All Blacks 2025
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@Nepia said in All Blacks 2025:
@MN5 said in All Blacks 2025:
@sparky said in All Blacks 2025:
Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales on consecutive weeks in November.
" Operation Grand Slam"
Upvote for Bond even if it is the most overrated one ever.
I didn't realise the games essentially go from hardest to easiest. That should help them get it.
Nah, we needed Ireland, Wales, England, Scotland, we can't beat two good teams in a row.
As it stands they'll need to beat three good teams and then Wales
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@sparky said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Personally I wouldn't pick Beauden Barrett for the All Blacks XV based on his horrific 2025 form, let alone the All Blacks squad.
He could help us all out by retiring from international rugby.
I bet Razor will start him in Chicago. Ugh
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2025:
Lakai being our stand-up despite being little more than adequate is damning.
Same with Ginga. When your 5th string, last-gasp halfback (admittedly playing his guts out) looks the goods, it speaks volumes.
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@sparky said in All Blacks 2025:
Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales on consecutive weeks in November.
I actually fancy Scotland to win against us. Can see us beating Ireland and Wales though.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2025:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2025:
Lakai being our stand-up despite being little more than adequate is damning.
Same with Ginga. When your 5th string, last-gasp halfback (admittedly playing his guts out) looks the goods, it speaks volumes.
I still don't want him in the squad for the tour. Cam, Ratima, Preston for me
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Tyrel Lomax gone for the season. That’s two important tight forwards now gone burgers.
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@canefan said in All Blacks 2025:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2025:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2025:
Lakai being our stand-up despite being little more than adequate is damning.
Same with Ginga. When your 5th string, last-gasp halfback (admittedly playing his guts out) looks the goods, it speaks volumes.
I still don't want him in the squad for the tour. Cam, Ratima, Preston for me
Nor me - just pointing out how an average player can shine in this team.
He can leave with his head held pretty high, though.
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Beauden Barrett? Anton Leinert-Brown? Luke Jacobson? Sevu Reece?
All too long in the tooth and with too many miles on the clock and their glory days a long time ago to be much use to us. Pick younger, better players. This is the All Blacks Northern tour, not Cocoon 3.
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Young players I'd like to see in the All Blacks XV (at least) :
Bartlett, Wrampling-Alec, Gardiner (he is playing well again after having a mare last year), Casey, Sinton, Pledger, Roberts, Brown, Tangitau, Fineanganofo. Lasaqa, the diminutive wing, is fun to watch. Maybe he is not big enough but he is a real threat when given a bit of space. Maybe one year too early for Vakasiuola but men of his size are not legions in NZ. -
@sparky said in All Blacks 2025:
@mohikamo My answer is for the All Blacks selectors to grow a pair and to only select players who deserve selection based on current form and future promise.
If NZR waste their money on over the hill players to stop them going to Rugby 360 or for marketing purposes, that's their problem.
The All Blacks are about excellence and winning.
That, plus if a player gets frozen out of the ABs due to poor performance they need to look into ways of that contract being terminated by mutual agreement which will enable that player to leave NZ and make money offshore. Both parties can gain from that arrangement.
One thing is clear that some of the longer term ABs don't have that same hunger or energy they used to - the reason you can see that is because it stands out like a sore thumb when you compare it to someone like Leroy Carter or even a Quinn Tupaea whose AB career has been derailed due to injury. Right now those guys are playing with a sense of purpose.
Its nothing personal, it just benefits no-one to have players around the setup that are a couple years past their use by date.
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@nonpartizan said in All Blacks 2025:
Its nothing personal, it just benefits no-one to have players around the setup that are a couple years past their use by date.
Haha
It sure benfits the player that is still on a fat contract.. Re the Marcus Rashford imbroglio..It'd be nice to have a bit of clarity on the AB player contracting situation.
Just a general idea of the numbers.
Like the number of players on this amount for this duration.
The fern can figure out the rest.
A journo should ask a NZR honcho the question.From what i've garned in the last few months, my gut feeling is they signed a bunch of players up to the next WC.
