The Silver Fern

But Rieko and Akira are the dick heads of NZR, right?

Southland likely to pull 10,000 today, and hold the record for biggest in season crowd for a second year in a row. Pretty impressive there, other regional centres need to take note and replicate.

@SouthernMann said in All Blacks XV 2024:

Discussions arou dpotential injury replacements in teams like this are quite funny. There is nothing between the players and it is just about fans wanting their guys. Highlanders: withy or Broughton. Crusaders: anyone. Hurricanes: Delaney, Iose. Chiefs: Mathias, Parker Blues: Segner, Sufoa, Any of those options would be fine. Although, Mathias is an outrageous call. I reckon there is a chance no one will be called in and they just bring the non playing All Blacks down.

Personally, Highlanders fans tend to be the least bias, mostly because we're used to not having our guys in there anyway. We just want anyone but Crusaders, Blues, Canes, or Chiefs players.

Nathan Williamson  /  Feb 3

Super Rugby Pacific introduces Player of the Year award for 2025 season

Feels long overdue

@sparky said in All Blacks 2025:

@Machpants said in All Blacks 2025:

Dec 4, 2024

French say 'non' to a Test against All Blacks in USA — report

L'Equipe newspaper states negotiations over a Test In USA have failed, meaning France will play all three matches in New Zealand next year.

NZR leadership looking like idiots. Not only have they alienated their core supporters, but they have made the French Rugby authorities look more sensible and in touch with reality than themselves. I'd call the NZR leadership clowns, but clowns are sometimes funny.

The French are hardly good faith actors, owing ARU about $2 million, sending a weakened squad our way.

@Machpants said in Blues 2025:

@Daffy-Jaffy said in Blues 2025:

Today the boys were presented with championship rings for the 2024 season

Utterly gopping

Na, that's cool, appeals to a younger audience too.

@Machpants said in Blues 2025:

@WoodysRFC said in Blues 2025:

@Machpants said in Blues 2025:

@Daffy-Jaffy said in Blues 2025:

Today the boys were presented with championship rings for the 2024 season

Utterly gopping

Na, that's cool, appeals to a younger audience too.

Younger? Those sort of shitty rings are USA from the 1830s!

Huge numbers liking this on social media, really leaning into the American Sports, which the younger generation are obsessed with.

@Bones said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:

I'd be a bit loathe to judge Holland's ball carrying off SR this year. He seemed to be just so busy he didn't have energy left, but he showed good power and feet last year at a few levels.

Great ball in hand for the NZ XV.

@Nepia he's not a Cantabrian though, so he doesn't have automatic rights to selection just yet.

Couldn't care less about the A Cup now that it's never coming back to NZ. The Silverferns win over Australia, particularly after their series loss to England is pretty impressive, particularly as wins over Aus are so rare.

@ploughboy said in Chiefs 2025:

@Bovidae any stand outs?

Leroy Carter, looked good both on the wing and at half.

@sparky said in 2025 All Blacks Squad v France:

@cgrant said in 2025 All Blacks Squad v France:

Attisogbe is a gun. Better than Penaud IMO. Best winger in France behind LBB.

I agree. I think he's fantastic. I wish we had someone like him.

I'm sure he is immensely talented, but that highlights video didn't exactly make me think he's something we don't already have. One of the highlights was him head-highing someone.

McNicholl has been surprisingly very good these past two years, always looks threatening at Super level too.

Love doesn't quite have the ability to break open a game from 15 the way Jordan or McKenzie can, he's a much better 10 imo.

@Kiwiwomble said in Super Rugby - The Future:

@SBW1 yeah, the Jags (or equivalent) re-entering was a very strong rumour thats not eventuated

Probably not helped by the Argentinian economy completely tanking.

Launching February 7.

@MN5 said in All Blacks 2025:

@WoodysRFC said in All Blacks 2025:

@SBW1 said in All Blacks 2025:

Weren't they also saying something similar about Shaun Stevenson two seasons ago?

If only we had his long accurate clearance kicking during that game against France.

Indeed. I’m sure someone else would have been happy to make all those tackles he would have missed too.

That'd be whoever was cleaning up for Will Jordan. Just to be clear, our inability to clear from kick off receipt was a huge contributor on why we lost that one. No point scoring in multiples of threes if you're immediately under pressure the very next phase. Might not help when we've a fullback who is fairly predictable and has a bang average right hand pass and kick.

Right I'm in, some of the pricing is surprising, Roigard and Angus Bell are steals.

@Bovidae said in All Blacks EOYT:

Kellow had a decent season, certainly better than Christie. But it does add fuel to the fire about not liking Blues loose forwards. I would have chosen Segner for his utility value.

I'd have preferred Segner or Withy at seven, not too fussed though.

@mikey07 said in Hurricanes 2025:

@Canes4life what I find intriguing is the likes of Love and Kirifi who were in the ABs but never played does that make their rest period the same as the ABs that played. They don’t play at all for the last couple of weeks.

I understand they're entitled to four / five weeks AL and use this as an opportunity to do so.

Possible bolter, ENS, assuming the fullback position is now his with Stevenson's departure. There's an impressive outside back under 25.