All Blacks 2025
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@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2025:
@booboo said in All Blacks 2025:
@Number-10 said in All Blacks 2025:
Confirming Scooter the Skippper
lol imagine dropping Scooter as skipper at his home club. That’s 100% a confirmation though whether we like it or not.
Ardie can be just as indluential as vice captain and there is no freater influence or inspiration than doing great things on the field and getting the team to follow his lead
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@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2025:
@MN5 said in All Blacks 2025:
@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2025:
@BerniesCorner said in All Blacks 2025:
Regardless of anything this year with guys like Williams Taylor Lomax Barrett Vaai Savea Sititi Roigard DMac in the frontend we are going to be there, or there abouts.
Last year didn't quite live up to my expectations. Here's hoping 2025 will.
Biggest mistake in 2024 not starting DMac in Paris
Splashed the cash on Scotland v ABs tickets. Chicago is a bit far for the weekend from London.The pressure valve will go right up on Robertson this year IMO. I think much of the public gave him a fair bit of leeway last year, but the expectation will be a lot higher this year for the ABs to win the majority of tests they play.
They did exactly that last year with 10 out of 14 games won though.
Losing 4 tests in a year is an average year for the ABs.
The losses weren’t scrutinised as much as they will be this year. The expectation (like it used to be) will be to win every game we play this year and when we lose, the blow torch will be turned up a little more by both the fans and media. This is a good thing IMO because we want to get back to being the best again.
Losing to Argentina for example won’t be tolerated again.
It was less the losses than the number of close wins - could easily have been 6 or 7 losses. He picked conservative, experienced teams and yet the same problems we've seen for years were still there by season end. I saw little that he was he clean broom needed, let alone the messiah some of the loons claimed. But fair enough, he was new to the job.
Hopefully this year he can be a bit more confident and bold - build on some of the talent (some injury-forced) discovered last year, more game-time for the newbies and build on Ryan's work with the forwards
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@Steven-Harris Interesting. Of the two, I'd go with Finau. But what do I know?
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@sparky said in All Blacks 2025:
@Steven-Harris Interesting. Of the two, I'd go with Finau. But what do I know?
why not have both
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@ploughboy Wallace Sititi can obviously cover 6 so can Scott Barrett. Two specialist 6s may be seen as a luxury. It really depends on other squad options.
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@sparky said in All Blacks 2025:
@ploughboy Wallace Sititi can obviously cover 6 so can Scott Barrett. Two specialist 6s may be seen as a luxury. It really depends on other squad options.
Parker isn't just a 6 for the chiefs.
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An axis of Sititi-Roigard-DMac will take some stopping
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@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2025:
Josh Lord also plays for Coastal.
Maybe Jordie is the new captain?
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2025:
@reprobate I like the look of Higgins - hopefully he makes the grade. He's definitely a good distributor and I think that's what you need at second five in elite international rugby.
Even though Big Jim is one of my Ta$man boys - I'm still to be convinced he's what we need at second five. Carries well. Excellent pilferer. Can he distribute effectively? Can he kick effectively? At elite international level?
There's been much criticism that even with Jordie and Rieko in the midfield, we're poor distributors. I'm sceptical about sticking converted wings in there and expecting it to improve.
Nonu being the obvious reference point.
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@Steven-Harris said in All Blacks 2025:
@sparky hearing from a credible source that Simon Parker is right in the mix , they like the fact that he is a very big and tall back row forward who carries extremely well and is a line out option that can moved around the lineout set up ,more importantly would add a strong balance to a shorter back row even he’s rolled out for the first 60 minutes
You don’t realise how big the guy is until your standing beside him ,6’4 and 117 kgsFrom personal point of view it would compliment a coupe of dynamic loose forwards say Ardie at 7 and Wallace at 8 with an out and out 6 just doing the grind.
Can see a DPK coming off the bench for the last 20He fills that role at Chiefs and is keeping Finau out of starting 15.
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@booboo said in Moana Pasifika v Blues:
@reprobate said in Moana Pasifika v Blues:
7 has always been his best position
12?
If he moved to 12 now, it would mean Jules being dropped - which would be a pretty sweet move on Ardie's part.
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@reprobate ultimate flex
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@sparky said in All Blacks 2025:
@ploughboy Wallace Sititi can obviously cover 6 so can Scott Barrett. Two specialist 6s may be seen as a luxury. It really depends on other squad options.
Scott Barrett has always been pretty shit at 6, and he's certainly not got younger and faster. Other than in-game 3 x loose forward injuries absolute emergency, I'd hate to see him viewed as cover.
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@reprobate yep, right now I think leaving him to focus on getting back to form at lock is more important.
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@reprobate said in All Blacks 2025:
@sparky said in All Blacks 2025:
@ploughboy Wallace Sititi can obviously cover 6 so can Scott Barrett. Two specialist 6s may be seen as a luxury. It really depends on other squad options.
Scott Barrett has always been pretty shit at 6, and he's certainly not got younger and faster. Other than in-game 3 x loose forward injuries absolute emergency, I'd hate to see him viewed as cover.
Yeah but guys who can apparently ‘cover’ other positions is part of the whole coaching mantra. Not sure Razor will change that mentality.
