2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year

MN5

@sparky said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

@MN5 Because he's a genuine game-breaker. Look at who topped the TSF Man of the Match polls for the ABs this year and by how much.

He's currently the best player in his family I'll give him that but he hasn't had a vintage year.....came back from Ireland and the old habits crept in...then he got injured.

sparky

@MN5 Jordie's big work on is to play more error free, but what he does that's good is amazing IMHO. Rescuing the ABs from the poo a couple of times this year. I'm a big fan.

booboo

@sparky said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

topped the TSF Man of the Match polls for the ABs this year

Kind of a low bar...

Mr Fish

A pretty good team, to be honest. Strongly disagree with Jordan at fullback but otherwise, no obvious issues. Beirne and Kolbe maybe a little controversial.

MiketheSnow

Yeah
No Ramos, Penaud
No Argies

Mr Fish

@MiketheSnow said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

Yeah
No Ramos, Penaud
No Argies

Would have Ramos, Willemse or Carreras at fullback. Carreras suffered a bit from playing between both 10 and 15 - not sure he had as strong a body of work as Ramos.

antipodean

@MN5 said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

@sparky said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

Sparky's team of the year

1 Nché (SA) 2 Codie Taylor (NZ) 3 Thomas Du Toit (SA) 4 Itoje (Eng) 5 Holland (NZ) 6 PSDT (SA) 7 Pollock (Eng) 8 Earl (Eng) 9 Roigard (NZ) 10 Russell (Scot) 11 LBB (France) 12 Jordie Barrett (NZ) 13 Huw Jones (Scotland) 14 Kolbe (SA) 15 Ramos (France)

Maybe not objectively 'the best players' but guys with flair and sharp rugby brains who I loved watching in 2025.

How the hell did Jordie make it ?

The same way Pollock apparently made it despite sitting on the bench for any top team he made.

antipodean

In the spirit of the topic and TSF's motto, some of my suggestions may be shit posting. The challenge is to guess which is which.

Canes4life

My 1st XV for the year:

Ox Niche (South Africa)
Malcolm Marx (South Africa)
Thomas Du Toit (South Africa)
Maro Itoje (England)
RG Snyman (South Africa)
Pieter Steph-Du Toit (South Africa)
Pablo Matera (Argentina)
Harry Wilson (Australia)
Cam Roigard (New Zealand)
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (South Africa)
Louie Bielle-Biarrey (France)
Len Ikitau (Australia)
Huw Jones (Scotland)
Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa)
Damian Willemse (South Africa)

MN5

@Canes4life said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

My 1st XV for the year:

Ox Niche (South Africa)

Malcolm Marx (South Africa)

Thomas Du Toit (South Africa)

Maro Itoje (England)

RG Snyman (South Africa)

Pieter Steph-Du Toit (South Africa)

Pablo Matera (Argentina)

Harry Wilson (Australia)

Cam Roigard (New Zealand)

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (South Africa)

Louie Bielle-Biarrey (France)

Len Ikitau (Australia)

Huw Jones (Scotland)

Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa)

Damian Willemse (South Africa)

No Billy Proctor ?

Canes4life

@MN5 said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

@Canes4life said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

My 1st XV for the year:

Ox Niche (South Africa)

Malcolm Marx (South Africa)

Thomas Du Toit (South Africa)

Maro Itoje (England)

RG Snyman (South Africa)

Pieter Steph-Du Toit (South Africa)

Pablo Matera (Argentina)

Harry Wilson (Australia)

Cam Roigard (New Zealand)

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (South Africa)

Louie Bielle-Biarrey (France)

Len Ikitau (Australia)

Huw Jones (Scotland)

Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa)

Damian Willemse (South Africa)

No Billy Proctor ?

I wish, tempted to put Riley Higgins in there though.

