All Blacks 2025
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@Wurzel said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Midfield of Havili, Ennor, McLeod
reakky planning for the future then
@Kiwiwomble said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Wurzel said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Midfield of Havili, Ennor, McLeod
reakky planning for the future then
Looking at that bunch I don't have enough fingers to cross to hope the AB midfielders stay healthy.
Billy Proctor doesn't look too bad after all.
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@Chris said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Sam Darry in to AB squad, Patrick Tuipulotu out with shoulder injury needing surgery.
Phew! That's an easy solution to keep the Blues quota!
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@Bovidae so that leaves how many power players in the squad? Three?
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@Chris said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Sam Darry in to AB squad, Patrick Tuipulotu out with shoulder injury needing surgery.
Phew! That's an easy solution to keep the Blues quota!
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Chris said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Sam Darry in to AB squad, Patrick Tuipulotu out with shoulder injury needing surgery.
Phew! That's an easy solution to keep the Blues quota!
You haven't got many in the AB XV either.
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@Kiwiwomble said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Wurzel said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Midfield of Havili, Ennor, McLeod
reakky planning for the future then
Looking at that bunch I don't have enough fingers to cross to hope the AB midfielders stay healthy.
Billy Proctor doesn't look too bad after all.
@MN5 AB's management is just coming across as so weak...limp even....we're so afraid of losing the next game we keep falling back on the "experienced" hands...we cant risk having some young bolter over there because we might have 4 injuries in the same week and need to call someone up....am i miss remembering it use to be the norm for the third choice in a position to be the future learning what touring is about?
legit question...what does the ABXV with a bunch of former mediocer AB's winning actually achive?
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@antipodean said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
I don't actually understand why Paps would be in the XV. He's a known quantity. If they don't think he's AB level for the EOYT the only thing useful for the XV I imagine would be leadership for others. But that would be unfair on him.
Dunno.
Maybe he might want to turn up, play like a man possessed , and force himself into the equation for next year?
By moving to Christchurch?
You're behind the times, man.
If you want to get picked, head to Hamilton - it's just a hop, skip and jump for Paps!
@Chris-B said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@antipodean said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
I don't actually understand why Paps would be in the XV. He's a known quantity. If they don't think he's AB level for the EOYT the only thing useful for the XV I imagine would be leadership for others. But that would be unfair on him.
Dunno.
Maybe he might want to turn up, play like a man possessed , and force himself into the equation for next year?
By moving to Christchurch?
You're behind the times, man.
If you want to get picked, head to Hamilton - it's just a hop, skip and jump for Paps!
Either way it's clear playing for the Blues means you won't get selected if you're a loose forward.
Perhaps he should shun the hard work and assemble a highlights reel for tiktok.
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Tight five injuries starting to rack up.
Norris, Lomax, Aumua, Vaa'i, Patrick.
We're now definitely weakened.
@Chris-B said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Tight five injuries starting to rack up.
Norris, Lomax, Aumua, Vaa'i, Patrick.
We're now definitely weakened.
PT has been very good this year. Aumua was one of the forwards of the Northern tour. Lomax lost while coming back from injury. What a terrible year for injuries
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@MN5 AB's management is just coming across as so weak...limp even....we're so afraid of losing the next game we keep falling back on the "experienced" hands...we cant risk having some young bolter over there because we might have 4 injuries in the same week and need to call someone up....am i miss remembering it use to be the norm for the third choice in a position to be the future learning what touring is about?
legit question...what does the ABXV with a bunch of former mediocer AB's winning actually achive?
@Kiwiwomble said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@MN5 AB's management is just coming across as so weak...limp even....we're so afraid of losing the next game we keep falling back on the "experienced" hands...we cant risk having some young bolter over there because we might have 4 injuries in the same week and need to call someone up....am i miss remembering it use to be the norm for the third choice in a position to be the future learning what touring is about?
legit question...what does the ABXV with a bunch of former mediocer AB's winning actually achive?
.....and if one of the midfielders does get injured you can bet Razor will wax ( surfing pun intended ) lyrical about having such an experienced and versatile ( he can cover 15 AND 10 don't forget ) player like Havili to bring in.
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Doesn't sound like there are any major bolters in the All Blacks XV. Only one player who didn't feature in Super Rugby this year - no Pledger, Casey etc.
@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Doesn't sound like there are any major bolters in the All Blacks XV. Only one player who didn't feature in Super Rugby this year - no Pledger, Casey etc.
This years Otago team is the best I've seen since Chris Smileys rookie season so for their to be only 1 probable player being Lio-Willie in the XV leaves me deflated!
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I can't remember a more ho hum bunch of selections than what's been discussed on this thread. Razor has really sucked the excitement out of being a NZ rugby fan. Christie, Finau, ALB, Reece and Kirifi (too small) should have all been given the boot from the main squad. He's obviously too afraid of hurting people's feelings.
If excitement machines like Pledger aren't in the AB XV, that also shows Razor's narrow mindedness.
