The Silver Fern

@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:

@Nepia said in All Blacks 2026:

@Bones said in All Blacks 2026:

@kidcalder said in All Blacks 2026:

@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:

@Gunner said in All Blacks 2026:

@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:

@gt12 said in All Blacks 2026:

@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:

@gt12 said in All Blacks 2026:

I know this is not quite the right thread, but it does link with the difficulty of keeping our best players.

Have a look at the quality of restaurants in Castres. Foie gras mi-cuit for a starter then Viande Braisée ou confite du moment at La Foganha is just one of the many fucking cool places to enjoy.

I assume most of the ABs can earn better money with less travel and less pressure in places like France? Once you feel you are being treated less than fairly it's probably easy to take the money and run

100%
Plus you can have an incredible OE really enjoying the best of Europe.
In many ways, it's surprising that we can keep many of these guys for as long as we have. Looking at guys who are on the edges of selection for 2026, you'd have to say guys like Perofeta (for example) may better to bolt this year (when fewer top players are available) if it seems like AB selection is out of reach or you'll end up like Love from last year and essentially be an AB in name only.

Perofeta should go. Akira, Hoskins, DP, Plummer, Lam, the Blues are getting gutted

That’s a lot of AB standard talent walking out the door.
Im still amazed that Plummer and Lam never got a chance. And don’t pull me up about Plummer… I know he got a few minutes, that ain’t a fucking chance.

I'll pull you up on Plummer. Not because he got a chance (he didn't), but because he had one good season, made a squad, then fucked off. Plenty of players have had more than one good season and not made a squad (e.g. Lam), so I don't think Plummer was particularly hard done by looking at historical standards. He's also quite a bit younger than BB, McKenzie and Mo'unga - he could have stayed if he wanted to.

@gt12 the point about him fucking off because of the fawning over Mo'unga is a good one though.

Plummer did well for the Blues but would have been nothing more than a steady stop gap at test level and after a few tests people would have been calling for him to be dropped. Nothing against him but he wasn't the future.

Yeah similar to Cory Jane maybe. He wasn't the future either, guy couldn't even get into the wellington team so had to play for Hawkes. A small, relatively slow guy in his mid-twenties with an average kicking game was not the future, should have only been given 2 mins at the end of one test.

Should have sent Plummer down to the Bay for a season and we would have turned him into a long term AB as well.

The Cory Jane example is everything that is wrong with how they handled a bunch of guys including Plummer. Even some posters on here are happy to dismiss a guy they don't perceive to be test standard, instead of at least taking some time to kick the tyres. He drove the Blues to the championship, maybe it was a lucky run or maybe there's something there. Some guys just need to be given a chance and they shine. Mitch Jr is the cricket equivalent of Cory

I wasn't a fan of Plummer for quite some time but he improved dramatically in that 2024 year and I agree he should have got a proper look.

Beauden Barrett hasn't gotten close to producing for the Blues what Plummer did in 2024

@KiwiMurph said in Force v Blues:

@Kirwan said in Force v Blues:

@KiwiMurph said in Force v Blues:

It's pretty hard to excited for this Blues team until they start making some selection changes.

Like what? Injuries aside, and the charmed Nock, what changes would you make?

An actual right winger instead of Forbes.

An ineffective midfield gets another crack

Barnes went well past week now benched

Yeah Forbes was great in 2024 at 15 but hes a pretty average 14.

@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2026:

@DaGrubster said in All Blacks 2026:

@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2026:

@gt12 said in All Blacks 2026:

@Gunner said in All Blacks 2026:

@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:

@gt12 said in All Blacks 2026:

@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:

@gt12 said in All Blacks 2026:

I know this is not quite the right thread, but it does link with the difficulty of keeping our best players.

Have a look at the quality of restaurants in Castres. Foie gras mi-cuit for a starter then Viande Braisée ou confite du moment at La Foganha is just one of the many fucking cool places to enjoy.

I assume most of the ABs can earn better money with less travel and less pressure in places like France? Once you feel you are being treated less than fairly it's probably easy to take the money and run

100%
Plus you can have an incredible OE really enjoying the best of Europe.
In many ways, it's surprising that we can keep many of these guys for as long as we have. Looking at guys who are on the edges of selection for 2026, you'd have to say guys like Perofeta (for example) may better to bolt this year (when fewer top players are available) if it seems like AB selection is out of reach or you'll end up like Love from last year and essentially be an AB in name only.

