All Blacks 2025
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@African-Monkey said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Is it really a big deal that Pledger isn't in the side? I'll side on the selectors on this one, let's see how he and Casey go in Super Rugby first.
and Pledger is still tiny isn't he? There's a photo of him next to Josh Tengblad and Christian MacEwan (last year) and he didn't exactly fill the camera frame!
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@brodean said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@frugby said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@brodean Let's see Casey play Super Rugby first. Given he is not huge, he is going to need to develop a threat around the ruck on defence.
Jacobson taught him a lesson in that regard in the QF.
A good potential player, who has had a fantastic campaign, but there is more to the game then scoring tries in the NPC.
Jacobson would teach Boshier a lesson in every game they played as opposition if they came up against each other. Boshier is the 6th ranked Chiefs loose forward and a bonafide journeyman. In no way does he have a test future at 26. Why are we ignoring our most talented players like Lucas Casey over journeyman players with no test future?
The Chiefs have the most players in the AB's and the most players in the AB's XV.
How many titles have the Chiefs won recently?
They're a bunch of chokers and they have by far the most players in both squads.
We're building our test foundation on chokers.
no you are completely right, we should be picking more players from Auckland, where their Super side has a dominant record of, what, one title in 22 years. And who's member unions won a grand total of 8 games in the NPC this year (with Northland of all provinces doing the heavy lifting).
Truly overlooked dominance.what these selections say is not "we take too many players from one place" it says we are severely lacking in players that have the essential attributes for test footy. We double that problem with a game plan that doesn't appear to maximise what we do have.
It is all just so very underwhelming. -
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
My real point is - many of you Blues guys seem to see a massive conspiracy, where there's really just a few line calls gone against you.
Our best performing 10 is gone. Our 6 (arguably best 6 in the comp) is gone. Our 8 (player of the year) looks like he is going. Our 7, another ex-AB, won't get picked. They talk about getting big men but Peter Dinklage has more hope of being picked as an AB loose forward.
Who does get picked? Christie and BB. Two players I can't remember any Blues supporter on here demanding to get picked. 3, if you add Stephen ('even Ethan Blackadders's tougher than me') Perofeta. Ok, he played ok when picked but I think even ardent Blues fans were surprised.
Darry was a good one but picked out of necessity.
Your 6 was gone before Razor ever named his first squad. He took the yen. And neither he nor his brother - who aren't social media shrinking violets - have ever suggested Razor had any role in this decision. Once he signed in Japan, it would have been moronic to pick him for the All Blacks. If you want to be upset with an AB coach about Akira - blame Hansen.
Plummer - well, there's a theory that we need a solid journeyman at 10. I don't subcribe to it. But, they picked Beauden and Perofeta ahead of him - I'm overwhelmed by the bias!
Now Hoskins was unlucky. But, they were only ever going to pick two number 8s and Ardie was a mortal lock. They went for Sititi and he won World Breakout Player of the year, so it wasn't really a terrible pick. And they were going to call Hoskins up for the EOYT, but he was broken. He was less compelling this year and now he's broken again.
Paps - no more unlucky than Blackadder, who outplayed all comers in the Super play-offs. There's no Crusaders in the loosies either and despite the prognostications of doom, I see Dalton in the AB XV.
I believe we've discussed AJ Lam and Ricky Riccitelli previously. RR is a hard no from me.
My feeling was Akira knew he was not going to get picked. Could be completely wrong. He said money was part (and could well be the major part) of his decision but he didn't clearly say what the remaining reasons were.
MY real point is not that more Blues need to be in the ABs but the way they were or weren't treated may have been a factor in them leaving or potentially leaving, weakening the Blues.
Lam was my major grump about non-AB selection previously but he has a lot more competition now so I'm not so energetic in my laments. RR, yeah, good Super player, can see why they didn't choose him. I don't really see a Crusaders bias but a loyalty bias favouring oldtimers and Crusaders stalwarts (Ioane has been lucky to be picked, as has Reece and ALB).
Riccitelli is better at the Hooker core roles than everyone bar Taylor.
They same capitulation that happened to McAlister in Wellington could happen to Bell.
