All Blacks 2025
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@frugby said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
The revisionism on here is crazy... the arguments around Sotutu last year - totally fair and reasonable. But these claims around Akira Ioane are nonsensical. In his time in New Zealand, we had three different coaches, and none of them took a true liking to him.
Blaming Jase Ryan is just a lazy excuse. Akira got a good run, and played some decent footy in black between 20-22. Him losing his spot to Frizzell was a timing thing. Frizzell played the game of his life in the test which saved Foster's job, and largely backed that up (scored two tries in the RWC SF which is conveniently forgotten), and dominated the Boks at Mt Smart, so deservedly kept the shirt. Him being anonymous in the World Cup doesn't change that.
Ioane drifted from view because Finau had a superb 2023 Super campaign, and looked like our next star (like Fifita, Frizzell and Ioane before him). We only took one blindside to the World Cup and that was Frizzell. Scott Barrett was the backup 6.
If Akira was undeniable, he'd have been retained - but he wasn't. He was just another inconsistent blindside in a long line since Kaino - and there is nothing to suggest that his Super Rugby form would have all of a sudden translated to test rugby.
He played 21 tests in three years, Frizzell 33 in five years. It is a very similar ratio (half the tests in a year) because they were both inconsistent and neither could nail the shirt - just as is happening now with Samipeni Finau, and dare I say it, Simon Parker might go the same way.
It begs the question, are we asking too much of our blindside flanker?
Will Genia on some podcast a couple of years ago said that Akira was in a league of his own amongst NZ loosies for physical presence.
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@reprobate said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@canefan said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@KiwiMurph But, doesn't all that pre-suppose that Akira was going to be a compelling selection?
A week or so before he announced he was off, the Blues went down to Christchurch and lost to the worst Crusaders in living memory. What if they'd shit the bed in the 2024 semi-final as per 2023?
I'm honestly not trying to troll you or anything.
I just don't see the logic.
And I suspect it's because you guys are looking at what his career could have been and I'm looking at what his career was.
I don't think Akira's and Hoskins' contributions in black aren't any worse than some of the guys who have been given extended runs (EB and Frizell come to mind). Coaches play favourites and always have. At the same time, both guys have been passed over by more than one AB coaching group. So perhaps both sides have elements of truth. Obviously we aren't seeing something that the coaches are. Or they are just plain wrong
I'm sorry but in what world has EB had an extended run in black?
The only thing that stopped his run was the fact he's made of glass. Wallace wouldn't have got a look in if Ethan had stayed fit
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@frugby said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
But these claims around Akira Ioane are nonsensical. In his time in New Zealand, we had three different coaches, and none of them took a true liking to him.
well that's just like your opinion man
Something happened between him and Hansen. I've watched a lot of rugby - he was an extraordinary talent; going back to 2018 his workrate and physicality was amazing. He had huge talent that just ... didn't kick on. And then I think got a bit worn down later in his career.
Some weird stuff iwth Late Hansen too - calling out a player publicly is an interesting choice. Some bad blood somewhere, and you can see polarisation with fans. Fact is he played some really good games in black. He also obviously didn't crush it all the time. But the perspectives remain and are absolutely embedded in people.
I'll go back to my original assessment: he and Sotutu are two of the biggest talents I have seen that didn't kick on to Test level success.
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These are circular arguments. Some people rate Ioane, others don't. The only thing that is a fact, was he was not consistent in black, and surely even his biggest supporters can admit this.
For whatever reason it didn't work in black, but to say he wasn't given a good chance isn't true, and to say it would have worked from 2024 onwards is purely hypothetical.
As I point out, outside of a short period from Liam Squire we have not had any degree of consistency out of a blindside flanker since Jerome Kaino. That comes back to the gameplan/our expectations, not who has worn the shirt.
Sotutu is a different case altogether.
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@frugby said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
These are circular arguments. Some people rate Ioane, others don't. The only thing that is a fact, was he was not consistent in black, and surely even his biggest supporters can admit this.
For whatever reason it didn't work in black, but to say he wasn't given a good chance isn't true, and to say it would have worked from 2024 onwards is purely hypothetical.
