All Blacks 2025
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@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2025:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2025:
@No-Quarter said in All Blacks 2025:
@nzzp said in All Blacks 2025:
@george33 said in All Blacks 2025:
@kidcalder and I would put Taufa Funaki, in the mix, his return has seen a different dimension in the Blues.
plays for the wrong club. No chance.
Unfortunately correct, the HBs will be locked in as:
Roigard - incumbent and will start
Ratima - bench and pushing Roigard hard for a start
Hotham - Crusaders Project PlayerHalfback is a comparatively strong position right now. Whilst none of them are Nuggy, and some aren't in career best form, they're all (except Christie) playing well.
Funaki as mentioned previously has transformed the Blues into looking like a finals contender again.
I like Hotham's play - he's got a good pass on him and everything else he does is above average in execution.
Even Fakatava is playing with more maturity and taking better options, in a team without a plethora of talent in the backline. Probably the best sniper in NZ.
Roigard is playing like a shadow of his former self pre-injury. Hopefully he'll get better with more minutes under his belt. The better players play themselves into form as the season progresses anyway.
Roigard isn’t playing like last year but he’s still playing well. He was pivotal in that win against the Brumbies and was good in the win against the Chiefs. Here’s hoping he gets a spring in his step after the bye / this week against the Landers.
(put Hurricanes jersey on)
Yup, people are massively over-egging the Roigard stuff, probably because expectations on him are much higher than any other 9 in the country given what he showed last year.
He's been excellent this season, particularly in the early rounds and more recently against the Brumbies and Chiefs as you say. He's been one of our best for the majority of our games in a side absolutely plagued by injury. Ratima, who people are plugging, has been a real mixed bag. His best game was probably at home against the Force which isn't saying very much.
It's a very crude measure, but Roigard is also a country mile ahead of every other 9 in Super Fantasy as well, which shows how much more involved he is in directing play and setting others up than the others contenders. He'll never have Aaron Smith distribution (because nobody will), but his kicking game is world class, he has vision in spades, and the threat he poses close in provides space and opportunities out wide. He's an absolute lock for the #9 AB jumper, it'd be crazy to have anyone else there IMO.
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@No-Quarter said in All Blacks 2025:
@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2025:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2025:
@No-Quarter said in All Blacks 2025:
@nzzp said in All Blacks 2025:
@george33 said in All Blacks 2025:
@kidcalder and I would put Taufa Funaki, in the mix, his return has seen a different dimension in the Blues.
plays for the wrong club. No chance.
Unfortunately correct, the HBs will be locked in as:
Roigard - incumbent and will start
Ratima - bench and pushing Roigard hard for a start
Hotham - Crusaders Project PlayerHalfback is a comparatively strong position right now. Whilst none of them are Nuggy, and some aren't in career best form, they're all (except Christie) playing well.
Funaki as mentioned previously has transformed the Blues into looking like a finals contender again.
I like Hotham's play - he's got a good pass on him and everything else he does is above average in execution.
Even Fakatava is playing with more maturity and taking better options, in a team without a plethora of talent in the backline. Probably the best sniper in NZ.
Roigard is playing like a shadow of his former self pre-injury. Hopefully he'll get better with more minutes under his belt. The better players play themselves into form as the season progresses anyway.
Roigard isn’t playing like last year but he’s still playing well. He was pivotal in that win against the Brumbies and was good in the win against the Chiefs. Here’s hoping he gets a spring in his step after the bye / this week against the Landers.
(put Hurricanes jersey on)
Yup, people are massively over-egging the Roigard stuff, probably because expectations on him are much higher than any other 9 in the country given what he showed last year.
He's been excellent this season, particularly in the early rounds and more recently against the Brumbies and Chiefs as you say. He's been one of our best for the majority of our games in a side absolutely plagued by injury. Ratima, who people are plugging, has been a real mixed bag. His best game was probably at home against the Force which isn't saying very much.
It's a very crude measure, but Roigard is also a country mile ahead of every other 9 in Super Fantasy as well, which shows how much more involved he is in directing play and setting others up than the others contenders. He'll never have Aaron Smith distribution (because nobody will), but his kicking game is world class, he has vision in spades, and the threat he poses close in provides space and opportunities out wide. He's an absolute lock for the #9 AB jumper, it'd be crazy to have anyone else there IMO.
That's it aye, I think because Smith was the GOAT and had that bullet pass, many of us fans tend to compare every AB halfback to him when in reality it's highly unlikely we'll get that distribution by a halfback in the Black jersey again, or for a very long time.
