The Silver Fern

@SouthernMann I believe Robertson is staying, but if JJ does become All Blacks coach, I can’t see how he could stay on with us this season, given some of the alleged biases Robertson had.

@Bovidae said in Highlanders 2026:

@frugby

Kane Jury. He coached the NZ Schools when they last beat Aust (twice).

Be a big step up having never coached at NPC level.

All will be revealed tomorrow, but if hypothetically Razor goes and JJ replaces him, given the Springbok Tour I can’t see him steering us through the season - though I would expect him to have some involvement through a handover period - but how will they replace him?

Dermody has previously failed, Kidwell isn’t a Union man, Bender has never head coached ever… Corey Brown?

Ardie Savea will make an absolute fortune when he inevitably releases a book.

@Grooter said in All Blacks 2026:

@george33 it's all very interesting like Is Jamie Joseph in meetings of some sorts this week? I see several landers players haven't been at logan park the last few days, Angus Ta'avo on his instagram is Queenstown, Stanley Solomon in Wellington.

I think this is one of the more intriguing things. Would seem odd to take time off in the middle of pre-season!

Particularly as all the other teams are training. I had heard Joseph was taking a more relaxed approach this year, but this seems extreme.

@george33 Not exactly. There is a heap of rumours, I think it is fairly simple:

Some players don’t like Razor
Everyone thinks Hansen is a fluffybunny

That’s the outcome of the review - and I don’t think we needed a review to work that one out.

What is unclear is how this will be resolved, which will be revealed by the end of this week.

Razor is far from popular on here - but I think backing Savea over him sets a dangerous precedent and makes it IMPOSSIBLE for a new coach.

It rewards player power - and I can’t see how that is beneficial.

Hansen is goneburger it seems, and if Razor follows, Ardie should too IMO.

@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2026:

I'm not sold on this version of Joseph as a coach. It's not like the Highlanders were better in 2025 compared to 2024.

Unless Brown has a release clause I seriously doubt SA will let him go.

I’ll say this. If Robertson goes, I would be stunned if it is not Joseph.

The feedback from all the players across the All Blacks XV for him and his group was outstanding- the players loved it. Was a great environment to be in, and that was fwd bak by certain players, including one who turned down an AB callup.

Have heard Dalton Papalii is looking offshore, possibly already signed offshore. Anyone got anything on that?

Every cloud a silver lining.

After years and years of bad luck, it feels like the stars might just be aligning for Folau Fakatava - who is an extremely good halfback in his own right.

Tried to get Arscott as a replacement but he has had a shoulder operation.

I am assuming Shearer into the main squad.

Can confirm ACL.

@Duluth said in Super Rugby 2026:

@frugby said in Super Rugby 2026:

I think there should be more teams and the larger ones should be broken up. There should be more opportunities for players to play close to their home.. that makes for a more tribal competition with more interest.

I find this quite fascinating. Have recently been in the UK, and the sheer density of population/football teams in London is incredible, and it goes back to your first point.

Why is it, that Auckland, a city of 1.5m, struggles to support two Super Rugby teams, given rugby is our national game?

Sydney is about 2x as big and they support 9 NRL teams.

Is it better to look at the population of rugby fans as opposed to actual population?

I think a ranking of average crowd size for the 14 NPC sides + the 5 Super Rugby sides would be interesting.

@Duluth said in Super Rugby 2026:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/360913526/numbers-which-super-rugby-franchise-has-most-players-schooled-within-their-region

Van Royen makes the mistake of talking about he population and assuming the Blues have a huge advantage.

The Chiefs region is more populated than people think

2019 population numbers for the franchises:

Region	Population
Blues	1.396m
Chiefs	1.333m
Hurricanes	1.019m
Crusaders	0.797m
Highlanders	0.337m

He should make the point about the schools comp attracting outside talent instead

I do think there is an issue with franchise distribution though. 40% of contracts being in the SI and 20% being in Dunedin isn't a good spread

Might not be good for the players - but what about the fans?

The Highlanders certainly used to have the best average crowd (and possibly still do)

The Blues struggle to get a crowd to match their population with one team, so why chuck another team up there. The crowds Moana get are poor.

@Canes4life hOsKinS sOtUtu

Have enquired r.e a knee surgery for Tavatavanawai but nobody seems to know of it. I guess it is possible, he is getting some stuff tidied up over Christmas, but nothing to suggest it will be longer-term.

@Nogusta Hadn’t heard that. Will enquire.

@jimmyb said in Highlanders 2026:

Are we completely injury free leading up to pre season or have any players been confirmed to miss a few rounds/season?

Jim is a couple of weeks away, I imagine Te Hiwi and Ma’u won’t be ready till after Christmas

Renton is out till the back end of January

I really want to love it, but there is something about it that just seems a little off to me, can’t really put my finger on it.

At the end of the day, I remember kits for how well we play in them so this will be an all-time classic