The Silver Fern

Lightning stops play?

Standards are slipping. Wimps

@Kruse said in Grumpy Old Man:

@NTA said in Grumpy Old Man:

I'm going to blow my own trumpet here and state for the record that I'm a pretty smart cookie.

Kinda related - I heard an argument for the first time the other day - suggesting meritocracy was 'bad', or rather "not as good as one would assume".
It was from a fairly smart guy, and in my intoxicated state... it made a little bit of sense. Which annoyed me.

Started to come across this just before I stopped work. Down to people starting to believe success comes not from hard work and talent but luck. Some CEO probably someone read a Harvard Business Review without thinking and it went viral

Why anyone would employ/promote someone on the basis they hadn't been "lucky" - rather that talent/potential - is fucking beyond me.

@Bones said in Awesome stuff you see on the internet:

@Victor-Meldrew yeah sure, I'll subscribe to the telegraph. Might wait until after I represent the All Blacks in this year's rugby championship though.

Is that you Leicester?

@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks 2025:

@nzzp said in All Blacks 2025:

@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks 2025:

@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2025:

@Chuck72 said in All Blacks 2025:

@Victor-Meldrew Because the rest of our 10's aren't much different/better?

Then move on and actually, you know, develop players who are going to be around in more than a couple of years

Isn't leaving the jersey in a better place an AB thing?

.

Unfortunately at this stage trying to develop a 10 other than DMac and BB is a little like trying to polish a turd. We really need that to change.

Really? I think you can maximise what you have. Jordie looked dynamite playing up north with a different coaching regime. I think our 10s could easily be doing the job needed, but I am not convinced the coaching has been good as Super or Test level for some time.

BB's chips are tolerated by coaches. It is extraordinary. I think it's more that we don't realistically know what we want from a 10, so we don't pick a person and keep them there.

I am also very cautious about RMo coming back and thriving at Test level. He plays like Kyler Murray, and once the electric acceleration goes things will get even harder for him at Test level.

So much fo this is that structurally we tolerate 10s in NZR with noodles for legs. We just don't value kickers.

I couldn't give a shit whether RM comes back, but I think you make a good point. We seem to have an identity crisis at 10. The solid role playing 10 is well out of fashion in NZ and we are losing those type of players overseas. As an example, I think Burke was a recent loss who was just starting to come good.

Harry Plummer

@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks 2025:

@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2025:

@Chuck72 said in All Blacks 2025:

@Victor-Meldrew Because the rest of our 10's aren't much different/better?

Then move on and actually, you know, develop players who are going to be around in more than a couple of years

Isn't leaving the jersey in a better place an AB thing?

.

Unfortunately at this stage trying to develop a 10 other than DMac and BB is a little like trying to polish a turd. We really need that to change.

Robinson has plenty of time. He should chance his arm like he has done with Vaa'i and Proctor.

@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2025:

@Victor-Meldrew also shows a lack of trust in BB, DMac and any other 10s running around NZ.

I really like Robertson's approach this year on new-ish players/positions - it's refreshing after last year's conservative but often chaotic approach.

Just don't get waht appears to be an obsession with Mo'unga

@Chuck72 said in All Blacks 2025:

@Victor-Meldrew Because the rest of our 10's aren't much different/better?

Then move on and actually, you know, develop players who are going to be around in more than a couple of years

Isn't leaving the jersey in a better place an AB thing?

.

I just don't get why an incredibly average, overseas-based, 31yr-old 10 at the fag-end of his career is considered key to the AB's success by the national coach

@Bones said in All Blacks 2025:

Can't wait until we can roll out a starting side of just Faingaanuku and Higgins and annihilate every other side. Should save NZR a fair bit of money too.

What with LF being incredible in a long, turgid competition and Higgins having fixed the hole in the ozone at age group level, AB rugby is safe for many years to come.

For fucks sake, Bones, calm down

You'll be comparing these two to Cam Roigard next.

@MN5

Not what I'd like to see, but think they'll be weighing up Christie against a complete newbie

@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2025:

From what I heard from someone at the Waikato club final, it sounds like the ABs might need two new halfbacks for the Arg leg. Hotham had surgery and Ratima has a high ankle sprain so out for a few weeks.

Roigard to play 80 mins, but who will we see brought into the squad? Christie, Fakatava, Roe and Preston are all possibilities.

Hope they'll go for Fakatava in the 23 but think Christie will be in the squad on the "known quantity" theory.

From The Sunday Times

@Rancid-Schnitzel said in Wallabies v Lions II:

Who is the Aus commentator making up shit about that? Absolute nonsense.

All of them.

Oz commentators going ballistic..

All started by a Lynagh knock-on.