The Silver Fern

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

@Windows97 doubt the latter given they started playing Savea at 7 last year and wanted to continue in this series.

I think you’re reading too much into the Papali’i selection. He was bought in as injury cover and then added to the squad late in the piece. He’s knows the systems etc and I think with this series the focus was on a couple of the other new faces as opposed to brining in another new one.

I don’t want to talk about the contract stuff, but that’s also a consideration too.

Regardless it's still an odd selection given the make-up of the team, it'ds kinda like saying heres a square peg we are going to fit into a round hole, but at least the square peg understands the systems the round hole is supposed to use.

@brodean said in All Blacks v France III:

Well. Guess they see him as more than a 7. A player who can cover blindside and lock.

Maybe it's based off that 15 minutes at Lock he played for Counties last year?

Isn't it nice to see NPC form being rewarded with AB selection

@brodean said in All Blacks v France III:

Bit of a stitch up for Papali'i. His only opportunity comes as a blindside/lock cover. Be interesting to see if the French stack their bench with experienced players again.

His selection seems pointless now, why have 3 7's in the squad plus Jacobsen who can cover there as well? Shoudl have gone with an extra lock especially considering they planned to play Vaa'i at 6 (when we all thought he was selected there to play lock).

Were they just playing Savea at 7 and "hoping it works out and if it doesn't were can shift him back to 8??" Which if it was is an odd attitude as it dosn't show much confidence in Savea's ability when he was in storming form all year.

I like the starting XV but injuries have really made the bench a dogs breakfast. No lock cover and 2 7's - what a mess, let us hope neither lock gets injured...
Hope Tupaea gets a good run and nice to see Love starting at 15, will be interesting to see how the mid-field and DMac/Love perform as a combination.
Hopefully the starting XV puts on enough points so the bench doesn't have to do much as I can't help but feel it's going to unravel quickly once the subs come on.

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

@brodean said in All Blacks v France III:

Reece already had a run for a few minutes. That's enough for me.

How wrong you are. t wasn’t even a minute….

Was this some sort of record for the shortest time on the field in a test match as a starting player?

@antipodean said in All Blacks v France III:

@Windows97 said in All Blacks v France III:

I just hope our midfield actually does something, though if Tupaea and ALB rips the French to shreds it will probably rasie more questions than answers.

The problem is I see it is the last time the French were down here, mentally they were already on the plane for the third test.

But Fabien Galthié has intimated that the third test will be their most experienced 23 on tour.

So if they kill it - typical French already packed their bags - and if they don't...

Dammed if you do and dammed if you don't really, but if they do play well it should at least put some pressure on JB and Proctor to lift their game.

I just hope our midfield actually does something, though if Tupaea and ALB rips the French to shreds it will probably rasie more questions than answers.

How on earth did this happen? A weakend Argentina team beat the Lions at away and then proceed to lose at home to an England side sans-Lions players...

Make it make sense lol

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

Too many Chiefs

And not enough Indian's

@nzzp said in NZ Rugby Collective agreement:

@Windows97 said in NZ Rugby Collective agreement:

Has anyone managed to read this bit without crying or facepalming themselves in the office?

No.

Image of NZR board below. This is a governance issue, pure and simple. We are failing on this front, over and over.

It was a great one-off injection of cash into the game and grass roots no doubt...

However unless that cash injection is being utilised to grow additional revenue streams - or make existing streams bigger all it effectivly does is push the year we run out of cash a little more into the future.

And in fact, in the worst case this deal could actually expidite the year we run out of cash faster given it's based off revenue and not profit...

@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks 2025:

@Windows97 said in All Blacks 2025:

@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2025:

@BerniesCorner said in All Blacks 2025:

I'm more confident now with the ABs than anytime in the last 5 years
Anyone else agree.

Hard to say until we've played a top-tier A team like the Boks, but liking much of what I've seen this year

Pros: The tight 5 look good, Trying things at 6/7/8. 9, Jordie looks solid. Giving players plenty of game time to develop. Willingness to experiment. Discipline better. Exits better. Less panic when under pressure.

Cons: Kicking still shite. Unsettled/uninspiring midfield. 10 a big issue. Team still goes to sleep too often. Unconvinced about captaincy. A lack of ruthlessness at times.

A good summary. Only add-on's I'll make is.

Pros: Set piece is looking a lot more solid as well as the maul, players have been picked on form, selections are more consistent (e.g. Patty T replacing Scooter at lock and kepin Vaa'i at 6 instead of throwing Vaa's back into lock, there's logic there instead of a lolly scramble).

Cons: Sub-standard use of the bench - the thinking is confused and the impact off the bench is still poor. Our backline attack while looking more settled is insipid, we can't seem to create space out wide for our backs to utilise even with a dominant forward pack.

I think this has become an overrated / overused term.

I’m more inclined now to pick players on the bench that yes cover positional moves but more importantly play the game plan that has been played for the first 40-50 minutes where success has been had.

Does the game slow or quicken up in the last 20 minutes? I don’t see any real evidence of that these days. I think fan expectation is that player x comes on and all of a sudden we need to speed it up or ‘get it to them’. For me keep a more consistent pattern is paramount. Seamless rather than impact

I agree with you completly on this.

The AB's appear to be several years behind in the thinking/utilisation of impact players in that they have to come on and dazzle it up with displays of indivdual skill rather than unit(s) coming on to replace tired legs so we can execute the gameplan more effectively or over the entire 80 minutes.

