The Silver Fern

@Kirwan said in All Blacks 2025:

I don't mind players that have put in the time to the ABs getting a break. It's helps those players last longer and recover from all the contact.

But players like that Mounga and LF that leave early? They can fuck right off.

Faingaʻanuku has played a total of seven tests (two of which were against Namibia and Uruguay) and wasn't deemed good enough for the 23 in the World Cup semi-final or final before he left. Talk of him walking straight back into the squad doesn't sit right.

@Nepia said in All Blacks v France III:

FFS, no lock reserve.

Locks are 6's and 6's are locks now.

And all loose forward positions are interchangeable so all opensides are blindsides and all opensides are locks. Kirifi is lock cover.

Robertson might say a bit of stuff about what the team has learned from the series but the real question is whether or not they apply that knowledge in the future. I look forward to the improved tactical kicking, better use of the bench and game plan adaptability.

Robertson can obviously do whatever he likes but I find wholesale changes don’t work very well in terms of either team performance or finding out how well individual players go.

What we tend to see is the A team run out several weeks in a row and then the B team for a week. I’d prefer them to make a couple of changes a week to see how certain players go playing alongside the core group.

The bench can also be used well here, making replacements at (or even before) half time, instead of giving players ten minutes at the end of the game.

Christie might be viewed as the safe option, given his experience but it’d be a wasted selection. He won’t be at the World Cup, he’ll come off the bench and add nothing and there’s an opportunity here to see what other players have to offer if they get an opportunity.

Here are the Ioane and Whitelock stats:

Tries 2:0
Ball carries 9:9
Good passes 2:3
Line breaks 0:0
Offloads 0:1
Tackle breaks 2:1
Turnovers conceded 1:0
Turnovers won 0:0
Tackles dominant 1:3
Tackles made 8:11
Tackles missed 1:2
Handling errors 2:1
Penalties 0:0
Lineouts stollen 0:0
Lineouts won 3:0

@Frank said in All Blacks v France 2:

With the move away from Rieko at center, we've got three 12s and one 13.
It would be nice if Big Jim or Tupaea could cover 13.
Both are going to be dropped if ALB is still in favor.

If Proctor becomes the regular centre and Ioane a regular on the wing, I'm sure they'd still see Ioane as injury cover for centre, so Tavatavanawai could cover wing and second five from the bench. If Tupaea is a second five only, Jordan would have to cover wing.

I was really hoping they wouldn't make that many changes. I can see things getting pretty sloppy, especially if they do the same with the forwards. Not sure they'll be able to accurately assess individual players well.

@Landers92 said in All Blacks v France III:

I don’t mind seeing different combinations. In my opinion though, if the backline has that many changes we better not have too many in the forward pack or else it could all be quite clunky.

We moan we don’t rotate and get other players/combinations out there, when that does happen we moan about who gets rotated and we don’t see certain players in certain positions. It’s a pretty hard balancing act.

I’m happy with this backline if all we see is a swap for Vaa’i and maybe a rotation at the prop positions. Bold if Razor is going for heavy rotation in the pack too.

FWIW, I’ll continue to post any AB oil I hear for this match in this match thread. I promise I’m not actually in the AB camp in any capacity

I don’t know. They could have their first choice backline and, for example, swap out one inside and one outside back each week or just swap out the halfback and first five or the two midfielders. Two players not in their favoured starting lineup each week and if someone stands out while amongst the core group, they might stay on for the next week. No need for wholesale changes every third or fourth week.

@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2025:

@sparky said in All Blacks 2025:

@Canes4life But of the three Peter Lakai is the one who is yet to be trusted in a Test starting XV for the All Blacks.

He's a talent, he's versatile and time is on his side, but I don't quite see him as good enough yet at either 7 or 8 for the ABs. I think Peter Lakai will develop into a world-class player for the All Blacks, but he's not there yet.

The fact he hasn't started a test isn't his fault. If he were to start in a test, I'd imagine he wouldn't let the jersey down. He pretty much played a full game against a stronger French side last year away and didn't look out of place.

