G
Liam Napier picks Rennie as his candidate.
How good is his sauce normally? I would think it is a bit dangerous to chose one and get it wrong, when you'll be attempting to work with them in the future.
He has always been highly regarded, though. Speaking at the Wairarapa Bush rugby sports award function, Sir Graham Henry bemoaned NZ Rugby letting Rennie go to the Wallabies, stating he should have been All Blacks coach instead of Ian Foster.
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2026:
@frugby said in All Blacks 2026:
The ABs want to play with a running 10,
they do?
Lay off ole shovel along will you!
@brodean said in All Blacks 2026:
@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
What I find strange about the criticism above was the 'one year' thing, which just happened to be in his fifth year in Super and the first time he was a nailed on starter in one position (rather than covering midfield, for example). In other words, he had found his feet at this level and was driving around a championship team - really effectively too, - it's a requirement for a Super rugby champion.
I believe that puts him on the Sopoaga and Mo'unga pathway - I think the only two NZ players before him to be first five of a Super winning team without already being an AB.
Now, he may have been much more likely to be a Sopoaga than Mo'unga, especially when you look at the time it look him to really hit his stride in Super rugby, but Sopoaga is another who missed chances, but at least it was because they were bringing through Barrett, then McKenzie and Mo'unga.
For Plummer, he never got his chance, as it two things were apparent: (1) The coaches wanted Mo'unga back as they hung their hat on old heads, and (2) there seems to be anti Auckland bias in the coaching box.
Well I for one, fucking hate tanking. It goes against everything I love about sport. It sucks for the players and the fans, just a total blight on the game. I also hate load management FWIW.
I'd like to see a more even spread of odds of getting #1. Make the bottom 8 teams all equal chance or something.
I heard someone suggest that if you get the #1 pick one year, you're inelgible for any of the top [4-6] the year after - that makes sense to me too.Can't see load management going away any time soon because the players don't give a shit about playoff seedings anymore. It's all about getting to the playoffs healthy and rested. So another idea (aside from the obvious reduce the # of games to 70 or something) idea I liked was to allow each team to set the 3pt line wherever they want on their home court.
Make homecourt meaningful.
GSW, you don't care where you finish as long as you make the playoffs? Well, you better start, because when you play in OKC, there is no 3pt line. Or it's going to be 65 feet. One or the other.
That would be fun.
Finally, guarenteed contracts should fuck off. Watching Ben Simmons collect $75 billion dollars (I think that's right) for about 27 minutes of playing time is just insane. Do we really think that people won't want to be in the NBA if their contracts aren't guaranteed??? Come on. There should be a baseline % that you have guartanteed - like $2m p.a. or something. The rest is cream - or put another way, reward for actual service.
I don't actually like tanking either, but teams would be irrational not to do it.
Vince Goodwill on the Hoop Collective explained basically those ideas to mitigate tamping and help make the players get spread around, and I like them in principle.
However, I don't like the idea of having to start winning at some point, mainly because that will further penalize the actually shit teams. The draft and lottery are there because there is an issue with how talent gets distributed and there are already some teams which really fucking struggle to get, then keep, talent. Rachel Nchols goes on about this and she is right, the core issue that drives tanking is that teams who don't have talent need it, and the draft is the key way to get talent and be competitive affordably.
Oh, don't get me wrong, I don't blame teams for doing what they can and must under the current rules - if tanking is an option, then by all means, go for it.
But I do take an issue with this "I don't like the idea of having to start winning at some point, mainly because that will further penalize the actually shit teams"
At the end of the day, the league only has a small responsibility to help you out - at some point you have to stand on your own feet. Imagine the Spurs got The Robinson then Timmy, but the owners didn't get Pop or the support staff. They instead got a bunch of average coaches to save money, allowed a toxic culture to persist, and wasted the talent they'd been given.
Should they be gifted a 3rd high draft pick??? Surely not.
The draft evens the playing field. It gives the bottom teams a leg up.
What they do with that leg up has to be up to them.
Sorry, I'm talking about the idea that at some point in the season the draft rankings change from losing to winning. In other words, the teams that are tanking will get rewarded for winning from that point on (which they can do), while the teams which are actually shit will continue to lose, and will be penalized even more.
Well I for one, fucking hate tanking. It goes against everything I love about sport. It sucks for the players and the fans, just a total blight on the game. I also hate load management FWIW.
I'd like to see a more even spread of odds of getting #1. Make the bottom 8 teams all equal chance or something.
I heard someone suggest that if you get the #1 pick one year, you're inelgible for any of the top [4-6] the year after - that makes sense to me too.Can't see load management going away any time soon because the players don't give a shit about playoff seedings anymore. It's all about getting to the playoffs healthy and rested. So another idea (aside from the obvious reduce the # of games to 70 or something) idea I liked was to allow each team to set the 3pt line wherever they want on their home court.
Make homecourt meaningful.
GSW, you don't care where you finish as long as you make the playoffs? Well, you better start, because when you play in OKC, there is no 3pt line. Or it's going to be 65 feet. One or the other.
That would be fun.