Last year a classic case in point where we would execute for 60 minutes while the final 20 absolutely went to pieces.

Perhaps I need to rephrase it to say that the bench needs to have a positive impact on the game/gameplan execution rather than the negative one I've seen for most of last year (and this year threaten's the same).

@taniwharugby said in NZ Rugby Collective agreement:

@mariner4life said in NZ Rugby Collective agreement:

Womens rugby

How much does this add/detract to NZR's finances?

I would imagine it adds $0 and detracts plenty...does help inflate the player numbers and growth in the game however.

Which quite ironically means that the one area of the game where the players base is growing is in the area that takes money from the game instead of adding to it (in it current form/format).

@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2025:

@BerniesCorner said in All Blacks 2025:

I'm more confident now with the ABs than anytime in the last 5 years
Anyone else agree.

Hard to say until we've played a top-tier A team like the Boks, but liking much of what I've seen this year

Pros: The tight 5 look good, Trying things at 6/7/8. 9, Jordie looks solid. Giving players plenty of game time to develop. Willingness to experiment. Discipline better. Exits better. Less panic when under pressure.

Cons: Kicking still shite. Unsettled/uninspiring midfield. 10 a big issue. Team still goes to sleep too often. Unconvinced about captaincy. A lack of ruthlessness at times.

A good summary. Only add-on's I'll make is.

Pros: Set piece is looking a lot more solid as well as the maul, players have been picked on form, selections are more consistent (e.g. Patty T replacing Scooter at lock and kepin Vaa'i at 6 instead of throwing Vaa's back into lock, there's logic there instead of a lolly scramble).

Cons: Sub-standard use of the bench - the thinking is confused and the impact off the bench is still poor. Our backline attack while looking more settled is insipid, we can't seem to create space out wide for our backs to utilise even with a dominant forward pack.

@Kirwan said in NZ Rugby Collective agreement:

Recent financial reports (as of May 2025) show NZ Rugby posting an $11.6 million loss, with CEO Mark Robinson admitting the model is "not sustainable" despite the Silver Lake cash injection, and a projected $50 million shortfall in 2026.This could surprise stakeholders, as the agreement treats the partnership as ongoing without addressing these escalating financial woes or player concerns about long-term control.

Has anyone managed to read this bit without crying or facepalming themselves in the office?

@Bones said in 2025 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia:

@Windows97 said in 2025 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia:

This tour is starting to look like a hideous blood-bath for the Aussies, a lack of top flight talent and an interium coach against a Lions team flying high on confidence it could get nasty quick in the test series.

Yeah, Israel isn't very popular at the moment I guess. I can't see how psytrance is either. Not a good combo.

I take it he wasn't on the ticket at Glastonbury this year??

Patty T, Vaa'i and Holland. Patty for an outstanding game filling in for injury, Vaa'i for stepping up at 6 and Holland who so far seems to be stepping into test match rugby seamlessly.

This tour is starting to look like a hideous blood-bath for the Aussies, a lack of top flight talent and an interium coach against a Lions team flying high on confidence it could get nasty quick in the test series.

@Mauss said in All Blacks v France II:

In the end, the gameplan bore very little fruit, Norris’ and Tosi’s combined 4 carries for a total of 7 metres made barely a fundamental upgrade on de Groot’s and Newell’s combined 4 carries for 3 metres made. Norris put in a big shift on defence but the argument can be made that this defensive shift wouldn’t be necessary if the quality of the breakdown, maul and lineout hadn’t plummeted with the bench forwards coming on. If the bench plan is to bring carrying impact then the coaches need to make sure that there are enough forwards on the field who focus on securing the breakdown. Because any plan that results in your backs having to consistently provide clean ball is a plan destined to fail.

I think this hits the nail on the head to explain the decline in the AB's attacking structure in the second half. Thank you for the insight.

This puts the AB's in a conumdrum going forward as per the weekend for example there's really no-one on the bench with a fantastic reputation of shifting bodies at the ruck. Norris, Tosi and Samisoni are ball carriers, Finau plays wide and Kirifi is more of a scavenger at the breakdown.

It begs the question when the bench comes on who's job is it to clear bodes at the ruck? It would appear no-one and everyone...

@antipodean said in All Blacks v France II:

@Windows97 said in All Blacks v France II:

Forward pack was fantastic, Patty T had a great game, impressive. Holland the Lio-Willie looking like natural players in the test match arena, Vaa'i surprisingly mobile and looking good at 6. Savea looking good at 7 and the forward pack is a lot more balenced I feel. Reiko looking good on the wing. Credit where credit is due the selctins have been on point.

Ourbackline however not overly brilliant, ball still gets stuck in midfield, we seemed to have lost the ability for the backline to make space or to effectivly manipulate the defence for players to hit gaps.

Perhaps we need to find a player that can distribute and see how they go.

Any good wingers going around that we could chuck in there??

Forward pack was fantastic, Patty T had a great game, impressive. Holland the Lio-Willie looking like natural players in the test match arena, Vaa'i surprisingly mobile and looking good at 6. Savea looking good at 7 and the forward pack is a lot more balenced I feel. Reiko looking good on the wing. Credit where credit is due the selctins have been on point.

Ourbackline however not overly brilliant, ball still gets stuck in midfield, we seemed to have lost the ability for the backline to make space or to effectivly manipulate the defence for players to hit gaps.

Dare I say it after the weekends display this teams best change maybe playing 10 man rugby - well 9 man rugby, Roigard can kick the ball better than BB...