All Blacks 2025
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@brodean said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
I think they will circle back to Fihaki for ABs XV
Hope not he's a snail on defence unfortunately being skinned by a 7 Lucas Casey & halfback turned wing Adam Lennox lives fresh in the mind
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@grooter to be fair, they are both pretty quick
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we know Knowler talks rubbish and doesn’t actually watch the games. Take this part for instance
While confirmation Beauden Barrett will be fit for the Grand Slam tour is a significant boost for the All Blacks,
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@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks 2025:
we know Knowler talks rubbish and doesn’t actually watch the games. Take this part for instance
While confirmation Beauden Barrett will be fit for the Grand Slam tour is a significant boost for the All Blacks,
What a load of shit ( which seems all too common in the media nowadays, the dare not say anything remotely negative about a player )
You’d think BB was peak Dan Carter based on this crapola above.
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@nostrildamus said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Would like to have a closer look at Beehre or Shalfoon
I think Beehre is well suited to being a traditional blindside flanker.
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@frugby said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
I think Ennor should be there. I think he should be being viewed as a genuine option at centre for the All Blacks. May lack power, but is an excellent defender and distributor.
It's difficult to tell with Ennor as he never seems to be able to string a bunch of performances together without getting injured or being moved by coaches.
At his best he demonstrates sufficient class to play well at the highest level
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@sparky said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Caleb Tangitau's pace would be useful on the Wing against both Ireland and England. I'd like to see him in the full squad and given some game time.
It's too early for him. The NPC has highlighted he has some glaring gaps in his skillset he needs to address.
Fix those and he could be a weapon, but I see no urgency to replace Carter.
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@antipodean said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@sparky said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Caleb Tangitau's pace would be useful on the Wing against both Ireland and England. I'd like to see him in the full squad and given some game time.
It's too early for him. The NPC has highlighted he has some glaring gaps in his skillset he needs to address.
Fix those and he could be a weapon, but I see no urgency to replace Carter.
This NPC has firmly put a stop on the Tangitau hype train from early super rugby
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Perhaps the Oirish man you love to hate should be called in to coach your mob how to catch the high ball
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Wondering if Ennor gets looked at for AB squad. And Fihaki looks a better bet than Tangitau to me at the moment.
Sam Casey, Dom Gardiner, Oli Mathis, Josh Bartlett, Jack Taylor, Bailyn Sullivan, Viveni Lasaga, Dylan Pledger, Sean Withy all worth consideration for XV on current
form.
I remain surprised Tevita Mafileo rates ahead of George Dyer in AB pecking order. -
@antipodean said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@frugby said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
I think Ennor should be there. I think he should be being viewed as a genuine option at centre for the All Blacks. May lack power, but is an excellent defender and distributor.
It's difficult to tell with Ennor as he never seems to be able to string a bunch of performances together without getting injured or being moved by coaches.
At his best he demonstrates sufficient class to play well at the highest level
Besides that he is not as good as Rona.
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Quite a few players mentioned who havent proven anything at Super Level. I'd only expect 1 or 2 players selected based on NPC. Pledger and Casey are the only ones that spring to mind. Pledger because the options after Roigard are pretty average.
But to be honest I wouldn't be surprised to only see former All Blacks or players who have shown strong super rugby form because that's who was selected last year.
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@ARHS said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
I remain surprised Tevita Mafileo rates ahead of George Dyer in AB pecking order.
I could understand taking him to Arg with a smaller squad as Mafileo can play LH, but he doesn't even make the Hurricanes 23 as a TH.
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@MiketheSnow said in All Blacks 2025:
Perhaps the Oirish man you love to hate should be called in to coach your mob how to catch the high ball
Didn't his hair used to be a different colour?
He could have dyed. -
Yeah, kinda three parts.
The NZ and Super components plus the assembly fees (match payments you could call them).
They get paid the components whether the play or not. And the assembly fees if they get selected.
For a player on a SR level deal, the AB assembly fees would be a very nice pay boost.
But for a player on an AB level contract, not so much. Their meat will be in the components.The whole AB set up seems to be modelled on the way an NFL team is put together.
It’s the GM (Chris Lendrum) who puts the roster together.
Then they bring in a coach (Robertson) and he brings in his assistants.
Attack coach, D coach, then the position coaches; forwards and backs.
And they do their thing, Robertson co-ordinating. Just like in the NFL.
The coach has only an indirect effect on the roster, he has to use what he is given.All NZR contracted players must be available for the Black teams.
There are 100's of them if you include PU players, so quite a big player pool.
Probably the biggest contracted player pool of any team, in any football code, in the world.
They must have some sort of spreadsheet at NZR HQ.Lendrum has signed 17 of the 23 players who played in the 23WCF.
