All Blacks 2025
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@tubbyj said in All Blacks 2025:
Were you not saying on the other thread that people are not allowed to post what they heard from an old school mate of Reuben Love? Sounds like you are happy to have comments disqualified if you don't agree with them.
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@tubbyj said in All Blacks 2025:
Were you not saying on the other thread that people are not allowed to post what they heard from an old school mate of Reuben Love? Sounds like you are happy to have comments disqualified if you don't agree with them.
I stand to be corrected, but IIRC @Dan54 challenged the gossip and said something about the number of silly posts on the Fern in recent times. I don't recall him saying people are not allowed to post what they heard.
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@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks 2025:
@tubbyj said in All Blacks 2025:
Were you not saying on the other thread that people are not allowed to post what they heard from an old school mate of Reuben Love? Sounds like you are happy to have comments disqualified if you don't agree with them.
I stand to be corrected, but IIRC @Dan54 challenged the gossip and said something about the number of silly posts on the Fern in recent times. I don't recall him saying people are not allowed to post what they heard.
He questioned whether posters should share hearsay didn't he? Or at least questioned the value of it. As for silly posts, the fern was built on such stuff. I think Dan has to learn to take things a likely less seriously. Like when Antipodean tells him he shouldn't be allowed to post, he doesn't actually mean it. Well....

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@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2025:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2025:
@Dan54 said in Wales v All Blacks:
I don't get the Christie hate we get on here, I think he is ok.
That alone disqualifies you from commenting Dan. He's garbage for all the reasons I've been laying out for years.
And that is a damning indictment on the coaches when Ratima is preferred over him. Just once I'd like to see a journalist ask why Fakatava is below them in the picking order.
Ok, so if I don't follow your thoughts, I not supposed to comment huh?
One way of being right on a forum I suppose, either agree with you or you are disqualified from making a comment.If you're going to be contrarian about a player almost everyone else agrees is not up to standard and shouldn't be selected, it behoves you to tell us what we're missing. What core skills of his position he's playing to the requisite standard.
Otherwise we're not the wiser and I don't know what the fuck you're talking about.
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@canefan said in All Blacks 2025:
@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks 2025:
@tubbyj said in All Blacks 2025:
Were you not saying on the other thread that people are not allowed to post what they heard from an old school mate of Reuben Love? Sounds like you are happy to have comments disqualified if you don't agree with them.
I stand to be corrected, but IIRC @Dan54 challenged the gossip and said something about the number of silly posts on the Fern in recent times. I don't recall him saying people are not allowed to post what they heard.
He questioned whether posters should share hearsay didn't he? Or at least questioned the value of it. As for silly posts, the fern was built on such stuff. I think Dan has to learn to take things a likely less seriously. Like when Antipodean tells him he shouldn't be allowed to post, he doesn't actually mean it. Well....

I chuckled when I read Dan's reply because I thought he had missed a tongue in check element to the gossip post. I guess I was wrong.
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Im not a fan of Christie but I agree with Dan that he was clearly better than Ratima in today's game for what thats worth. Christie has always played better off the bench during his AB career.
Ratima is in a funk he cant get out of. He is a shadow of the player he was before he started playing for the ABs. He used to have a dynamic running game which no longer exists.
Next year I'd like to see Roigard, Fakatava and Hotham as the main guys.
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@antipodean said in All Blacks 2025:
What core skills of his position he's playing to the requisite standard.
Defence.
Arguably kicking.
Probably not passing.
Defensive ruck work definitely.
He's not going to win you a game, but her won't shit the bed either.
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@brodean said in All Blacks 2025:
Im not a fan of Christie but I agree with Dan that he was clearly better than Ratima in today's game for what thats worth. Christie has always played better off the bench during his AB career.
Ratima is in a funk he cant get out of. He is a shadow of the player he was before he started playing for the ABs. He used to have a dynamic running game which no longer exists.
Next year I'd like to see Roigard, Fakatava and Hotham as the main guys.
Funnily enough I'd have Christie on the bench for now in this ABs side and have my reasons for it, but I'd cop a hammering for it and can see why at the same time that people aren't keen on him.
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@African-Monkey I agree with you regarding Christie. Offers more than ratima does in every department
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@antipodean said in All Blacks 2025:
@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2025:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2025:
@Dan54 said in Wales v All Blacks:
I don't get the Christie hate we get on here, I think he is ok.
That alone disqualifies you from commenting Dan. He's garbage for all the reasons I've been laying out for years.
And that is a damning indictment on the coaches when Ratima is preferred over him. Just once I'd like to see a journalist ask why Fakatava is below them in the picking order.
Ok, so if I don't follow your thoughts, I not supposed to comment huh?
One way of being right on a forum I suppose, either agree with you or you are disqualified from making a comment.If you're going to be contrarian about a player almost everyone else agrees is not up to standard and shouldn't be selected, it behoves you to tell us what we're missing. What core skills of his position he's playing to the requisite standard.
Otherwise we're not the wiser and I don't know what the fuck you're talking about.
I just of the opinion that Christie is not as bad as many make out. I thought he a step up from Ratima , in speed of distribution etc, and could see difference today, I don't think he ever fist choice if I picking the team, but nor would I discount him completely, and do say after seeing the ABXV lay I would probably have Fakatava ahead of him , now, but wouldn't of earlier in year.