As I point out, outside of a short period from Liam Squire we have not had any degree of consistency out of a blindside flanker since Jerome Kaino. That comes back to the gameplan/our expectations, not who has worn the shirt.
Sotutu is a different case altogether.
None of the blindsides bar Frizell in his one huge game really fronted vs SA which is probably regarded as the ultimate test.
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@nzzp said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@frugby said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
he wasn't given a good chance isn't true,
just a note that I can't think of other players who the AB coach called out and kept out of the top 50 players in NZ. That shit was weird.
Plenty of players have been called out by All Blacks coaches before. The message clearly worked because Ioane came back fitter and cracked the ABs the year after.
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@frugby said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
For whatever reason it didn't work in black, but to say he wasn't given a good chance isn't true, and to say it would have worked from 2024 onwards is purely hypothetical.
The point is it would have been nice to find out given we aren't exactly flush with options. The talent was certainly there and like Frizell there were times at test level where it shone - but they chase Frizell and not Akira. Meanwhile we have been left with neither for 2 years.
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@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@frugby said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
For whatever reason it didn't work in black, but to say he wasn't given a good chance isn't true, and to say it would have worked from 2024 onwards is purely hypothetical.
The point is it would have been nice to find out given we aren't exactly flush with options. The talent was certainly there and like Frizell there were times at test level where it shone - but they chase Frizell and not Akira. Meanwhile we have been left with neither for 2 years.
The 2024 Blues forwards played a style that IMHO fitted nicely with test match rugby. Just a waste we didn't harness that with tactics or selections
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@Nepia said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@ARHS said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
Can we have a separate thread for the Akira and Sotutu revisionists? Too hard scrolling through for info on the AB XV
Do the Frizell revisionists get their own as well?
Razor's doing that with Mo'unga too. Bestest ever ten to play the game! The solution to all our woes! Will fix lineouts and porous defence, as well as hitting rucks, smashing people in tackles and, um, something something
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@canefan said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@frugby said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
For whatever reason it didn't work in black, but to say he wasn't given a good chance isn't true, and to say it would have worked from 2024 onwards is purely hypothetical.
The point is it would have been nice to find out given we aren't exactly flush with options. The talent was certainly there and like Frizell there were times at test level where it shone - but they chase Frizell and not Akira. Meanwhile we have been left with neither for 2 years.
The 2024 Blues forwards played a style that IMHO fitted nicely with test match rugby. Just a waste we didn't harness that with tactics or selections
the last bit of that might be the truest thing here...late hansen, fozzie and now razor have all decided how they wanted to play regardless of the players they had, none have looked at combos that were dominating super and said "damn....i can build something around that"
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@Nepia The only time Frizell gets brought up funnily enough is by people making revisionist arguments about Akira Ioane.
I think you'll struggle to find a post where someone has opened with, "We miss Shannon Frizell" "We should bring back Shannon Frizell"
It's almost as if we don't, and we shouldn't, and we should move on from both players.
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@frugby said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@brodean said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
What I find quite curious is Dalton Papali'i was basically dropped immediately after Leon MacDonald left.
That's not true.
Let me rephrase it then. His non selection coincides with Leon MacDonald leaving.
Whether he would have been selected had Papali'i not broken his thumb is speculative.
The attack coach would influence to the type of openside to play.
If the attack is to specialise is possession based such as the attack the Blues used in 2024 then its preferable to use an openside who is best at retaining possession. Papali'i is better than Savea at retaining possession.
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@frugby said in All Blacks & All Blacks XV EOYT Squads 2025:
@Nepia The only time Frizell gets brought up funnily enough is by people making revisionist arguments about Akira Ioane.
I think you'll struggle to find a post where someone has opened with, "We miss Shannon Frizell" "We should bring back Shannon Frizell"
It's almost as if we don't, and we shouldn't, and we should move on from both players.
Except the chance of Frizell being moved on from is much less than Akira being moved on from. There's been a steady stream of articles since 2023 about his eventual return to NZ. Now, it could be claimed as media hype, but in at least some of the articles they directly quote the coaches fawning over him.
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A quote from Scott Hansen on rugby pass
“We’ve had a good review of the most recent competition around where we can get some learnings, and fundamentally for us, that is about controlling possession.Here is an idea Scott change BB at 10 and you might control possession better.
