@chchfanatic said in All Blacks 2025:
All I’ve heard is that Big Jim looks to be in. Holland in. No blackadder.
Fusitua in. Proctor in. Reiko as a wing/centre.
Either Christian Lio Willie or Hoskins. Still have made the final call.
Forgot Kirifi too
Is Big Jim being selected as a midfielder or winger?
He should replace Telea at 14 I reckon...
@frugby said in All Blacks 2025:
I don't see us winning the WC with DMac, Barrett (or Mo'unga for that matter) at 10
what an idiotic comment, plenty of World Cups have been won by sides with arguably less talented 10s (see 2007, 2011, 1987,1991, 1995, 2019, 2023, starting fly halfs..) you don't need Jesus Christ to win a world cup just a solid overall core squad ffs.
@Chris said in Crusaders 2025:
@darylmitchell said in Crusaders 2025:
@Chris will Penney get re-signed if Crusaders do progress deep into playoffs?
With the current CEO I would say yes he will be Re -signed.
Do you know if the talks they had with Nick Evans last year will lead to anything in future?
@Chris will Penney get re-signed if Crusaders do progress deep into playoffs?
@Grooter said in Crusaders v Highlanders:
@darylmitchell said in Crusaders v Highlanders:
@Canes4life said in Crusaders v Highlanders:
This season might not have gone the way the Landers would have liked but man there is some talent in this team to build around. TK, Holland, Tim, Tangitau, Tele'a, JRK, Fakatava and even Cribb was very good tonight.
No mate, you don't understand, whenever a Jamie Joseph-coached team loses the narrative is always he has no good players and Jamie was simply unlucky, it's nothing to do with the coach mate.
Jamie's playing group short of experience you must admit, the only +5 year super players out there were Lowe, Fakatava, de Groot & Tele'a. Flipside Codie Taylor, Bower, Barrett, Grace, Christie, Drummond, Havili, Ennor, Reece & McNicholl. But then again Daryl maybe you're right my standards have dropped. household names Taniela Filimone & Tai Cribb had me thinking my Landers bet would come through.. It didn't damn you Millar I mean Joseph!
Oh yeah, except Dermody had the same group last year & managed 6th.
Which begs the question, why are people absolving Joseph of blame for finishing dead last?
He inserted himself into the HC role (which didn't need to happen) after Dermody did a fine job in 2024, therefore he should cop the blame.
@Canes4life said in Crusaders v Highlanders:
This season might not have gone the way the Landers would have liked but man there is some talent in this team to build around. TK, Holland, Tim, Tangitau, Tele'a, JRK, Fakatava and even Cribb was very good tonight.
No mate, you don't understand, whenever a Jamie Joseph-coached team loses the narrative is always he has no good players and Jamie was simply unlucky, it's nothing to do with the coach mate.
@Bovidae That Chiefs pack is genuinely big and scary & understandably the stuff of nightmares for everyone else going forward - I'd reckon by end of 2025 that entire starting pack will have featured heavily for ABs/AB XV's respective campaigns.
@Bones I like the cut of your gib mate.
Tangitau in for Telea, Parker in for Finau, Ah Kuoi in for Blackadder, Te'lea in for Havili.
Crusaders have lost 3/4 of their last away games to Tahs, i reckon if they're not thorough in their prep, don't turn up with the right mentality there could be another upset on the cards here...
@LABCAT said in NZ Cricket:
@canefan said in NZ Cricket:
@nzzp said in NZ Cricket:
@canefan said in NZ Cricket:
He made some mind-boggling decisions at times. But you have to give the guy his flowers
Still reckon we should have played Boult over Scott K against England at the Mount. Yes, I can bear a grudge.
Most egregious was not getting warm up games in Aus for our tour. You cannot succeed without acclimatising.
Like I said, some mind boggling decisions. Mainly regarding selection (I can't recall any specific examples now, but I can recall being quite unhappy with some of them. Bracewell wasting a spot on the test team was one). If it was his decision to forgoe warm up games before the Australian tour, then that was a poor decision
Allowing Henry Nicholls to play on longer than he should have would have been one. It actually seems recently that we have started to promote a lot more fresh talent (maybe this hasn't been by choice) whereas previously we would keep playing the same players regardless of form.
Probably the worst selection was allowing Southee a farewell tour when we should have been going all out for a spot in the WTC final.