So that’s the core thru to 27.JB was signed thru to 28.
He looks like the premier signing, and he's playing like it.
Lendrum will be pleased, he got JB paid (by Leinster) and he's come back into the fold, and playing great.
The perfect scenario.
A win/win.The GM is doing a financial balancing act at the top.
You have to be careful, or you'll be stuck with a big, fat, useless contract (ala Rashford).
He's mitigating NZR financial risks by increasing the use of sabbaticals, and giving veteran players the chance to have a nice earner.
Get used to it.If the AB coach wants to go outside that NZ pool, then he has to go whining to the GM.
That's where the Mounga thing is at now.
The GM and Mounga conversating, and the GM not just chattering with Mounga either.
Get used to it.Heard an interview with Lendrum a while ago. Talking about Sam Cane at Suntory.
He’s injured, and you could almost hear the sigh of relief in his voice; that that was Suntory’s problem not his!And heard some gossip about an NFL GM who had just signed his QB to a massive long-term deal.
He then said quietly to one of his colleagues NOW WE ARE FUCKED.
The QB market had forced him into the huge deal, but he knew that this particular QB was never going to win them a SB, and now they were stuck with him!
We sure don’t want that type of thing to happen. -
@mohikamo said in All Blacks 2025:
Yeah, kinda three parts.
The NZ and Super components plus the assembly fees (match payments you could call them).
They get paid the components whether the play or not. And the assembly fees if they get selected.
For a player on a SR level deal, the AB assembly fees would be a very nice pay boost.
But for a player on an AB level contract, not so much. Their meat will be in the components.The whole AB set up seems to be modelled on the way an NFL team is put together.
It’s the GM (Chris Lendrum) who puts the roster together.
Then they bring in a coach (Robertson) and he brings in his assistants.
Attack coach, D coach, then the position coaches; forwards and backs.
And they do their thing, Robertson co-ordinating. Just like in the NFL.
The coach has only an indirect effect on the roster, he has to use what he is given.All NZR contracted players must be available for the Black teams.
There are 100's of them if you include PU players, so quite a big player pool.
Probably the biggest contracted player pool of any team, in any football code, in the world.
They must have some sort of spreadsheet at NZR HQ.Lendrum has signed 17 of the 23 players who played in the 23WCF.
So that’s the core thru to 27.JB was signed thru to 28.
He looks like the premier signing, and he's playing like it.
Lendrum will be pleased, he got JB paid (by Leinster) and he's come back into the fold, and playing great.
The perfect scenario.
A win/win.The GM is doing a financial balancing act at the top.
You have to be careful, or you'll be stuck with a big, fat, useless contract (ala Rashford).
He's mitigating NZR financial risks by increasing the use of sabbaticals, and giving veteran players the chance to have a nice earner.
Get used to it.If the AB coach wants to go outside that NZ pool, then he has to go whining to the GM.
That's where the Mounga thing is at now.
The GM and Mounga conversating, and the GM not just chattering with Mounga either.
Get used to it.Heard an interview with Lendrum a while ago. Talking about Sam Cane at Suntory.
He’s injured, and you could almost hear the sigh of relief in his voice; that that was Suntory’s problem not his!And heard some gossip about an NFL GM who had just signed his QB to a massive long-term deal.
He then said quietly to one of his colleagues NOW WE ARE FUCKED.
The QB market had forced him into the huge deal, but he knew that this particular QB was never going to win them a SB, and now they were stuck with him!
We sure don’t want that type of thing to happen.So, the squad is put together by NZR above what input Razor has, in the sense that the deals are not something he or any coach has control over or input in.
Hopefully they have insanely good talent ID cos that to me sounds like one of the most critically important roles in all of New Zealand rugby, essentially the whole operation hinges on them making shrewd decisions on who to contract and how much they should be paid.
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Relative to the two Bledisloe cup games - I have developed this theory that BB has been a great asset in the first half of games but a significant impediment to good second half performances this year. I thought it was observable that BB played significantly better in the first half of games this season, in fact he seems to be one of the best ABs in the first 20 minutes of games. Maybe the best. He's great in the first 20 and a big part of the reason why the ABs start games so well .
However, his play seems to massively deteriorate in the second half and he appears to indulge heavily in the most aimless of kicking. His game management is just not there.
The three second halves that he has missed (all due to injury) have all seen the ABs play better than their efforts in that first half and/or consolidate/improve their position from the first half. The other game that he missed a significant chunk of the match in the 2H was the loss in Argie and I think the ABs stepped up a gear when he was subbed.
I really think there is some sense in playing him for the first half then pulling him off at or just after halftime. He can create and be productive for 40 minutes or so but he can't manage a game after that, it's just not how he plays.