And who is almost everyone else, a few here don't like him, which is their right, but doesn't mean I can't say I not that much against him.
Oh just out of interest , are the almost everyone else his coaches at super level and test among the almost everyone? -
@Old-Alleynians said in All Blacks 2025:
@MN5
Scott Parker should have gone to Everton and not Newcastle - his England career would have been better.I had to google who Scott Parker was for this to make any sort of sense to me
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One thing has become crystal clear in the last few days to me......
Razor was a massive beneficiary of being involved in a perennially successful club environment in Canterbury and the Crusaders. His coaching bona fides were inflated because of that.
If he had coached outside of Christchurch where he had had to build something from scratch or had had no cattle or tradition to work with I can only assume that his flaws would have come to the fore earlier.
The key takeaway on this for the NZR has to the that the recruitment process for an All Black head coach has to be extensive and thorough and they should be looking for a candidate with proven success in a variety of different environments. Being wildly successful in Christchurch is obviously still an achievement but replicating that elsewhere or at least showing the ability to achieve something outside of that domain would have proven Razors qualities.
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@Old-Alleynians said in All Blacks 2025:
@Dan54
The chair will appoint a new ceo and away we go.Ok mate, I actually thought NZR board was same as provincial boards and they appointed the CEO. I genuinely didn't think the chair was given that much leeway
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@nzzp said in All Blacks 2025:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2025:
What core skills of his position he's playing to the requisite standard.
Defence.
Arguably kicking.
Probably not passing.
Defensive ruck work definitely.
He's not going to win you a game, but her won't shit the bed either.
So he's a tiny loose forward. A Justin Marshall type halfback.
Given his well documented shortcomings as a halfback, combined with our lethargic, predictable attack, he shouldn't be in the squad.
And I acknowledge that within the current squad, he's better than Ratima. Which is a great concern.
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@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2025:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2025:
@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2025:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2025:
@Dan54 said in Wales v All Blacks:
I don't get the Christie hate we get on here, I think he is ok.
That alone disqualifies you from commenting Dan. He's garbage for all the reasons I've been laying out for years.
And that is a damning indictment on the coaches when Ratima is preferred over him. Just once I'd like to see a journalist ask why Fakatava is below them in the picking order.
Ok, so if I don't follow your thoughts, I not supposed to comment huh?
One way of being right on a forum I suppose, either agree with you or you are disqualified from making a comment.If you're going to be contrarian about a player almost everyone else agrees is not up to standard and shouldn't be selected, it behoves you to tell us what we're missing. What core skills of his position he's playing to the requisite standard.
Otherwise we're not the wiser and I don't know what the fuck you're talking about.
I just of the opinion that Christie is not as bad as many make out. I thought he a step up from Ratima , in speed of distribution etc, and could see difference today, I don't think he ever fist choice if I picking the team, but nor would I discount him completely, and do say after seeing the ABXV lay I would probably have Fakatava ahead of him , now, but wouldn't of earlier in year.
And who is almost everyone else, a few here don't like him, which is their right, but doesn't mean I can't say I not that much against him.
Oh just out of interest , are the almost everyone else his coaches at super level and test among the almost everyone?I'm not the only person who can't understand why Funaki isn't the Blues #1 halfback. And given the discontent surrounding the current All Black squad, it seems few have any regard for Hansen's ability to select either.
I get that he's a known quantity, experienced, and some might extend themselves to say he's a safe pair of hands, but in a contest you're trying to win rather than not lose, he's a liability.
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@antipodean said in All Blacks 2025:
@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2025:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2025:
@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2025:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2025:
@Dan54 said in Wales v All Blacks:
I don't get the Christie hate we get on here, I think he is ok.
That alone disqualifies you from commenting Dan. He's garbage for all the reasons I've been laying out for years.
And that is a damning indictment on the coaches when Ratima is preferred over him. Just once I'd like to see a journalist ask why Fakatava is below them in the picking order.
Ok, so if I don't follow your thoughts, I not supposed to comment huh?
One way of being right on a forum I suppose, either agree with you or you are disqualified from making a comment.If you're going to be contrarian about a player almost everyone else agrees is not up to standard and shouldn't be selected, it behoves you to tell us what we're missing. What core skills of his position he's playing to the requisite standard.
Otherwise we're not the wiser and I don't know what the fuck you're talking about.
I just of the opinion that Christie is not as bad as many make out. I thought he a step up from Ratima , in speed of distribution etc, and could see difference today, I don't think he ever fist choice if I picking the team, but nor would I discount him completely, and do say after seeing the ABXV lay I would probably have Fakatava ahead of him , now, but wouldn't of earlier in year.
And who is almost everyone else, a few here don't like him, which is their right, but doesn't mean I can't say I not that much against him.
Oh just out of interest , are the almost everyone else his coaches at super level and test among the almost everyone?I'm not the only person who can't understand why Funaki isn't the Blues #1 halfback. And given the discontent surrounding the current All Black squad, it seems few have any regard for Hansen's ability to select either.
I get that he's a known quantity, experienced, and some might extend themselves to say he's a safe pair of hands, but in a contest you're trying to win rather than not lose, he's a liability.
It puzzles me as to why Cotter preferred Christie and BB over Funaki and Plummer. Are we just not seeing something, or was Cotter slurping the cool aid, and he got lucky when injuries struck and he won with Plummer at the helm the year before? Of course I realise BB was in Japan