All Blacks 2026
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@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
I'm not really a fan of BB as starter.
That’s a very nice way of putting it. As a starter he rarely challenges the line, shovels ball sideways. Cross kicks incessantly especially under advantage which is such an all or nothing play. But has uncanny ball skills and acceleration - plays his best rugby in the broken field situations you more often get at the end of a game.
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@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@westie_boy said in All Blacks 2026:
@gt12 said in All Blacks 2026:
It was fascinating to hear Paul mention Joseph, Brown and Rennie together as a team, as it had already been hinted at by someone in this thread I think.
The discussions from Kirk about giving freedom to choose / select assistants was welcome, we might have some movement towards NZRU being a professional organization now that Robinson is finally fucked right off.
Paul also mentioned another name for possible coach, Ian Foster….
Doubt he'd be interested after the way he was treated.
Doubt we'd be interested after the way his teams underperformed.
Would probably make a good manager though. -
@kev said in All Blacks 2026:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
I'm not really a fan of BB as starter.
That’s a very nice way of putting it. As a starter he rarely challenges the line, shovels ball sideways. Cross kicks incessantly especially under advantage which is such an all or nothing play. But has uncanny ball skills and acceleration - plays his best rugby in the broken field situations you more often get at the end of a game.
Used to. A long time ago.
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@kev said in All Blacks 2026:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
I'm not really a fan of BB as starter.
That’s a very nice way of putting it. As a starter he rarely challenges the line, shovels ball sideways. Cross kicks incessantly especially under advantage which is such an all or nothing play. But has uncanny ball skills and acceleration - plays his best rugby in the broken field situations you more often get at the end of a game.
... and at fullback, not 10.
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@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
Would probably make a good manager though.
Ironically, would seemingly be a great HR vibes guy.
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@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2026:
@Darren more that most of those comments were directly from here
Oh yeah, SF totally broke the news. George and Landers
Be nice if the social media people would give credit when it is totally due. -
@Bones said in All Blacks 2026:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
Would probably make a good manager though.
Ironically, would seemingly be a great HR vibes guy.
Yep, and you have to wonder whether player loyalty to Foster meant there was a bit of angst at him being treated badly, which easily translates into anti-Robertson feeling when things aren't going well. Combine that with factions within the team and shit can go south quick.
Regardless of that, the right decision has been made this time - whereas last time it was a shit-show. You can't say you're firing someone then back down under player power, then neuter them by installing assistants. That's a recipe for disaster, for players getting too big for their boots. The stuff on a new coach choosing assistants is good, it makes plain where the buck stops. The crucial next step is making sure the players are in their box from now on. -
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
Yep, and you have to wonder whether player loyalty to Foster meant there was a bit of angst at him being treated badly, which easily translates into anti-Robertson feeling when things aren't going well. Combine that with factions within the team and shit can go south quick.
Yep. Foster def. to blame for Robertson's departure.......
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@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
Yep, and you have to wonder whether player loyalty to Foster meant there was a bit of angst at him being treated badly, which easily translates into anti-Robertson feeling when things aren't going well. Combine that with factions within the team and shit can go south quick.
Yep. Foster def. to blame for Robertson's departure.......
Oh piss off mate. You're even going to come to his defence for imagined slights now?
Amazing Ian Foster 1 point loss with 14 men to best everest Boks!
Or in reality: worse coaching record than the guy who just got deservedly sacked. -
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@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:
Yep, and you have to wonder whether player loyalty to Foster meant there was a bit of angst at him being treated badly, which easily translates into anti-Robertson feeling when things aren't going well. Combine that with factions within the team and shit can go south quick.
Yep. Foster def. to blame for Robertson's departure.......
Oh piss off mate. You're even going to come to his defence for imagined slights now?
Amazing Ian Foster 1 point loss with 14 men to best everest Boks!
Or in reality: worse coaching record than the guy who just got deservedly sacked.Defence? Accused of that - and more - multiple times when I argued the problems weren't all down to Foster.
Remind us again how the magic solution of swapping the coaching team went.....
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Was trying to imagine what the factions inside camp were. Realised that alongside the Crusaders and the Islanders, the other faction must be the golfers. The crusaders were walking around like teachers pets having bants, inside jokes and glory days with Razor, the islanders would do morning prayer and a cup of tea with Jason Ryan and then try to avoid the crusaders crew - meanwhile the golfers are actively avoiding scott hansen and trying to set up meet ups with PGA bros and new sponsorships, editing golf clips and coming up with business ideas. All adding up to major disharmony in the camp
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@Tim said in All Blacks 2026:
Reading that piece, i have to ask who in NZR was looking after Robertson and providing feedback and guidance when he was clearly and obviously out of his comfort zone/depth. If the NZR Board were shocked or surprised by the player feedback, why were they?
Sounds like poor man managament wasn't just in the AB dressing room.
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Ok I got question for posters going forward this year. We have opinions on BB , Ardie etc being in team. If they are still picked by new coach, are you still going to get behind them, or are you perhaps going to admit that they should be there? Or are we smarter than even another AB coach? Remembering they pick players for how they want team to play, and with all the info on them, not from watching a bit on tv (with just a few angles) and occasional trip to a game. I will be interested to see responses from whatever players etc are picked.
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@Victor-Meldrew yeah I asked the question re the 2024 player reviews, surely this highlighted issues.
Or did shit just hit the fan in 2025?
Do we keep pointing fingers to Robinson here? He'd have been aware, or should have been?
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The individual who should be the next All Blacks coach is the candidate who can give the best answer to this obvious interview question: " We are likely to play a World Cup quarter final against the Springboks. They've won the last two World Cups, How is your side going to beat them in that crucial game for our team?"
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@Dan54 That will be the most interesting watch when the new coaching team is assembled what they do with those 2..
I think most likely both stay in the squad due to their experience etc but hopefully less game time (bench roles prefer) but put down to better player welfare/management.
Others will be given time in the saddle to develop depth and test match experience and hopefully they thrive and the others then begin to be phased out slowly but surely.
Thats how I see it - injuries always come into selections and if DMac and all the loosies fall over then you may need a safety net for big tests.
I see that more likely than say JJ gets the role and wants to wield his axe dropping what he doesn't want onto the scrap heap..
Its been done before though - Laurie with the Whettons etc but times have changed -
@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2026:
Ok I got question for posters going forward this year. We have opinions on BB , Ardie etc being in team. If they are still picked by new coach, are you still going to get behind them, or are you perhaps going to admit that they should be there? Or are we smarter than even another AB coach? Remembering they pick players for how they want team to play, and with all the info on them, not from watching a bit on tv (with just a few angles) and occasional trip to a game. I will be interested to see responses from whatever players etc are picked.
I expect both will be selected in the first squad of the year and may even be starting initially. If they do get to play and play well, that's great and I'll admit I was wrong. If they play and continue to play poorly, they should be dropped. If they're not, the new coaching group will be making the same mistakes. I won't admit I've been wrong to criticise the players just because the new coaches select them - it's down to performance.