If you think Lio-Willie and Kirifi are good enough to play test rugby, then Lakai is even more suited in my opinion. If Lakai was fit, Kirfi or Lio-Willie probably wouldn't have got that opportunity so 'trust' isn't an issue for Lakai. He played pretty much a full season at 7 for the Canes in 2024 and almost a full season at 8 for the Canes this year and definitely looked the goods. The fact he can play both positions to a high standard puts him in a good place in terms of selection.

Razor and co will want to get him back in the environment considering he'll likely be a big piece of the puzzle come RWC 2027. Out all the other loosies, Lakai probably would be the most suited to provide 'impact' off the bench' due to his explosiveness.

Get him in the squad, give him game time, let him (hopefully) realise his potential. Stick with Lio-Willie and Kirifi and they'll get to the World Cup wishing they had better players. The All Blacks have a few place holders at the moment. I'd much rather they pick guys with promise and see if they can get them to the required level. Robertson talked about being more bold in his selections. Time to really go for it.

Very happy with the minimal changes and straight swaps for the injured players. The consistency in selection, along with playing outside this week and hopefully some more conservative play and better defence will lead to a quality performance. It'll be interesting to see how the bench is used if all goes well.

@jimmyb said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:

@canefan said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:

I thought DMac played a solid game on the weekend. His kicking game was much stronger than BBs, he just didn't have much x factor. I don't mind that, and I'd like to see him get a run with Roigard and the top team

But we’re stuck between rock and a hard place with Barrett and McKenzie. Either Love or someone else has to step up

I’d like to see them give Love (given he’s the options they have in squad right now) significant game time throughout the Rugby Championship, introducing him from the bench with more and more minutes each game as the tournament goes on and eventually starting, until it’s clear whether or not he’s the best option going forward. No point in mucking around with Barrett for another two years.

I’m not keen on seeing them making a lot of changes. I know Robertson has stated he intends to give everyone a run but that doesn’t necessarily mean making a lot of changes or giving everyone a lot of time on the field. I also don’t think that has to include players currently with the squad as injury cover.

If it were up to me, assuming injured players don’t make a come back and nobody else is out, I’d make very few changes. Perhaps start Ratima and McKenzie then swap them both at half time for Roigard and Love. Swap out the front row at or even before half time. Give Tavatavanawai or Tupaea and some of the other reserves who look like they’ll be in the main 23 thirty minutes.

I don’t see the need for giving third or fourth choice players big minutes. Use the bench to rest players who might need it.

@brodean said in All Blacks v France III:

@ShaquilleOatmeal said in All Blacks v France III:

@brodean said in All Blacks v France III:

@ShaquilleOatmeal said in All Blacks v France III:

The guys who haven’t played yet are all clearly third-choice other than Lienert-Brown who they know all about and who has been slipping in form for a while now.

There's no evidence so far that Lio Willie and Kirifi are better than Jacobson and Papali'i.

Based on what we've seen from BB and Dmac, Love has to be given an opportunity. It's not clear that these guys offer more than what Love potentially could.

I said in my original post I’d give Love a full half. Jacobson is out injured, isn’t he? And I feel like Lakai would be in the squad if fit ahead of Kirifi and Papali'i.

Fair enough I missed that inclusion of Love. Hotham over Ratima is also worth investigating.

That’s my fault, I mentioned Love in one sentence, then generalised the players who hadn’t played in another.

Hotham’’s a possibility. I’m kind of interested to see how things might go if they started with the second choice halfback and brought Roigard on at (or even before) half time, rather than keeping him on the field till hes out on his feet. The next best halfbacks don’t seem to have much impact off the bench so it might be an idea to give them the first thirty just to be solid against a fresh and fired up opposition.

@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks v France I:

@reprobate said in All Blacks v France I:

@No-Quarter said in All Blacks v France I:

It's not the amount of kicking as such, it's the timing and type of ball we kick away. We were dominating the contacts, making linebreaks, flooding forward... and then kicking.