Finally, guarenteed contracts should fuck off. Watching Ben Simmons collect $75 billion dollars (I think that's right) for about 27 minutes of playing time is just insane. Do we really think that people won't want to be in the NBA if their contracts aren't guaranteed??? Come on. There should be a baseline % that you have guartanteed - like $2m p.a. or something. The rest is cream - or put another way, reward for actual service.
I don't actually like tanking either, but teams would be irrational not to do it.
Vince Goodwill on the Hoop Collective explained basically those ideas to mitigate tamping and help make the players get spread around, and I like them in principle.
However, I don't like the idea of having to start winning at some point, mainly because that will further penalize the actually shit teams. The draft and lottery are there because there is an issue with how talent gets distributed and there are already some teams which really fucking struggle to get, then keep, talent. Rachel Nchols goes on about this and she is right, the core issue that drives tanking is that teams who don't have talent need it, and the draft is the key way to get talent and be competitive affordably.
Personally, I think the Bucks should tank like fuck. That’s their only chance of keeping the Freak.
Returning to the conversation, seriously, why wouldn't teams want to tank?
I return to the Spurs, which are one of the best run teams in the league, and they are the new hot team which is on a championship timeline. They haven't done it like Oklahoma in terms of really taking advantage of trades, rather look at their last three years in the Draft: (1) Wemby at pick 1 in 2023 who is so good that generational doesn't even do him justice; (2) Castle in 2024 at pick 4, who won Rookie of the year; and (3) Harper at pick 2 in 2025, who looks awesome too.
It's pretty well accepted that they tanked to get Wemby , and they didn't exactly try to win for the last two years. It has turned out very very well for them and I doubt their fans gave a fuck either during that time. Which is all neat if you are a Spurs fan, and they are now have a nice long Championship timeline.
I don't see why other teams can't try to replicate that, especially if they are from smaller markets.
Thanks for bringing up the trauma again, you guys are real fluffybunnies for returning me to that fucking nightmare.
The fact that it was the stupidest trade in NBA history, which fucked us up, is not my fault.
The current management has now sold Davis at pennies on the dollar, which they had to do, because we now need to build around Flagg. We would be stupid to not try and maximise draft chances to get another excellent piece to be competitive again.
I'm not interested in re-litigating the past - go back and read my posts - but as a pretty invested fan, I find it interesting that you think I should be punished for the bad choices the last regime made.
@mariner4life said in NBA 25/26:
he's right.
The season really starts this week after the fuck around of the All Star break.
I don't see the big deal, the only way for teams to make transformational change is to draft generational players (and do a good job with them). The data on championship teams not having a player who is (or has been) an MVP shows that you must have one of the best players in the league to be the best. Add in small market teams with no other revenue streams (compare the TV money of the Lakers and Memphis, as Windy is always going on about) and it's not like there are many things to do as a small market team in a shit location.
Personally, I want the Mavs to tank fucking hard and don't give a fuck about this season's results.
Sorry mate but Dallas have only got themselves to blame for the shit they find themselves in. The already got Flagg, another top 5 pick would be a reward for ownership and managerial incompetence
Oh fuck off, they are just trying to do what the Spurs just did, and dig themselves out the mess that the last incompetent fucker put us in.
@mariner4life said in NBA 25/26:
he's right.
The season really starts this week after the fuck around of the All Star break.
I don't see the big deal, the only way for teams to make transformational change is to draft generational players (and do a good job with them). The data on championship teams not having a player who is (or has been) an MVP shows that you must have one of the best players in the league to be the best. Add in small market teams with no other revenue streams (compare the TV money of the Lakers and Memphis, as Windy is always going on about) and it's not like there are many things to do as a small market team in a shit location.
Personally, I want the Mavs to tank fucking hard and don't give a fuck about this season's results.
@SouthernMann said in All Blacks - New Coach Selection:
The Japanese top league season runs until May as well.
Why would a Japanese side give Rennie an early release. They don't give a fuck about the All Blacks.
Out of the two coaches finishing in May. Do you prefer the one coaching in the competition? or the one in a different one.
These are both active coaches. Where comprimises will need to be made.
Kobe is currently 3rd, and I'm sure that will make the quarter finals at least, so I would say that is about right, unless they make the final, in which case he won't be available until early June.
If they don't make the playoffs, he could be free by mid-May (last regular season game is the 10th I think). They make it though.
Edit, If Smith takes over there could be some wiggle room - look at the fucking number of staff!
@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.
@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.
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.
You can't blame Papali'i for bolting. Non-selected after supposedly being told he would be, which will have had big salary implications at the time he was welcoming a baby alongside the breakdown in relationship with the coach and NZRU.
Add to that, he'll now have the next few years in the South of France, getting to enjoy more time with the family while playing in the (arguably) best local competition in the world, while cashing in and setting up his family for life.
Good on him. Should have been an AB captain but.
@SouthernMann said in All Blacks 2026:
The thinking around Casey should be part of the evolution of how we view players. As a hybrid player, he is probably best suited to the no20 jersey.
May start in Super. His future in international footy can be split across the 7/8 role as an 25/30 minute impact player.
Neat. Another one. We have far too many of these at the moment, we need really fucking good specialists.
Edit. I see @taniwharugby got to this well ahead of me. There must be a name for this.