Perofeta should go. Akira, Hoskins, DP, Plummer, Lam, the Blues are getting gutted

That’s a lot of AB standard talent walking out the door.
Im still amazed that Plummer and Lam never got a chance. And don’t pull me up about Plummer… I know he got a few minutes, that ain’t a fucking chance.

I think we can ignore the trolling that players got chances because they saw a few minutes. Plummer is one of the best examples to focus on, because he was literally chased away due to the previous coaching team's fixation on Mo'unga.

But even Mounga proves my point. he was an All Black, but went to Japan, to get more money, not because he didn't get so called support etc or any shit rumour things As I said, it's about money, and maybe a lifestyle change etc, and that's fine. All this shit about lack of support or the other rumours is just made up stuff, unless I actually hear Dalton say it. Funnily enough ,I take him as an honest guy.
Also the other problem is of course, there are only so many spots in ABs, so there will always be quite a few players that we will consider unlucky to make it.

Its always been the way - get dropped and out of favour - the money in Nz pales to what you can earn overseas so lots of players have always left quite quickly once their ab careers seem to be over.

Rugby players finish up playing when they are 35 if they are lucky. That means they have to continue as they have 50 years of living to do (give or take).

When you stop playing, Another million in the bank will go a long way, especially if you arent skilled with another career choice

Yep exactly, noone is getting at Dalton for taking guaranteed money, just a fact.
I don't know who has read Anton Olivers book , he did after his first season at France after 2003 WC. He said as soon as he put on boots for Toulon , he knew he was never going to extend his contract, as he realised he was there only for money. As he described it when the day he stopped playing for the ABs, the music died!
I understand for many that play the game now, that's all they have ever done, and perhaps the pull of jersey isn't as it was.
That is what whoever takes over as coach should make a priority, a desire to wear the jersey and what it means should be first thing drummed into heads.
I know you and I have kind of discussed this elsewhere Grubs, and both agree the jersey and fern on it need to be the main reason you want to be an AB, not what you can earn. You should earn good many doing it, but shouldn't be what drives you to be an AB.

Its the Silverlight - Altrad - Adidas - Gallagher Insurance ABs thank you very much. ( Who play a minority of games in NZ so they can play in rugby metropolis like Baltimore instead )

@Darth-Sader said in All Blacks 2026:

@MN5 said in All Blacks 2026:

@Darth-Sader said in All Blacks 2026:

Also the other problem is of course, there are only so many spots in ABs, so there will always be quite a few players that we will consider unlucky to make it.

This. Hoskins was unlucky, and it’s sad that Dalton is leaving, but there’s no way he was good enough to be ABs captain. Unfortunately, for every George Bridge and Simon Parker there will be others who miss out. But very few have been snubbed were/could have been top-line ABs.

Really ? They can't all be McCaws and Fitzpatricks......

Rueben Thorne and Taine Randell spring to mind. Sam Cane and Scott Barrett too. I don't thing DP suffers in comparison to them.

( not that we'll ever know )

This is by no means an attack on Papali’i but he has been very ineffective at international level, in my opinion. I question Scooter as captain, but he is (or at least has been) an international standard player.

Mo’unga and Sevu Reece are arguably two of the greatest Super players… but internationally they have both been very average. Good at best.

Yeah I disagree. We dominated possesion when he played 7 in almost every game and our defense was more accurate too. These were the ingredients that were missing during the Robertson era wheb Papali'i didn't play.

I dont see us getting that with Savea, Kirifi or Lakai.

@SouthernMann said in All Blacks 2026:

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2026:

@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2026:

Couldn't agree more .That exactly what I was saying, he's not going because of lak of support , or for the rumour etc, he going because the certainty of the money is what he wants.
I in no way have a problem with him for that.

He's not exactly going to come out and talk about these reasons publicly - at least not yet

Young people these days. Not hard like the men of the 70s. They just got on and did what was needed!

Leaving the kids in the car while they went to the pub then driving home drunk was needed?

