Ryan - tight five
Robertson - loose forwards
Hansen - backsThey will also be brining in a lineout specialist, to add to the huge number of other people on the NZR payroll.
Just so they don’t forget about some of the lesser names at the Crusaders, I am acting in an advisory role.
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@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2025:
So you know who to criticise when the AB squad is announced, the AB selection panel is now only three.
Ryan - tight five
Robertson - loose forwards
Hansen - backsThey will also be brining in a lineout specialist, to add to the huge number of other people on the NZR payroll.
Just so they don’t forget about some of the lesser names at the Crusaders, I am acting in an advisory role.
@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks 2025:
@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2025:
So you know who to criticise when the AB squad is announced, the AB selection panel is now only three.
Ryan - tight five
Robertson - loose forwards
Hansen - backsThey will also be brining in a lineout specialist, to add to the huge number of other people on the NZR payroll.
Just so they don’t forget about some of the lesser names at the Crusaders, I am acting in an advisory role.
Unless the rules change, I assume George Bridge playing for the Force won't be eligible for the ABs
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@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks 2025:
Robinson over Umaga? Blasphemous.
Umaga wasn’t a centre’s……
INSTANT BAN!
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2025:
@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks 2025:
Robinson over Umaga? Blasphemous.
Umaga wasn’t a centre’s……
INSTANT BAN!
He was a better winger and a better centre than any Crusader in history.
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@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2025:
@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks 2025:
Robinson over Umaga? Blasphemous.
Umaga wasn’t a centre’s……
INSTANT BAN!
He was a better winger and a better centre than any Crusader in history.
@MN5 said in All Blacks 2025:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2025:
@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks 2025:
Robinson over Umaga? Blasphemous.
Umaga wasn’t a centre’s……
INSTANT BAN!
He was a better winger and a better centre than any Crusader in history.
What? Even Scott Hamilton??!!?
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So, by the end of last year, I reckon the starting XV was pretty clear and I'm expecting for the first test vs France they'll roll out something pretty much as close as possible to this.
Williams
Taylor
Lomax
Barrett
Vaa'i
Sititi
Cane
Savea
Roigard
Barrett
Clarke
Barrett
Ioane
Tele'a
JordanCane's obviously not available and Tele'a signed offshore, so seems little point persisting with him.
So a loosie to join Sititi and Savea - and frankly it could be someone rolled at at any of 6,7 or 8.
Reece probably has the inside running to replace Tele'a.
Anyone else likely to lose their place? I'm pretty doubtful.
DMac might supplant Beaudy if he plays out of his skin this week and next and BB shits the bed tonight - but, I honestly don't see that switch happening.
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So you know who to criticise when the AB squad is announced, the AB selection panel is now only three.
Ryan - tight five
Robertson - loose forwards
Hansen - backsThey will also be bringing in a lineout specialist, to add to the huge number of other people on the NZR payroll.
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Hope Williams and Parker from the Chiefs are available for AB selection. Who is certainly out - Aumua from the Canes?
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Hope Williams and Parker from the Chiefs are available for AB selection. Who is certainly out - Aumua from the Canes?
@Frank said in All Blacks 2025:
Hope Williams and Parker from the Chiefs are available for AB selection. Who is certainly out - Aumua from the Canes?
Lakai looked pretty sore coming off against the Brumbies last week, looked to be a knee injury so that might rule him out of selection.
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@Kiwiwomble Can it also not be true that some of these guys just aren’t that good.
On paper, our pack compared to Ireland’s was inferior… not sure that has ever been the case. Whoever we put out, the backline is always there or thereabouts, but for sometime now we have looked world class blindsides/number eights. Harry Wilson for example, walks into the ABs but possibly doesn’t even start for Australia.
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Hope Williams and Parker from the Chiefs are available for AB selection. Who is certainly out - Aumua from the Canes?
@Frank had it confirmed Parker’s injury is 6-8 weeks but more interestingly his rehab is being managed by the All Black medical team
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@Duluth said in All Blacks 2025:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2025:
Ruthless is a requirement, but you can be hard without being an arsehole mate. Look at all our recent greats.
Like Retallick & Coles? The standards shift depending on who the player is. In reality people like/dislike certain players and they give a pass to players they like
I don't think Retallick. Coles sure.
Not whitelock, not mccaw, not read, not 3xsmiths, not nonu etc.But for everyone of them - Rodders/Colins/Kaino/Williams(!)/Thorn/Hayman/Woodcock/Hore/Mealamu/Coles did heavy lifting - it was clever and disciplined. That in my view is what we are missing.
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Darry mentioned on Rugby Direct a few weeks back his target was Canterbury NPC pre season games so he’s a no.
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Bryn Evans joins AB coaching team.
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What does it take for a player to finally get the recognition he deserves—raw talent, relentless consistency, or just the right coach watching at the right time? David Havili might be the All Blacks’ most underrated weapon, and it’s a veteran Wallaby, of all people, sounding the alarm. James O’Connor has played alongside rugby’s elite, but when asked about Havili, he didn’t hesitate: “One of the best I’ve played with.” That’s not praise tossed around lightly, especially not ahead of a blockbuster Super Rugby semi-final.
Havili’s 2025 season reads like a captain’s masterclass. Since taking over the Crusaders’ armband from Scott Barrett, he hasn’t missed a beat—or a start. His leadership and midfield command helped drag the Crusaders from last year’s stumbles back into title contention. And yet, while other names swirl in All Blacks debates—Jordie Barrett, Quinn Tupaea, Timoci Tavatavanawai—Havili remains curiously left out of the headline conversations. Not for O’Connor. Not for Justin Marshall. And definitely not for those watching closely.
His vision, his crisp distribution under pressure, his calm in chaos—these are the traits of a world-class No. 12. And with the Blues looming this Friday in Christchurch, it’s the perfect stage for Havili to force the selectors’ hands. He’s not just in form. He’s leading from the front, starting in every game, making a case not with talk, but with performances.
There’s a quiet fire in David Havili. And if the All Blacks blink, they might just miss out on a centre who’s been doing it all right—just without the fanfare.
#DavidHavili #AllBlacks #SuperRugbyPacific #Crusaders #RugbyChampionship #RugbyUnion #HaviliFor12
Stolen from Facebook, couldn’t have put it better myself
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Classic that your browsing Facebook and repostiing obvious AI bulshit when there’s an actual game of rugby on in which Havili played really well.