MN5

@Canes4life said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

@MN5 said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

@Canes4life said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

My 1st XV for the year:

Ox Niche (South Africa)

Malcolm Marx (South Africa)

Thomas Du Toit (South Africa)

Maro Itoje (England)

RG Snyman (South Africa)

Pieter Steph-Du Toit (South Africa)

Pablo Matera (Argentina)

Harry Wilson (Australia)

Cam Roigard (New Zealand)

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (South Africa)

Louie Bielle-Biarrey (France)

Len Ikitau (Australia)

Huw Jones (Scotland)

Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa)

Damian Willemse (South Africa)

No Billy Proctor ?

I wish, tempted to put Riley Higgins in there though.

All silliness aside Good team......

two Australians seems like an awful lot though !

I'd go Jack Dempsey at 8 but then that would make two ~~Australians~~ Scotsmen which is probably too many !

mariner4life

i think there have been a few Aussies that have stood out this year as being outstanding, but they're let down by a lot of the team being either substandard or below expectation.

canefan

One Kiwi....

Canes4life

@MN5 said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

@Canes4life said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

@MN5 said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

@Canes4life said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

My 1st XV for the year:

Ox Niche (South Africa)

Malcolm Marx (South Africa)

Thomas Du Toit (South Africa)

Maro Itoje (England)

RG Snyman (South Africa)

Pieter Steph-Du Toit (South Africa)

Pablo Matera (Argentina)

Harry Wilson (Australia)

Cam Roigard (New Zealand)

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (South Africa)

Louie Bielle-Biarrey (France)

Len Ikitau (Australia)

Huw Jones (Scotland)

Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa)

Damian Willemse (South Africa)

No Billy Proctor ?

I wish, tempted to put Riley Higgins in there though.

All silliness aside Good team......

two Australians seems like an awful lot though !

I'd go Jack Dempsey at 8 but then that would make two ~~Australians~~ Scotsmen which is probably too many.......

Russell probably the other Scot unlucky to miss out, he had a very good season. Lock was my hardest pick, Holland had a good year, but I wouldn't class him as top two. Snyman seemed to dominate when he played so I picked him alongside the obvious Itoje.

MN5

@canefan said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

One Kiwi....

Lucky to get that many. Only other real candidates are Taylor and Holland. No one else.

MN5

@Canes4life said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

@MN5 said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

@Canes4life said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

@MN5 said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

@Canes4life said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

My 1st XV for the year:

Ox Niche (South Africa)

Malcolm Marx (South Africa)

Thomas Du Toit (South Africa)

Maro Itoje (England)

RG Snyman (South Africa)

Pieter Steph-Du Toit (South Africa)

Pablo Matera (Argentina)

Harry Wilson (Australia)

Cam Roigard (New Zealand)

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (South Africa)

Louie Bielle-Biarrey (France)

Len Ikitau (Australia)

Huw Jones (Scotland)

Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa)

Damian Willemse (South Africa)

No Billy Proctor ?

I wish, tempted to put Riley Higgins in there though.

All silliness aside Good team......

two Australians seems like an awful lot though !

I'd go Jack Dempsey at 8 but then that would make two ~~Australians~~ Scotsmen which is probably too many.......

Russell probably the other Scot unlucky to miss out, he had a very good season. Lock was my hardest pick, Holland had a good year, but I wouldn't class him as top two. Snyman seemed to dominate when he played so I picked him alongside the obvious Itoje.

Big fan of his work, even more than @MiketheSnow is. If he'd done the unthinkable and led the Scots to wins over the ABs and the Argies he woulda walked in.

But I think we're seeing the next Dan Carter in that young SA fella whose name I'm not going to try and spell.

canefan

@MN5 said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

@canefan said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

One Kiwi....

Lucky to get that many. Only other real candidates are Taylor and Holland. No one else.

Agreed

canefan

Not many would even make the bench...

MN5

@canefan said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

Not many would even make the bench...

Ardie and B Barrett. IMPACT !!!!!!!!!!!