I still have Roigard at number 1, he outplayed Ratima a couple weeks ago and he's not even back to his best yet. Roigard's strength as you say is his ability to direct, his box kicking and running game are also world class, but I quess we just have to be a bit more patient before he gets back to his best. We can't forget the injury he suffered, unfortunately it will just take time for him to get there, but he will.
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@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2025:
@No-Quarter said in All Blacks 2025:
@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2025:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2025:
@No-Quarter said in All Blacks 2025:
@nzzp said in All Blacks 2025:
@george33 said in All Blacks 2025:
@kidcalder and I would put Taufa Funaki, in the mix, his return has seen a different dimension in the Blues.
plays for the wrong club. No chance.
Unfortunately correct, the HBs will be locked in as:
Roigard - incumbent and will start
Ratima - bench and pushing Roigard hard for a start
Hotham - Crusaders Project PlayerHalfback is a comparatively strong position right now. Whilst none of them are Nuggy, and some aren't in career best form, they're all (except Christie) playing well.
Funaki as mentioned previously has transformed the Blues into looking like a finals contender again.
I like Hotham's play - he's got a good pass on him and everything else he does is above average in execution.
Even Fakatava is playing with more maturity and taking better options, in a team without a plethora of talent in the backline. Probably the best sniper in NZ.
Roigard is playing like a shadow of his former self pre-injury. Hopefully he'll get better with more minutes under his belt. The better players play themselves into form as the season progresses anyway.
Roigard isn’t playing like last year but he’s still playing well. He was pivotal in that win against the Brumbies and was good in the win against the Chiefs. Here’s hoping he gets a spring in his step after the bye / this week against the Landers.
(put Hurricanes jersey on)
Yup, people are massively over-egging the Roigard stuff, probably because expectations on him are much higher than any other 9 in the country given what he showed last year.
He's been excellent this season, particularly in the early rounds and more recently against the Brumbies and Chiefs as you say. He's been one of our best for the majority of our games in a side absolutely plagued by injury. Ratima, who people are plugging, has been a real mixed bag. His best game was probably at home against the Force which isn't saying very much.
It's a very crude measure, but Roigard is also a country mile ahead of every other 9 in Super Fantasy as well, which shows how much more involved he is in directing play and setting others up than the others contenders. He'll never have Aaron Smith distribution (because nobody will), but his kicking game is world class, he has vision in spades, and the threat he poses close in provides space and opportunities out wide. He's an absolute lock for the #9 AB jumper, it'd be crazy to have anyone else there IMO.
We can't forget the injury he suffered, unfortunately it will just take time for him to get there, but he will.
Unfortunately, this isn't always how return from injury pans out.
Early days, we all obviously hope he will return to his best previous form - and he doesn't really look hampered as such - but his running has not yet been as effective as previous. His kicking is still the best in the country I think, but his passing is not better than Ratima, and his running is not better than Fakatava.
I have no doubt he'll be selected, as he's one of the incumbents and nobody is clearly better than him even though he hasn't reached previous highs yet. -
@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2025:
I am a bit of a nerd, and tend to watch rugby shows when I get chance, and genuinely don't see much difference with any of them. They all have ex players on, who I take it know a reasonable amount of what is required to play at high level etc, doesn't make then right or wrong, just another opinion. Funny they use ex players, because quite often, they quite often don't follow game real closely, just their own teams etc. I got same impression watching them in UK last year , or watching Aussie ones etc. I just take notice of what parts of show I find interesting. Had mate in Aus who followed both NRL and AFL, said they couldn't put up with their shows either.
I used to watch all the rugby and the league shows as late as a few years ago, now I don't watch any. I think I've just moved on from them. I get my fix for that from here and would rather use my other watching time for scripted shows etc.
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@nzzp said in All Blacks 2025:
@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2025:
@nzzp said in All Blacks 2025:
You seriously get people like JK who's analysis is 'the boys will really be up for it this week, I'm picking them'. Great that people like it, but it's an entertainment show, not a rugby show.
JK who famously said he had never heard of Rivez Reihana before his Super Rugby debut despite Reihana playing 3 seasons of NPC prior to that.
Phenomenal human being, terrible analyst, mixed bag as a coach
Handy winger in his playing days too
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@MN5 said in All Blacks 2025:
@nzzp said in All Blacks 2025:
@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2025:
@nzzp said in All Blacks 2025:
You seriously get people like JK who's analysis is 'the boys will really be up for it this week, I'm picking them'. Great that people like it, but it's an entertainment show, not a rugby show.