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@frugby said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
The odd thing about Havili, is they have clearly sign-posted they want a power run at 12, and he clearly is not that.
have they though? JB is locked in to 80 mins at 12 for the ABs. I wouldn't call him a power runner, just a big unit. And in our current pattern, he spends almost the whole game distributing. To me it looks like we want a big unit for defence in that channel and a distributor.
or again, our pattern stinks
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@nostrildamus said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
My real point is - many of you Blues guys seem to see a massive conspiracy, where there's really just a few line calls gone against you.
Our best performing 10 is gone. Our 6 (arguably best 6 in the comp) is gone. Our 8 (player of the year) looks like he is going. Our 7, another ex-AB, won't get picked. They talk about getting big men but Peter Dinklage has more hope of being picked as an AB loose forward.
Who does get picked? Christie and BB. Two players I can't remember any Blues supporter on here demanding to get picked. 3, if you add Stephen ('even Ethan Blackadders's tougher than me') Perofeta. Ok, he played ok when picked but I think even ardent Blues fans were surprised.
Darry was a good one but picked out of necessity.
Your 6 was gone before Razor ever named his first squad. He took the yen. And neither he nor his brother - who aren't social media shrinking violets - have ever suggested Razor had any role in this decision. Once he signed in Japan, it would have been moronic to pick him for the All Blacks. If you want to be upset with an AB coach about Akira - blame Hansen.
Plummer - well, there's a theory that we need a solid journeyman at 10. I don't subcribe to it. But, they picked Beauden and Perofeta ahead of him - I'm overwhelmed by the bias!
Now Hoskins was unlucky. But, they were only ever going to pick two number 8s and Ardie was a mortal lock. They went for Sititi and he won World Breakout Player of the year, so it wasn't really a terrible pick. And they were going to call Hoskins up for the EOYT, but he was broken. He was less compelling this year and now he's broken again.
Paps - no more unlucky than Blackadder, who outplayed all comers in the Super play-offs. There's no Crusaders in the loosies either and despite the prognostications of doom, I see Dalton in the AB XV.
I believe we've discussed AJ Lam and Ricky Riccitelli previously. RR is a hard no from me.
My feeling was Akira knew he was not going to get picked. Could be completely wrong. He said money was part (and could well be the major part) of his decision but he didn't clearly say what the remaining reasons were.
MY real point is not that more Blues need to be in the ABs but the way they were or weren't treated may have been a factor in them leaving or potentially leaving, weakening the Blues.
Lam was my major grump about non-AB selection previously but he has a lot more competition now so I'm not so energetic in my laments. RR, yeah, good Super player, can see why they didn't choose him. I don't really see a Crusaders bias but a loyalty bias favouring oldtimers and Crusaders stalwarts (Ioane has been lucky to be picked, as has Reece and ALB).
The thing is none of the midfield selections over Lam havent nailed anything. Even Tupaea who had a great game against Australia had a shocker in the Wellington test.
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@African-Monkey who was the last AB picked off an NPC campaign (with no super rugby) was it Joe Rok?
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@canefan said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Nepia said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
My real point is - many of you Blues guys seem to see a massive conspiracy, where there's really just a few line calls gone against you.
Our best performing 10 is gone. Our 6 (arguably best 6 in the comp) is gone. Our 8 (player of the year) looks like he is going. Our 7, another ex-AB, won't get picked. They talk about getting big men but Peter Dinklage has more hope of being picked as an AB loose forward.
Who does get picked? Christie and BB. Two players I can't remember any Blues supporter on here demanding to get picked. 3, if you add Stephen ('even Ethan Blackadders's tougher than me') Perofeta. Ok, he played ok when picked but I think even ardent Blues fans were surprised.
Darry was a good one but picked out of necessity.
Your 6 was gone before Razor ever named his first squad. He took the yen. And neither he nor his brother - who aren't social media shrinking violets - have ever suggested Razor had any role in this decision. Once he signed in Japan, it would have been moronic to pick him for the All Blacks. If you want to be upset with an AB coach about Akira - blame Hansen.
