2025 All Blacks v France series
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@frugby said in 2025 All Blacks Squad v France:
OUTSIDE BACKS:
Caleb Clarke (Blues)
Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens (Highlanders)
Sevu Reece (Crusaders)
Will Jordan (Crusaders)
Ruben Love (Hurricanes)4/5 right in my view.
Narawa in and JRK out. They don’t need another fullback first option so I don’t think it makes sense to pick JRK. Add to that, I don’t think he’s at AB level yet. I know Narawa has impressed the AB camp this year so can’t see him not getting back in.
Reece’s workrate has been very good this season and he has scored tries which means he’s working both on and off the ball to get in those positions.I think they will persist with Clarke despite some indifferent super form. Will he be an automatic starter for the first French test, that’s very much open I think.
Jordan and Love pick themselves in my view and in spite of what @Bones posts about Jordan 😉
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Okay I'll have a go. What I think it will be.
Props:
Tamati Williams (Crusaders)
Ethan De Groot (Highlanders)
George Bower (Crusaders)
Tyrell Lomax (Hurricanes)
Fletcher Newell (Crusaders)
Pasilio Tosi (Hurricanes)Hookers
Codie Taylor (Crusaders)
Samisoni Taukei'aho (Chiefs)
George Bell (Crusaders)Locks
Scott Barrett (Crusaders)
Tupou Vai'i (Chiefs)
Patrick Tuipolutu (Blues)
Fabian Holland (Highlanders)Loosies
Ethan Blackadder (Crusaders)
Luke Jacobson (Chiefs)
Samipeni Finau (Chiefs)
Ardie Savea (MP)
Dalton Papalii (Blues)
Peter Lakai (Hurricanes)
Wallace Sititi (Chiefs)Half Backs
Cortez Ratima (Chiefs)
Cam Roigard (Hurricanes)
Noah Hotham (Crusaders)First Fives
D Mac (Chiefs)
Beauden Barrett (Blues)Midfield
Jordie Barrett (Leinster)
Quinn Tupaea (Chiefs)
Reiko Ioane (Blues)
Billy Proctor (Hurricanes)
David Havili (Crusaders)Back Three
Leroy Carter (Chiefs)
Sevu Reece (Crusaders)
Emoni Narawa (Chiefs)
Will Jordan (Crusaders)
Ruben Love (Hurricanes)AJ Lam the unluckiest to miss out. If he plays a blinder in the final, Christian Lio-Willie will make it. They may be more forgiving of Caleb Clarke's try drought than I am. George Bell wouldn't be my third Hooker but Robertson and Ryan like him.
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@sparky said in 2025 All Blacks Squad v France:
Back Three
Leroy Carter (Chiefs)
Sevu Reece (Crusaders)
Emoni Narawa (Chiefs)
Will Jordan (Crusaders)
Ruben Love (Hurricanes)Agree with the rest of the squad but this would concern me a bit. All in good form though so I get the selections. Stuff being a selector!
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@ACT-Crusader said in 2025 All Blacks Squad v France:
@frugby said in 2025 All Blacks Squad v France:
OUTSIDE BACKS:
Caleb Clarke (Blues)
Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens (Highlanders)
Sevu Reece (Crusaders)
Will Jordan (Crusaders)
Ruben Love (Hurricanes)4/5 right in my view.
Narawa in and JRK out. They don’t need another fullback first option so I don’t think it makes sense to pick JRK.
A point I was going to make. Having just got back from the Chiefs-Brumbies game, I thought that Narawa was great. I'd select him ahead of Reece too.
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Back three is an interesting one in terms of selection strategy.
Laurie Mains and Steve Hansen went with the guys in form.
John Mitchell liked raw pace.
John Hart went with what he thought were the natural players and believed he could gel them.
Graham Henry and Ian Foster were willingly to stick guys who didn't play Back Three in Super Rugby there and wanted them to be strong defensively.
Apart from Will Jordan, I don't see an obvious selection for the Back Three in Test 1. We are going to learn a lot about Scott Robertson by who he goes for.
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@brodean Yeah, but Robertson will get the final say. Grant Fox is now record as saying on his panels , the Head Coach got the final vote. Whatever gets said in public, I've little doubt it's the same with this coaching group.
Scott Hansen will advise but it's Scott Robertson who the buck stops with.
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@sparky said in 2025 All Blacks Squad v France:
@brodean Yeah, but Robertson will get the final say. Grant Fox is now record as saying on his panels , the Head Coach got the final vote. Whatever gets said in public, I've little doubt it's the same with this coaching group.
Scott Hansen will advise but it's Scott Robertson who the buck stops with.
I thought it was more along the lines of 'ok these are all the guys I want' ... 'yes that's fine but you have to pick that guy instead of this guy'
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@ACT-Crusader said in 2025 All Blacks Squad v France:
Jordan and Love pick themselves in my view and in spite of what @Bones posts about Jordan 😉
With the right guys on the field, hopefully Jordan's glaring deficiencies can be covered.
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@brodean I think it's more a case of the expert proving to the boss that a decision that the boss is going to be held to account for is the correct one.
Specialists will have their say and will be allowed to present their evidence over a series of months. But if they can't convince the boss then they will go with their gut instinct.
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I’ll just say this. In regards to outside backs and getting the open spot with Telea leaving, it would be extremely disappointing to see guys like Narawa, Tangitau, Carter and even JRK miss out to someone like a Chay Fihaki… that would tell us all we need to know
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Is France sending their speedster winger? Hope so. And that might be a factor in the AB winger decision.
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@nostrildamus said in 2025 All Blacks Squad v France:
Is France sending their speedster winger? Hope so. And that might be a factor in the AB winger decision.
Louis Bielle-Biarrey.
It all depends on how far Bordeaux go in the Top 14 playoffs.
So yeah, it's a bit complicated.
France are going to name a 28-man squad on Monday to play England next Saturday from teams not in the Top 14 playoffs. They will then add 14 more players from sides eliminated in the Top 14 playoffs to tour NZ, but it's unlikely that any players involved in the Top 14 final will be selected in the 42 man squad to tour NZ but they could come in if there are injuries after the First Test.
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@nostrildamus This is the Top 14 playoff bracket.
Semi Final qualifiers today. Semi Finals next week and the Final the week after so they are a week behind Super Rugby.