@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2026:

@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:

@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2026:

@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:

@ShaquilleOatmeal said in All Blacks 2026:

@sparky It’s disappointing he didn’t stick around through 2027 to see how things unfold.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/dalton-papalii-blues-captain-to-depart-after-2026-season/OV6TIT5TRVFDNBYGIIBDMNBI7U/

Points towards a breakdown in his relationship with NZR, not just with Razor

I bet this was on before he knew Razor was going.
Points to someone not willing to fight to earn his spot to me.

Not about fight. Putting his actions together with the rumours, Dalton is turning his back on NZR because he feels like he was not supported

OK, I suppose you can say that about any player that head overseas.
I just assume they going because they can get more cash than they will if they not picked.
I make no 2 ways about it, I don't know why these players are all seemingly starting to need support etc. I guess it just way is now .
And I not just saying rugby players, but all sports seem to be having problems with athletes needing looking after.

He made it pretty clear that it was about earning for his family. I dont have any issues with that. The reality is the lure of the All Blacks jersey isnt what it once was.

A signed contract offers more certainty for players who are out of favour.

Man that is sad. Blues have been decimated because of Scott Robertson and his cronies.

@KiwiMurph said in Blues vs. Chiefs 2026:

Cheers BOK

https://twitter.com/elliottnz/status/2023256892236308899

BOK has sabotaged so many Blues games. Not sure if its malicious or incompetence.

@Kirwan said in Blues vs. Chiefs 2026:

@Duluth said in Blues vs. Chiefs 2026:

@Kirwan said in Blues vs. Chiefs 2026:

If I had to isolate a single factor for each team it would how poor Nock was when he came on, and how crafty Vaai was.

Darry and Ofa were going well too. Their replacements were fine but just not at the same level

Yeah, true. But nothing like the drop off for when Nock came on. I know it’s not cool to point this out, but the ginger half back is a very good player

Yeah nah, Christie was stuffing things up as well. He's a major handbreak. The backline looked so much better with Funaki and Plummer back in 2024.

@Bovidae said in Blues vs. Chiefs 2026:

A couple of long throws were the problem for ST. The not straight was no worse than one of Slater's throws. Both lineouts were at 80%.

Yeah the difference is Taukei’aho, Vaa'i, and Lord were all All Blacks last year vs none in the Blues.

@Dan54 said in Blues vs. Chiefs 2026:

Anyway I thought the game was ok . It was first up match, and looked like it to me. Take a couple of games to get the bugs out of system, well I reckon and it same in most rugby comps I watch .
Things looked a bit clinky, but I have seen worse games.
Toss up between Vai'i and Tupaea for me as the best out there for me. I did think Ahki could turn out to be pretty reasonable get for Blues, he looks like he can shore up their midfield. I did think perofeta did what Perofeta usually does in my mind, looked reasonably average, I said I never reall saw him as the first choice at 10 for the Naki, and in this game he didn't do much to change my mind. Will be ineterested to keep an aya on that Blues No 6.

Agree somewhat.

I thought both 10s were pretty average but neither got great service from their 9s.

Points off Vaa'i for the Chiefs poor lineout.

@KiwiMurph said in Blues vs. Chiefs 2026:

@brodean said in Blues vs. Chiefs 2026:

Funny how people are pouncing on Nock when we should have never been in that position with a decent pass.

How about Nock just oblivious to getting the ball out from the maul earlier? He's been a professional 9 for a decade. Just no brains.

Tbf the hooker pulled the ball back in.

Yes I thought the Chiefs bench overall was better.

Pretty sloppy game from both teams. Most disappointing aspect of this game was how poor the Chiefs lineout was with an All Black Hooker and two All Black locks.

That pass from Beehre was absolutely rubbish and he does that fairly regularly. Funny how people are pouncing on Nock when we should have never been in that position with a decent pass.

@KiwiMurph said in Blues vs. Chiefs 2026:

Butchered by Slater

Thought he was over. BOK wouldn't know he was no where close.

@Bones said in Blues vs. Chiefs 2026:

Be good to see Segner have a breakout season, seems to have all the physical tools.

Would be good. He was quite poor in the NPC along with the rest of the Auckland team.

@Tim said in Hurricanes vs Chiefs (pre season wk 2):

Jacobson looks to be by far your most important loose forward. Parker didn't play though.

Well Jacobson was easily the Chiefs best loose forward last year.

I think we could go better than expected as long as Perofeta gets more time at 10 than BB.