All Blacks 2026
-
JJ and Cotter are 2 currently contracted to NZR, so assuming they apply would be easy in terms of existing contracts, with MP, who is Tana contracted to?
Others, like Brown, Schmidt and assume Rennie are currently contracted so even if they apply may have stand down period as you'd assume if they have to be bought out of contracts won't apply.
-
-
@booboo said in All Blacks 2026:
Looking forward I've had a thought about appointing a captain and whether that is necessary.
May have mentioned it and I'm sure the eventual head coach will take this on board but ... don't appoint a captain.
Appoint a senior leadership group.
Allows you to pick a XV/XXIII free from being obliged to pick certain bloke. Once you've got your team, then appoint a captain(s). And feel free to sub any of them on or off.
Am thinking along the lines of (retaining) Scooter, Paddy T, Ardie, Codie, someone in the backs...
Or do the football thing. Appointment a ‘club’ captain. Doesn’t always start, depending on circumstances, but holds sway. Allows you to have 1-2 other senior guys who can step up to captain; gives flexibility.
-
@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2026:
@jimmyb said in All Blacks 2026:
Fairly biting remakes from Smith. Not saying I agree it was a bad decision, but interesting nonetheless
That is interesting, because Smith was - I think - still in his performance coach role with the ABs so surely someone who was interviewed and presumably had supportive things to say.
"Disaffected players speak behind your back and get to rubbish you, incognito, during end-of-campaign reviews," he said.
I think that is an issue. There is the power dynamic of not wanting to ruin your selection chances by criticising a coach directly. But context can help you respond to criticism if you’re the coach.
Hard to know what the future holds. I bet the Warriors wish they had never let Ivan Cleary go - a shocking decision. Still based on performance and trends this seems like the right call.
Wonder how long they will take to appoint the new coach?
-
@kev said in All Blacks 2026:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2026:
@jimmyb said in All Blacks 2026:
Fairly biting remakes from Smith. Not saying I agree it was a bad decision, but interesting nonetheless
That is interesting, because Smith was - I think - still in his performance coach role with the ABs so surely someone who was interviewed and presumably had supportive things to say.
"Disaffected players speak behind your back and get to rubbish you, incognito, during end-of-campaign reviews," he said.
I think that is an issue. There is the power dynamic of not wanting to ruin your selection chances by criticising a coach directly. But context can help you respond to criticism if you’re the coach.
Hard to know what the future holds. I bet the Warriors wish they had never let Ivan Cleary go - a shocking decision. Still based on performance and trends this seems like the right call.
Wonder how long they will take to appoint the new coach?
I thought Cleary left because the Wahs wouldn't give him a contract term that he asked for?
-
@kev said in All Blacks 2026:
@Chris-B said in All Blacks 2026:
@jimmyb said in All Blacks 2026:
Fairly biting remakes from Smith. Not saying I agree it was a bad decision, but interesting nonetheless
That is interesting, because Smith was - I think - still in his performance coach role with the ABs so surely someone who was interviewed and presumably had supportive things to say.
"Disaffected players speak behind your back and get to rubbish you, incognito, during end-of-campaign reviews," he said.
I think that is an issue. There is the power dynamic of not wanting to ruin your selection chances by criticising a coach directly. But context can help you respond to criticism if you’re the coach.
Hard to know what the future holds. I bet the Warriors wish they had never let Ivan Cleary go - a shocking decision. Still based on performance and trends this seems like the right call.
Wonder how long they will take to appoint the new coach?
If it were one or two disaffected players, that would likely be seen for what it is. In my field, I have reviews all the time and usually get bagged (anonymously) by a few.
Nevertheless, unless there is a pattern and instances of treatment that can be termed objectively unfair or unprofessional, those sorts of comments get rightly ignored.
In this case, it simply sounds like tge Razor coaching team couldn’t adjust to the next level of rugby, and if the pattern is that it doesn’t feel like high performance and isn’t trending in that direction, now is the time to act.
-
@kev said in All Blacks 2026:
I bet the Warriors wish they had never let Ivan Cleary go - a shocking decision. Still based on performance and trends this seems like the right call.