Plummer - well, there's a theory that we need a solid journeyman at 10. I don't subcribe to it. But, they picked Beauden and Perofeta ahead of him - I'm overwhelmed by the bias!
Now Hoskins was unlucky. But, they were only ever going to pick two number 8s and Ardie was a mortal lock. They went for Sititi and he won World Breakout Player of the year, so it wasn't really a terrible pick. And they were going to call Hoskins up for the EOYT, but he was broken. He was less compelling this year and now he's broken again.
Paps - no more unlucky than Blackadder, who outplayed all comers in the Super play-offs. There's no Crusaders in the loosies either and despite the prognostications of doom, I see Dalton in the AB XV.
I believe we've discussed AJ Lam and Ricky Riccitelli previously. RR is a hard no from me.
My feeling was Akira knew he was not going to get picked. Could be completely wrong. He said money was part (and could well be the major part) of his decision but he didn't clearly say what the remaining reasons were.
@Chris-B 100% knows that Akira wasn't ever going to get a shot in the new Razor regime due to Tubby Ryan.
Or Hoskins. Even after the way they dominated the field in SR last year neither of them got a sniff
Yes in the year the Blues won the title Sotutu was involved in 24.5% of the Blues tries. Basically a quarter of their seasons tries. Meanwhile the attack under Robertson has been a joke for two years.
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@Nepia said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
My real point is - many of you Blues guys seem to see a massive conspiracy, where there's really just a few line calls gone against you.
Our best performing 10 is gone. Our 6 (arguably best 6 in the comp) is gone. Our 8 (player of the year) looks like he is going. Our 7, another ex-AB, won't get picked. They talk about getting big men but Peter Dinklage has more hope of being picked as an AB loose forward.
Who does get picked? Christie and BB. Two players I can't remember any Blues supporter on here demanding to get picked. 3, if you add Stephen ('even Ethan Blackadders's tougher than me') Perofeta. Ok, he played ok when picked but I think even ardent Blues fans were surprised.
Darry was a good one but picked out of necessity.
Your 6 was gone before Razor ever named his first squad. He took the yen. And neither he nor his brother - who aren't social media shrinking violets - have ever suggested Razor had any role in this decision. Once he signed in Japan, it would have been moronic to pick him for the All Blacks. If you want to be upset with an AB coach about Akira - blame Hansen.
Plummer - well, there's a theory that we need a solid journeyman at 10. I don't subcribe to it. But, they picked Beauden and Perofeta ahead of him - I'm overwhelmed by the bias!
Now Hoskins was unlucky. But, they were only ever going to pick two number 8s and Ardie was a mortal lock. They went for Sititi and he won World Breakout Player of the year, so it wasn't really a terrible pick. And they were going to call Hoskins up for the EOYT, but he was broken. He was less compelling this year and now he's broken again.
Paps - no more unlucky than Blackadder, who outplayed all comers in the Super play-offs. There's no Crusaders in the loosies either and despite the prognostications of doom, I see Dalton in the AB XV.
I believe we've discussed AJ Lam and Ricky Riccitelli previously. RR is a hard no from me.
My feeling was Akira knew he was not going to get picked. Could be completely wrong. He said money was part (and could well be the major part) of his decision but he didn't clearly say what the remaining reasons were.
@Chris-B 100% knows that Akira wasn't ever going to get a shot in the new Razor regime due to Tubby Ryan.
I actually know no such thing. I just see these statements as conspiracy theories.
Here's a simple question for you.
True or False. Akira was never picked in an All Black squad that Ryan had a hand in selecting?
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@nostrildamus said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
My real point is - many of you Blues guys seem to see a massive conspiracy, where there's really just a few line calls gone against you.
Our best performing 10 is gone. Our 6 (arguably best 6 in the comp) is gone. Our 8 (player of the year) looks like he is going. Our 7, another ex-AB, won't get picked. They talk about getting big men but Peter Dinklage has more hope of being picked as an AB loose forward.
Who does get picked? Christie and BB. Two players I can't remember any Blues supporter on here demanding to get picked. 3, if you add Stephen ('even Ethan Blackadders's tougher than me') Perofeta. Ok, he played ok when picked but I think even ardent Blues fans were surprised.
