2025 All Blacks v France series
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I think a big part of the reason they are talking about locks playing 6 is they see Holland as a starter in the medium term given his attributes, so would love it if Barrett or Vai'i could make a good fist of 6 as I believe they want all three of those players on the pitch. It would also solve our height issues in the lineout and allow us to play two of the smaller dynamic loosies at 7 and 8.
Big question is whether Barrett or Vai'i can make it work at 6 - they haven't been able to in the past.
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@brodean said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
@Canes4life said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
@brodean said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
I was hoping to see the end of the duel opensides with the last game of Cane.
Pooper didn't work and ultimately neither did Cane and Savea.
Out loose forward trio has been unbalanced for years and with Savea playing 7 this year it's an opportunity to move away from that.
I’m not saying we should be doing that long term but for this series we can definitely get away with it.
All the French need to do is maul the fudge out of it to take those two out of the game. They're usually very good at mauling.
17 uncapped players, I think we’ll be fine. They won’t be able to keep up, especially under the roof.
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@ACT-Crusader said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
@brodean I just think the benefits outweigh the risks when it comes to Kirifi. He’s a genuine ball stealer and we desperately need someone that can put the pressure on late in the game. Plus Ardie has been very successful in attack against the Boks and French.
I think Kirifi late game stealing ball at every second ruck would be invaluable.
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@Canes4life said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
Im happy with a Finau, Kirifi and Savea combo against a shit house French side.
I heard their six loosies have three caps between them.
We should rack up a big score
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@No-Quarter said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
I think a big part of the reason they are talking about locks playing 6 is they see Holland as a starter in the medium term given his attributes, so would love it if Barrett or Vai'i could make a good fist of 6 as I believe they want all three of those players on the pitch. It would also solve our height issues in the lineout and allow us to play two of the smaller dynamic loosies at 7 and 8.
Big question is whether Barrett or Vai'i can make it work at 6 - they haven't been able to in the past.
IMO it would be a big mistake to move Barrett to a position he wasn't fast enough to play years ago. And moving Vai'i from lock in his current form should be investigated for treason.
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@antipodean it's obviously conjecture from me but it would help to explain the lack of loosies in the squad. Vai'i has the best attributes to do it but it's a big ask, he took a while to find his feet at lock so moving him now would be risky.
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He started at 6 against France in the Rwc and it didn't really stand out.
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@Canes4life said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
@Victor-Meldrew said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
@Chris-B said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
@Victor-Meldrew said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
@DMX said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
@Victor-Meldrew said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
@Bovidae said in 2025 All Blacks Squad v France:
The pressure will be on Robertson and the ABs to win 3-0.
Hopefully people/press see the series as a real opportunity for Robertson to put his stamp on things and chance his arm a bit. Ideal scenario is getting 2-0 up and having the confidence to give people like Proctor & Love plenty of game time.
I would really be hoping that Proctor is in pole position and starts all three tests.
Don't think he will. Probably be Roigard/BB/JB/RI/WJ with Caleb Clarke & Reece on the wings to start Frog 1.
That's most likely, but it wouldn't be too surprising if Proctor played centre and they pushed Rieko to the wing. I think that's the only way they can cover every position effectively against injury - assuming ALB isn't fit.
It's kinda ironic that ALB's fitness is a factor in being a bit more radical in midfield....
On a broader view, my concern is we lose the 1st Test and don't get the bandwidth to develop players and positions until the TRC.
Proctor definitely deserves his shot even if ALB is fit. ALB hasn’t locked down a spot in the many tests he’s played, doubt he’s going to do that now.
Don't disagree on Proctor at all. Just noting ALB's versatility from the bench unlocks a lot of options for the likes of QT & Billy P.
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@antipodean said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
@No-Quarter said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
I think a big part of the reason they are talking about locks playing 6 is they see Holland as a starter in the medium term given his attributes, so would love it if Barrett or Vai'i could make a good fist of 6 as I believe they want all three of those players on the pitch. It would also solve our height issues in the lineout and allow us to play two of the smaller dynamic loosies at 7 and 8.
Big question is whether Barrett or Vai'i can make it work at 6 - they haven't been able to in the past.
IMO it would be a big mistake to move Barrett to a position he wasn't fast enough to play years ago.
Here's Scott famously running down Jonny May in that RWC semi.
1.1K views · 411 reactions | Barrett cuts May off | Scott Barrett...
Scott Barrett with incredible work rate to cut off Jonny May. What a start to this match. #ENGvNZL #RWC2019 #WebbEllisCup Find out where you can watch...
I watched that game not so long ago - Scott actually went pretty well - aside from that we were supposed to dominate the lineout and that plan blew up in our face.
But, 6 years later, I'm not convinced having him play 6 is a fabulous plan.
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@brodean said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
SRP Forwards most minutes:
1131 Patrick Tuipulotu
1124 Christian Lio-Willie
1113 Du'Plessis Kirifi
1043 Scott Barrett
1039 Dalton Papali'i
1038 Peter Lakai
1024 Tupou Vaa'i
1012 Hoskins Sotutu
978 Fabian Holland
946 Samipeni Finau
943 Semisi Tupou Ta'eiloa
936 Luke JacobsonDoes this include finals or just round robin play? Don’t really fancy going back and doing the math
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@xman said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
@brodean said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
Good to see Razor has no hard feelings about the Papali'i headbutt.
What happened between Dalton and Razor?
Kerfuffle
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@antipodean said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
@No-Quarter said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
I think a big part of the reason they are talking about locks playing 6 is they see Holland as a starter in the medium term given his attributes, so would love it if Barrett or Vai'i could make a good fist of 6 as I believe they want all three of those players on the pitch. It would also solve our height issues in the lineout and allow us to play two of the smaller dynamic loosies at 7 and 8.
Big question is whether Barrett or Vai'i can make it work at 6 - they haven't been able to in the past.
IMO it would be a big mistake to move Barrett to a position he wasn't fast enough to play years ago. And moving Vai'i from lock in his current form should be investigated for treason.
I agree, except together they aren't IMO tall enough for us to get away with them as pair. I hope I'm proven wrong.
Personally, I'd give Holland his chance - he's a proper tall tight lock who works his ass off.
He may need to improve some aspects of his game, but I want to see if he can make it at this level.
What that means for Vaai is that he may come off the bench (in reality) or needs a go at 6. Vaai has become newer younger (better) Barrett and that's why I've questioned whether Barrett should be captain.