Cleary situation seemed more like Foster where it was announced earlier in the year he was leaving and ended up making the final in his last year.
-
-
@george33 said in All Blacks 2026:
Liam Napier sounds like he's taking his stories from the Fern then adding a few extras listening to him on ZB could be completely wrong just saying.
Much better to do it from here than some of the Facebook comments that I'm seeing
Plenty of them are our Awful analysis, incorrect conclusions, zero insight. Wrong about pretty much everything literally...
-
@booboo said in All Blacks 2026:
@booboo said in All Blacks 2026:
Looking forward I've had a thought about appointing a captain and whether that is necessary.
May have mentioned it and I'm sure the eventual head coach will take this on board but ... don't appoint a captain.
Appoint a senior leadership group.
Allows you to pick a XV/XXIII free from being obliged to pick certain bloke. Once you've got your team, then appoint a captain(s). And feel free to sub any of them on or off.
Am thinking along the lines of (retaining) Scooter, Paddy T, Ardie, Codie, someone in the backs...
Maybe bring some of the younger guys through too ... Vaa'i, Sititi, Roigard...
Roigard and Jordie are the brains of this team as it stands.
-
@george33 said in All Blacks 2026:
Liam Napier sounds like he's taking his stories from the Fern then adding a few extras listening to him on ZB could be completely wrong just saying.
If he uses “sunshine boys” or “crest on front being bigger than any name on the back” I call shenanigans.
-
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@MN5 said in All Blacks 2026:
The team needs a fresh start. I'd pick Wallace Sititi. ( despite a less than impressive second season )
When Dalton Papalii is there to do the heavy lifting he'll shine again.
Too early for Wallace and Roigard IMHO but they def. need to be in the Snr Mgmnt group.
How does Sititi get mentioned in the same breath as senior management group? He's a two year All Black with less than 50 first class games to his name and hardly first choice XV.
-
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@MN5 said in All Blacks 2026:
The team needs a fresh start. I'd pick Wallace Sititi. ( despite a less than impressive second season )
When Dalton Papalii is there to do the heavy lifting he'll shine again.
Too early for Wallace and Roigard IMHO but they def. need to be in the Snr Mgmnt group.
How does Sititi get mentioned in the same breath as senior management group? He's a two year All Black with less than 50 first class games to his name and hardly first choice XV.
There was talk of him being a potential future captain because he had certain qualities people liked but that ‘potential’ and ‘future’ seems a long way off. He needs to concentrate on playing well.
-
@Frank said in All Blacks 2026:
Tana can be the cultural connector or whatever that is, fine, but I don't want him anywhere near strategy or the other details of coaching. He SUCKED at the Blues.
Maybe a defence coach. I think there’s better options than him though
-
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@MN5 said in All Blacks 2026:
The team needs a fresh start. I'd pick Wallace Sititi. ( despite a less than impressive second season )
When Dalton Papalii is there to do the heavy lifting he'll shine again.
Too early for Wallace and Roigard IMHO but they def. need to be in the Snr Mgmnt group.
How does Sititi get mentioned in the same breath as senior management group? He's a two year All Black with less than 50 first class games to his name and hardly first choice XV.
Yes, I mentioned him as one to look at for the future. I stand by that.
Forgot to mention Papalii.
-
@pakman said in All Blacks 2026:
Check out 3.34:
Anyone else getting weird vibes from this clip??
Ardie going through his gospel, looks like a cult leader.
And everyone clicking their fingers to show support rather than clapping like most normal humans, as if to indicate they are more aware and morally righteous for clicking in a room where I assume no one in it has high sensitivity to noise considering they play in packed stadiums??
And then why is he going through counting the number of Islanders/fijians in the team that are starting and celebrating as if a quota has been met?
Our diversity should be celebrated and rightfully so..but the vibe here feels more divisive as opposed to inclusive.
I'm happy Razor is gone, but I get toxic vibes from Ardie, and worry the more he sticks around the more he is influencing the newbies joining the group ie Sititi and co.
Albeit I also cringe seeing the golfing group in the ABs as well.
Starting to look like a cliche high school movie from the outside with all the cliques.