Darry was a good one but picked out of necessity.
So our loose trio, finally well-balanced and arguably the best combo in the tournament, has been eviscerated, with the top performers packing their bags overseas.
Not a conspiracy, but not a great state of affairs.
I was confident that Razor would be more inventive and innovative than Foster. I'm not saying he's worse, but, without the help of someone like Schmidt, I can't say he's clearly a step forward. His selections are just as conservative, the team has no plan B, the bench is usually a chaotic step down, and they don't seem to learn from match 1 to 2. It's hard to rate their performance against the Wallabies, who looked better coached, because the Wallabies still lack a 'head'. But what is clear to me is that the only silver lining in NOT picking Blues forwards is it might help them keep their edge. Too many players plateau or worsen once they are regularly picked for the ABs. Newell is a noteworthy exception.
Clarke? R. Ioane?
MT was there last year
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@sparky said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Bovidae said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
The referees for the tour games:
Wales v New Zealand - Hollie Davidson (SRU)
I hope the Welsh don't try any funny business again if the Scottish referee can't keep up with play after a fast breakaway...
They have form. Bob Deans scored.
Never forget. Never forgive.
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@brodean said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@frugby said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@brodean Let's see Casey play Super Rugby first. Given he is not huge, he is going to need to develop a threat around the ruck on defence.
Jacobson taught him a lesson in that regard in the QF.
A good potential player, who has had a fantastic campaign, but there is more to the game then scoring tries in the NPC.
Jacobson would teach Boshier a lesson in every game they played as opposition if they came up against each other. Boshier is the 6th ranked Chiefs loose forward and a bonafide journeyman. In no way does he have a test future at 26. Why are we ignoring our most talented players like Lucas Casey over journeyman players with no test future?
The Chiefs have the most players in the AB's and the most players in the AB's XV.
How many titles have the Chiefs won recently?
They're a bunch of chokers and they have by far the most players in both squads.
We're building our test foundation on chokers.
no you are completely right, we should be picking more players from Auckland, where their Super side has a dominant record of, what, one title in 22 years. And who's member unions won a grand total of 8 games in the NPC this year (with Northland of all provinces doing the heavy lifting).
Nice straw man argument. I'd actually rather have more Crusaders selected than Chiefs at this stage.
I'd actually rather pick Havili, McLeod, or Ennor over ALB and I say that as someone who was a big fan of ALB from 2016 to 2019.
In hindsight I'd pick Blackadder over most of the Chiefs loose forwards if he was available. This year Lio Willie has been better than Sititi at all levels.
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@reprobate Yeah - but, in my view that's not really happening.
I'm not seeing too many anomalous selections. There's a few I'd select or have selected differently, but I'm mainly quibbling on the fringes and I've won seven or eight less Super rugby titles than Razor.
I'm quite a bit more concerned about their gameplans and systems, which I still haven't understood quite what they're aiming at or trying to achieve. But, maybe Razor's a shitload smarter than everyone else and realises - like in politics - there's no point in releasing your best ideas two years out from the big dance.
Dry powder - it's gold!
i am very much in this camp too.
Part of me thinks we should move on from guys who don't seem to have it at the next level, and try the next one.But then i think that if no one is really bashing the door down, then what can you really do? (this brings me back to my old argument about our stupid season structure).
I am more concerned with the 15/23 selected and how they are playing. Distributors playing laterally. flat footed forward runners. tight forwards as ball players. Flat, wide, no momentum. Soft leaky defense. New players aren't going to change that.
But shit my kingdom for a couple of frightening specimens in the pack that give the other team pause on either side of the ball, or a winger with genuine pace that give wide defenders kittens on kick chase (because we aren't going to create opportunities for them).
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@brodean said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@canefan said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Nepia said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
My real point is - many of you Blues guys seem to see a massive conspiracy, where there's really just a few line calls gone against you.
Our best performing 10 is gone. Our 6 (arguably best 6 in the comp) is gone. Our 8 (player of the year) looks like he is going. Our 7, another ex-AB, won't get picked. They talk about getting big men but Peter Dinklage has more hope of being picked as an AB loose forward.