JK who famously said he had never heard of Rivez Reihana before his Super Rugby debut despite Reihana playing 3 seasons of NPC prior to that.
Phenomenal human being, terrible analyst, mixed bag as a coach
Handy winger in his playing days too
Sheesh, that's a bit of an insult.
He was fucking outstanding.
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@Nepia said in All Blacks 2025:
@MN5 said in All Blacks 2025:
@nzzp said in All Blacks 2025:
@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2025:
@nzzp said in All Blacks 2025:
You seriously get people like JK who's analysis is 'the boys will really be up for it this week, I'm picking them'. Great that people like it, but it's an entertainment show, not a rugby show.
JK who famously said he had never heard of Rivez Reihana before his Super Rugby debut despite Reihana playing 3 seasons of NPC prior to that.
Phenomenal human being, terrible analyst, mixed bag as a coach
Handy winger in his playing days too
Sheesh, that's a bit of an insult.
He was fucking outstanding.
just being understated. JK is the man. My absolute favourite AB of his era ( zinny a close second and daylight to the rest )
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@Nepia said in All Blacks 2025:
@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2025:
I am a bit of a nerd, and tend to watch rugby shows when I get chance, and genuinely don't see much difference with any of them. They all have ex players on, who I take it know a reasonable amount of what is required to play at high level etc, doesn't make then right or wrong, just another opinion. Funny they use ex players, because quite often, they quite often don't follow game real closely, just their own teams etc. I got same impression watching them in UK last year , or watching Aussie ones etc. I just take notice of what parts of show I find interesting. Had mate in Aus who followed both NRL and AFL, said they couldn't put up with their shows either.
I used to watch all the rugby and the league shows as late as a few years ago, now I don't watch any. I think I've just moved on from them. I get my fix for that from here and would rather use my other watching time for scripted shows etc.
Yep fair enough too mate, just taste etc. I hardly watch scripted shows these days (don't know why, none really get interest) but enjoy rugby shows as I find I get an interesting gem every now and then, much like on here. Even a most rugbt forums tend to be waste of time, I haunt a few (lot of time being retired), but definitely find this one best. Plenty I don't agree with but find in general most have really good or interesting views,
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Intrigued for the thoughts of some non Highlanders fans last night. I thought with the lights shining, de Groot was excellent, Holland was the best lock on the field, and Tavatavanawai was superb. Fakatava was also excellent even if not as impactful as Roigard. Feel all four should be in the ABs squad?
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@frugby I agree about Holland, he reminds me so much of Sam W, he really contests on opposition ball in lineout, and generally plays like a tight lock should, De Groot had a good game, mind he was past due. Fakatava needs a decent body of work as yet. but good to see them plaing well. TT might well be close too, depends where they see him playing.
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@sparky said in All Blacks 2025:
@frugby Fakatava probably just misses out. But the other three must be there.
I can live with Fakatava missing out if they stick with Hotham, but I think he has been highly impressive in a crap team. Feels like the perfect bench halfback to me.
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Thought Fakatava was very good. Holland has been in decent form all season but played well, as did Tavatavanawai and Tele'a. JRK is in good form given he's been out for so long and could be a good option for NZ in the outside backs.
Love, Proctor and Roigard were the stand-outs for the Hurricanes.
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Big TT reminds a bit of Ardie in the way he plays his own position. To select TT the ABs would need to change the way 12 plays. He is not exactly a traditional 12, and if he is combined with Rieko how fear for our ability to put others in space. His biggest asset, and it is very bloody useful, is the way he goes looking for turn overs. He hovers behind the ruck looking for his chance in much the same way Kirifi does. Those two could end up getting in each other's way if selected together.
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From a Canes perspective I thought TT, Fakatava, Tele’a and JRK caused problems for us all night. Whether it was running over players or being able to scramble effectively I thought those four players were the best on the park for the Landers. Holland and Dunshea were also very good at killing our lineout which stopped a lot of our momentum. De Groot also deserves a mention, he probably had one of his better games for a while.
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Fakatava's passing wasn't great at times. When the Highlanders were going for a second quick try he threw out some shocking passes which really stopped any momentum, and eventually led to a breakdown penalty. The one to Tele'a is an example. Of course, Roigard misfired with a couple of wide passes too.