In tests we:
Lost to Bangladesh at home
Whitewashed by Australia home & away
Whitewashed by England away and lost at home
Whitewashed by SL in SL
The WTC win was Hesson's team, Stead just came in and continued what Hesson was doing, since that point the team was on a steady decline. We also have no trophy's since then for our supposed "golden generation" - we made the knockouts 4 times but won none of them. We're not a middling team anymore, we shouldn't be content with almost winning. Stead is the epitome of a nearly man, a runners-up coach, always the bridesmaid. Someone like a Fleming would've provided the critical extra 1% that would've helped us over the line in a few of those finals.
Sounds like you're jumping through a few hoops trying to defend their current 2nd to bottom standing compared to their 6th place finish under Clarke Dermody in 2024, lol.
And you realize they've got Canes, Chiefs, Blues next - so are likely to finish last in 2025?
@Landers92 said in Highlanders 2025:
@Canes4life couldn’t have said it better myself. That’s the key is keeping these young guys around while continuing to bring younger guys like Pledger and Tengbald through.
It was never about this season for Highlanders fans, we knew the reality with the current squad,
Explain how they finished 6th last season with the same squad (bar Harmon) & no Kautai, Vikena, Tangitau, Howden (and Holland injured a lot) under a different head coach?
Maybe Joseph (the new head coach) is the problem here?
Will Jamie Joseph ever take accountability for their current performances?
He spends most of this interview going woe is me, not a great look.
@Jet said in All Blacks 2025:
@1kiwi said in All Blacks 2025:
ALB gone for the season
Injury the Allblacks best selector once again....
as solid as ALB is (well mostly...) this could actually be a bit of a blessing in disguise as his automatic 'experience' pick in the 23 has been among the most excruciatingly boring aspects of AB selections since 2020/21, I want to see Tupaea, Higgins, LF, Proctor, etc.. get a decent run for once.
@Chris But key thing is the Crusaders are not just converting wins in games that would've been narrow losses last season, they are rolling teams- look at their points differential
I don't think you can solely point to the injuries in 2024, there's obviously been a huge change to their tactics and shape on attack.
Will Jordan was praising Mooar's impact on the group in an article last week.
@Chris said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
@darylmitchell said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
@Chris Ellison was Crusaders top assistant last year was he not? He was Penney's 2IC.
How has Mooar made such a positive improvement to the group when Razor didn't rate him at all - yet Ellison on the other hand gets such big wraps by Razor?
Maybe Razor is an authoritarian like Eddie Jones & wants to surround himself in Yes men instead of good coaches like MacDonald and Mooar who challenge him?
Not a very good look.
No Dave Perrin is and wa s Pennys 21c
Ellison was further back in the pecking order.Foster got rid of Moar as well
Brad is a bit of a stubborn fella.
I think we're all curious to know how Mooar was the recipient of very poor reviews by the All Black's players during his 3 years there yet he's apparently an instrumental figure in Crusaders domination of everyone bar the Chiefs since he returned in 2025.
Did Foster bribe someone to doctor those end of year reviews or something?
@sparky said in All Blacks 2025:
This is what I've currently got pencilled in for the First Test, but it will be interesting to see how players go at the business end of the season.
- T. Williams
- C. Taylor
- T. Lomax
- S. Barrett (c)
- T. Vai'i
- S.Parker
- A. Savea
- W. Sititi
- C. Ratima
- DMac
- C. Clarke
- J. Barrett
- B. Proctor
- C.Tangitau
- W.Jordan
Fixed.
@Chris Ellison was Crusaders top assistant last year was he not? He was Penney's 2IC.
How has Mooar made such a positive improvement to the group when Razor didn't rate him at all - yet Ellison on the other hand gets such big wraps by Razor?
Maybe Razor is an authoritarian like Eddie Jones & wants to surround himself in Yes men instead of good coaches like MacDonald and Mooar who challenge him?
Not a very good look.
@Chris said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
@Dan54 said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
@Victor-Meldrew said in Highlanders v Crusaders:
Can we have Rikki doing more SR games?
She's very good isn't she Vic?
Laura McGoldrick was the commentator not Rikki.
Hi Chris, what are your thoughts on the Crusaders significant improvement since Brad Mooar replaced Taimati Ellison as Penney's 2IC?
Should we be concerned re: Ellison being out of his depth at that level, have the All Blacks landed a complete dud there?