Agree. And it’s also the optics of it. Too many occasions our kicks look rushed or indecisive or a bit haphazard.

I think back to when DC played and when he was siting in the pocket to get on to that sweeping left boot or when he was attacking the line with confidence for a rare chip, it was done with confidence. And whilst he didn’t nail every kick perfectly, at least it sent a message to the opposition that he had a kicking game to be worried about.

Driving opposition teams back with long kicks seems to have been abandoned completely. Even with Carter injured during the 2011 World Cup, instead of forgetting about that tactic, the team used Dagg to good effect, particularly in the semifinal against Australia.

@Windows97 said in All Blacks v France 2:

I would hope the selection for this week would be based off continuity and cover for injuries as making wholesale changes to a team that stumbled over the line by 4 points against France B smacks of arrogance.

I agree. I'd prefer to see straight swaps for the injured players - Tuipulotu for Barrett (or maybe Vaa’i to lock and Finau to start depending on their preference for Vaa’i's position) and whoever they like on the wing for Reece. Other than that, one or two changes max, if anyone's back from injury and even then, maybe only on the bench.

@brodean said in All Blacks v France III:

@ShaquilleOatmeal said in All Blacks v France III:

The guys who haven’t played yet are all clearly third-choice other than Lienert-Brown who they know all about and who has been slipping in form for a while now.

There's no evidence so far that Lio Willie and Kirifi are better than Jacobson and Papali'i.

Based on what we've seen from BB and Dmac, Love has to be given an opportunity. It's not clear that these guys offer more than what Love potentially could.

I said in my original post I’d give Love a full half. Jacobson is out injured, isn’t he? And I feel like Lakai would be in the squad if fit ahead of Kirifi and Papali'i.

Some stats from the game:

Dixon - Luatua
Tries 1 - 1
Carries 11 - 11
Metres 80 - 37
Clean breaks 3 - 2
Defenders beaten 2 - 0
Offloads 1 - 1
Try assists 1 - 0
Passes 7 - 9
Lineout catches 3 - 4
Tackles 5 - 7
Missed tackles 0 - 0
Turnovers conceded 0 - 1

@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks v France 2:

No QT looks like a pre planned change decided prior to last weekend.

How long did Tupaea get to play last weekend? Was it fifteen or so minutes? That doesn't seem significant enough to achieve much if players are going to be rotated. I really think they need to use the bench a bit better and start making changes earlier.

However, I do feel like they're looking for impact from the bench and Tavatavanawai looks like a good option potentially. it will be interesting to see how he goes. Hopefully they give him a decent run.

@nonpartizan said in All Blacks 2025:

@SBW1 said in All Blacks 2025:

Joseph Manu makes next career call amid NRL return rumours

NRL fans hoping to welcome Joseph Manu back to the league will be bitterly disappointed, with French rugby side Racing 92 announcing the signing of the former Sydney Roosters star until 2027. Manu was long-rumoured to be joining the French-based club; however, many had hoped his departure from...

If Manu does return to pursue his All Blacks dream he will only have the 2027 Super Rugby season to prove himself, should he go down that path.

Comparing to Sonny Bills timeline he went to French rugby in 2008 and was playing NPC for Canterbury in 2010 and the Crusaders in 2011. So it would appear to be an even tighter timeline than SBW.

I'd love to know to what extent the NZR and the coaches build relationships when this stuff happens to increase the likelihood of being able to integrate the player into the All Blacks setup, of the stars align.

From what I can recall Tana was with SBW in France and may have acted as a bridge builder in this sense.

Both Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Brad Thorn (who turned it down) were selected after their first Super Rugby and NPC seasons respectively but they were selected on reputation and name as much as for their performance on field and neither was selected in a World Cup year. It’d be a big gamble to pick a league convert for the first time in a World Cup year not knowing how well they’ll make the step up. He’d have to be an absolute stand out in Super Rugby.