You can sort of tell who they are by the players that are getting the run ons, and conversly who they didn't, by the players who are a bit on the outer.
You can see why they are a bit locked in now, selection wise, for the next couple of seasons.
A few "key" injuries might actually be a good thing.Fuck, in the amateur days they could dump the whole team, and did on occasion, no prob.
They cant do that now.
Well the could.
But it would cost them a lot of money.Shit, in the NFL all this contract stuff is on the public record.
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@nonpartizan said in All Blacks 2025:
If NZR waste their money on over the hill players to stop them going to Rugby 360 or for marketing purposes, that's their problem.
If NZR waste all their money, eventually it will affect the AB team.
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@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2025:
@mohikamo and I suspect the likes of Richie, Conrad, Dan, Nonu could all have still commanded decent nzr coin post 2015, but I think all of them probably knew it was time to move on, leave the legacy rather than fade out.
Now, a few players certainly seem like they are just going through the motions, and they are among those.with bigger contracts.
There is also Beauden Barrett, sticking around just to pad his stats, trying to retire as the most capped All Black of all time, and the likes of Savea, who has worked out he can get away with taking multiple sabbaticals within the same World Cup cycle and loves the attention too much to play in Japan permanently.
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@mohikamo said in All Blacks 2025:
It'd be nice to have a bit of clarity on the AB player contracting situation.
Just a general idea of the numbers.
Like the number of players on this amount for this duration.I am pretty sure that signing a NZR contract (of which there are three parts) does not guarantee you AB selection. We can be cynical and say that if you are getting paid ~NZ$1M per year they want to maximise the use of their investment. Players also get generous weekly assembly fees on top of their normal contract, so that is a loss of income if you aren't selected.
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@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2025:
@mohikamo said in All Blacks 2025:
It'd be nice to have a bit of clarity on the AB player contracting situation.
Just a general idea of the numbers.
Like the number of players on this amount for this duration.I am pretty sure that signing a NZR contract (of which there are three parts) does not guarantee you AB selection. We can be cynical and say that if you are getting paid ~NZ$1M per year they want to maximise the use of their investment. Players also get generous weekly assembly fees on top of their normal contract, so that is a loss of income if you aren't selected.
Believe Barrett had a clause in his contract that he would be selected for the All Blacks when he first returned from his sabbatical. I think that's the extent of it though.
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@ShaquilleOatmeal said in All Blacks 2025:
@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2025:
@mohikamo and I suspect the likes of Richie, Conrad, Dan, Nonu could all have still commanded decent nzr coin post 2015, but I think all of them probably knew it was time to move on, leave the legacy rather than fade out.
Now, a few players certainly seem like they are just going through the motions, and they are among those.with bigger contracts.
There is also Beauden Barrett, sticking around just to pad his stats, trying to retire as the most capped All Black of all time, and the likes of Savea, who has worked out he can get away with taking multiple sabbaticals within the same World Cup cycle and loves the attention too much to play in Japan permanently.
Yeah, another one trying to get the public on his side to change the eligibility rules so he and BB can go play in Japan, R360, wherever they please whilst swanning back into the ABs.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2025:
@sparky said in All Blacks 2025:
Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales on consecutive weeks in November.
I actually fancy Scotland to win against us. Can see us beating Ireland and Wales though.
Ireland are waiting in the long grass.
They aren’t what they were, but they are mighty competent.
They get every ounce of juice out of their ability.
Think we get turned over.
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@upthelanders said in All Blacks 2025:
@Frank Love just doesn’t do it for me tbh. Barely a standout in the NPC games he’s played this year. I don’t think he’s ever been the Hurricanes no1 option at 10, would rather see Josh Jacomb or Rivez Reihana get a shot personally.
I agree , I just not sure about the whole Love at 10.
But that just me, and I make no bones, I am and have been a on the Jacomb bandwagon for a couple of seasons. But even he needs a decent super season to bed in. I think he genuinely looks to have the balance I look for in a 10. I tend to think we sometimes don't watch how a 10 runs, and just not too keen on them being to upright (if you understand what I mean), as they tend to break when the defence is close.
Just what I kind of like to see when watching 10s.