Who does get picked? Christie and BB. Two players I can't remember any Blues supporter on here demanding to get picked. 3, if you add Stephen ('even Ethan Blackadders's tougher than me') Perofeta. Ok, he played ok when picked but I think even ardent Blues fans were surprised.
Darry was a good one but picked out of necessity.
Your 6 was gone before Razor ever named his first squad. He took the yen. And neither he nor his brother - who aren't social media shrinking violets - have ever suggested Razor had any role in this decision. Once he signed in Japan, it would have been moronic to pick him for the All Blacks. If you want to be upset with an AB coach about Akira - blame Hansen.
Plummer - well, there's a theory that we need a solid journeyman at 10. I don't subcribe to it. But, they picked Beauden and Perofeta ahead of him - I'm overwhelmed by the bias!
Now Hoskins was unlucky. But, they were only ever going to pick two number 8s and Ardie was a mortal lock. They went for Sititi and he won World Breakout Player of the year, so it wasn't really a terrible pick. And they were going to call Hoskins up for the EOYT, but he was broken. He was less compelling this year and now he's broken again.
Paps - no more unlucky than Blackadder, who outplayed all comers in the Super play-offs. There's no Crusaders in the loosies either and despite the prognostications of doom, I see Dalton in the AB XV.
I believe we've discussed AJ Lam and Ricky Riccitelli previously. RR is a hard no from me.
My feeling was Akira knew he was not going to get picked. Could be completely wrong. He said money was part (and could well be the major part) of his decision but he didn't clearly say what the remaining reasons were.
@Chris-B 100% knows that Akira wasn't ever going to get a shot in the new Razor regime due to Tubby Ryan.
Or Hoskins. Even after the way they dominated the field in SR last year neither of them got a sniff
Yes in the year the Blues won the title Sotutu was involved in 24.5% of the Blues tries. Basically a quarter of their seasons tries. Meanwhile the attack under Robertson has been a joke for two years.
So much for two way players
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@Chris-B said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Nepia said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
My real point is - many of you Blues guys seem to see a massive conspiracy, where there's really just a few line calls gone against you.
Our best performing 10 is gone. Our 6 (arguably best 6 in the comp) is gone. Our 8 (player of the year) looks like he is going. Our 7, another ex-AB, won't get picked. They talk about getting big men but Peter Dinklage has more hope of being picked as an AB loose forward.
Who does get picked? Christie and BB. Two players I can't remember any Blues supporter on here demanding to get picked. 3, if you add Stephen ('even Ethan Blackadders's tougher than me') Perofeta. Ok, he played ok when picked but I think even ardent Blues fans were surprised.
Darry was a good one but picked out of necessity.
Your 6 was gone before Razor ever named his first squad. He took the yen. And neither he nor his brother - who aren't social media shrinking violets - have ever suggested Razor had any role in this decision. Once he signed in Japan, it would have been moronic to pick him for the All Blacks. If you want to be upset with an AB coach about Akira - blame Hansen.
Plummer - well, there's a theory that we need a solid journeyman at 10. I don't subcribe to it. But, they picked Beauden and Perofeta ahead of him - I'm overwhelmed by the bias!
Now Hoskins was unlucky. But, they were only ever going to pick two number 8s and Ardie was a mortal lock. They went for Sititi and he won World Breakout Player of the year, so it wasn't really a terrible pick. And they were going to call Hoskins up for the EOYT, but he was broken. He was less compelling this year and now he's broken again.
Paps - no more unlucky than Blackadder, who outplayed all comers in the Super play-offs. There's no Crusaders in the loosies either and despite the prognostications of doom, I see Dalton in the AB XV.
I believe we've discussed AJ Lam and Ricky Riccitelli previously. RR is a hard no from me.
My feeling was Akira knew he was not going to get picked. Could be completely wrong. He said money was part (and could well be the major part) of his decision but he didn't clearly say what the remaining reasons were.
@Chris-B 100% knows that Akira wasn't ever going to get a shot in the new Razor regime due to Tubby Ryan.
I actually know no such thing. I just see these statements as conspiracy theories.