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yeah, as much as i would have rolled the dice i do get it it...for me its not who they havent picked as much as who they keep picking
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Sounds to me like Jamie has made a captain's call on Pledger - so I think you have to back it from a player welfare point of view.
@frugby said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Sounds to me like Jamie has made a captain's call on Pledger - so I think you have to back it from a player welfare point of view.
Why not at least have him travel with the ABs as a non-playing apprentice. He's obviously going to be in the next WC squad, so why not get him accustomed to the environment now rather than next year. They've done it before with Ardie and Aumua.
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@frugby said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Sounds to me like Jamie has made a captain's call on Pledger - so I think you have to back it from a player welfare point of view.
Why not at least have him travel with the ABs as a non-playing apprentice. He's obviously going to be in the next WC squad, so why not get him accustomed to the environment now rather than next year. They've done it before with Ardie and Aumua.
@Canes4life Because they want him to have a full Super Rugby pre-season - if he goes on tour, there is a mandated rest period.
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@frugby said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Sounds to me like Jamie has made a captain's call on Pledger - so I think you have to back it from a player welfare point of view.
Why not at least have him travel with the ABs as a non-playing apprentice. He's obviously going to be in the next WC squad, so why not get him accustomed to the environment now rather than next year. They've done it before with Ardie and Aumua.
@Canes4life said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@frugby said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Sounds to me like Jamie has made a captain's call on Pledger - so I think you have to back it from a player welfare point of view.
Why not at least have him travel with the ABs as a non-playing apprentice. He's obviously going to be in the next WC squad, so why not get him accustomed to the environment now rather than next year. They've done it before with Ardie and Aumua.
Probably because touring players have to have a certain number of weeks off before they can return and JJ sees this pre-season as being a priority for him interms of physical development.
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@brodean said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@restofit said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Papali'i & Darry should be there over Finau & Lord... but we don't pick Blues with this coaching setup.
Monstered the Chiefs in the 1/4s missing 2 abs and took Crusaders to 86 mins in the Semi.
Razor must think Cotter is a coaching demi-god considering their clinical performances in the playoffs 2024 & 2025 with barely any test quality players!
Well, if we picked those two guys, there would be 7 Blues in the squad and 8 Crusaders.
We won the competition and you guys lost nine games.
Its not about Blues vs Crusaders. There should be more of both. There's too many Chiefs and Canes.
There's always too many Canes and Chiefs.
But, if the Fern majority got their way, who gets dropped?
Beauden, Christie, ALB, Sevu, Kirifi and Finau.
For something like: Jacombe, Pledger, Ennor, Tangitau, Papali'i, Flanders
There's less Blues and the same number of Crusaders.
I'd prefer the frst group of players - mainly because Beaudy is a significantly better option than Jacombe at present. Pledger looks like he'll be a much better player than Christie in due course, but he's really just broken out in NPC. Ennor, meh. Tangitau, apparently not. Paps - yes for me, but Ardie will start. Flanders - haven't watched him to see if he can sit convincingly in the stand with Luke Jacobson.
My real point is - many of you Blues guys seem to see a massive conspiracy, where there's really just a few line calls gone against you.
Actually, Lord vs Darry could be added to the above set to bring you to parity, but for me that one is a coin toss, where they can't pick both - and if Vaa'i were fit they'd pick neither.
Edit: And a minute later they're both in - but, I'd rather have Patrick.
@Chris-B said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
My real point is - many of you Blues guys seem to see a massive conspiracy, where there's really just a few line calls gone against you.
Our best performing 10 is gone. Our 6 (arguably best 6 in the comp) is gone. Our 8 (player of the year) looks like he is going. Our 7, another ex-AB, won't get picked. They talk about getting big men but Peter Dinklage has more hope of being picked as an AB loose forward.
Who does get picked? Christie and BB. Two players I can't remember any Blues supporter on here demanding to get picked. 3, if you add Stephen ('even Ethan Blackadders's tougher than me') Perofeta. Ok, he played ok when picked but I think even ardent Blues fans were surprised.
Darry was a good one but picked out of necessity.
So our loose trio, finally well-balanced and arguably the best combo in the tournament, has been eviscerated, with the top performers packing their bags overseas.
Not a conspiracy, but not a great state of affairs.
I was confident that Razor would be more inventive and innovative than Foster. I'm not saying he's worse, but, without the help of someone like Schmidt, I can't say he's clearly a step forward. His selections are just as conservative, the team has no plan B, the bench is usually a chaotic step down, and they don't seem to learn from match 1 to 2. It's hard to rate their performance against the Wallabies, who looked better coached, because the Wallabies still lack a 'head'. But what is clear to me is that the only silver lining in NOT picking Blues forwards is it might help them keep their edge. Too many players plateau or worsen once they are regularly picked for the ABs. Newell is a noteworthy exception.
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@frugby @SouthernMann, that makes sense and fair call then.
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Paul Cully has written quite a good article on the Post about selections. We are all quick to ask for new players, but not all the new boys have been raging successes.
19 Debutants in the last two years, and most of those have failed to make an impact.