Here's a simple question for you.
True or False. Akira was never picked in an All Black squad that Ryan had a hand in selecting?
Who is arguing against that? He picked him, then discarded him for his favourite Ta$man import who managed to produce one tackle in a RWC final.
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@African-Monkey said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Is it really a big deal that Pledger isn't in the side? I'll side on the selectors on this one, let's see how he and Casey go in Super Rugby first.
has anyone really complained? the most ive seen is question why agurably the form 9 didn;t make it but imediately accepting hes still new and young and there might be bigger plan in play
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@Kiwiwomble said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Is it really a big deal that Pledger isn't in the side? I'll side on the selectors on this one, let's see how he and Casey go in Super Rugby first.
has anyone really complained? the most ove seen is question my agurably the form 9 didn;t make it but imediately accepting hes still new and young and there moght be bigger plan in play
Preston would have gone before him
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It doesn't really matter which franchise a player plays for, and just because a team goes well it doesn't mean that all those players are the best, or vice versa. But, sometimes, it's just hard to fathom decisions. I'm not a Blues fan, but if any player should have been a lock for the ABs in 2024 it was Sotutu, he was outstanding, on BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL, and quite frankly he should have been there ahead of Sititi (the player from my franchise).
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@brodean said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
My real point is - many of you Blues guys seem to see a massive conspiracy, where there's really just a few line calls gone against you.
Our best performing 10 is gone. Our 6 (arguably best 6 in the comp) is gone. Our 8 (player of the year) looks like he is going. Our 7, another ex-AB, won't get picked. They talk about getting big men but Peter Dinklage has more hope of being picked as an AB loose forward.
Who does get picked? Christie and BB. Two players I can't remember any Blues supporter on here demanding to get picked. 3, if you add Stephen ('even Ethan Blackadders's tougher than me') Perofeta. Ok, he played ok when picked but I think even ardent Blues fans were surprised.
Darry was a good one but picked out of necessity.
Your 6 was gone before Razor ever named his first squad. He took the yen. And neither he nor his brother - who aren't social media shrinking violets - have ever suggested Razor had any role in this decision. Once he signed in Japan, it would have been moronic to pick him for the All Blacks. If you want to be upset with an AB coach about Akira - blame Hansen.
Plummer - well, there's a theory that we need a solid journeyman at 10. I don't subcribe to it. But, they picked Beauden and Perofeta ahead of him - I'm overwhelmed by the bias!
Now Hoskins was unlucky. But, they were only ever going to pick two number 8s and Ardie was a mortal lock. They went for Sititi and he won World Breakout Player of the year, so it wasn't really a terrible pick. And they were going to call Hoskins up for the EOYT, but he was broken. He was less compelling this year and now he's broken again.
Paps - no more unlucky than Blackadder, who outplayed all comers in the Super play-offs. There's no Crusaders in the loosies either and despite the prognostications of doom, I see Dalton in the AB XV.
I believe we've discussed AJ Lam and Ricky Riccitelli previously. RR is a hard no from me.
My feeling was Akira knew he was not going to get picked. Could be completely wrong. He said money was part (and could well be the major part) of his decision but he didn't clearly say what the remaining reasons were.
MY real point is not that more Blues need to be in the ABs but the way they were or weren't treated may have been a factor in them leaving or potentially leaving, weakening the Blues.
Lam was my major grump about non-AB selection previously but he has a lot more competition now so I'm not so energetic in my laments. RR, yeah, good Super player, can see why they didn't choose him. I don't really see a Crusaders bias but a loyalty bias favouring oldtimers and Crusaders stalwarts (Ioane has been lucky to be picked, as has Reece and ALB).
Riccitelli is better at the Hooker core roles than everyone bar Taylor.
They same capitulation that happened to McAlister in Wellington could happen to Bell.
Well, if you see the core roles of the hooker as throwing to the lineout and taking a ring to Mordor, then I agree with you.
But, if you want a big, fast, dynamic runner - a powerful scrummager - a guy who's going to win collisions vs the Boks - then picking a small journeyman hooker is not on my list.
He's the Kirifi of hookers, but less compelling.
