All Blacks 2025
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So where does Robertson go from here? The positives were the lineout, the form of Taylor and Roigard, and the development of Holland and Lord. Very little else.
Defence, scrum, high ball, kicking game, ruck work, ball carrying, midfield all massive concerns. Scrum, high ball, ruck, defence could be helped by specialist coaches, but need better selections too. Ellison is fucking shithouse and needs to go ASAP. We don't have a specialist scrum coach, IIRC.
Does Robertson go back to what he knows best and double down on Crusaders players? He will have his great hope, Mounga, returning ...
Looks very bleak to me.
@Tim My guess is that the only way Robertson survives is to throw most his assistants and senior players under the bus so that's what he'll try.
I don't see him as the type who will quit so I guess he'll send for ROG, Wayne Smith and Jamie Joseph, then try to find a new captain next year.
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So where does Robertson go from here? The positives were the lineout, the form of Taylor and Roigard, and the development of Holland and Lord. Very little else.
Defence, scrum, high ball, kicking game, ruck work, ball carrying, midfield all massive concerns. Scrum, high ball, ruck, defence could be helped by specialist coaches, but need better selections too. Ellison is fucking shithouse and needs to go ASAP. We don't have a specialist scrum coach, IIRC.
Does Robertson go back to what he knows best and double down on Crusaders players? He will have his great hope, Mounga, returning ...
Looks very bleak to me.
@Tim said in All Blacks 2025:
So where does Robertson go from here? The positives were the lineout, the form of Taylor and Roigard, and the development of Holland and Lord. Very little else.
Defence, scrum, high ball, kicking game, ruck work, ball carrying, midfield all massive concerns. Scrum, high ball, ruck, defence could be helped by specialist coaches, but need better selections too. Ellison is fucking shithouse and needs to go ASAP. We don't have a specialist scrum coach, IIRC.
Does Robertson go back to what he knows best and double down on Crusaders players? He will have his great hope, Mounga, returning ...
Looks very bleak to me.
I agree with all that but compared with Fosters era we do have a forward pack that can compete with anyone.
Not having Lomax, Holland, Vaai and Roigard's injury hindered us a bit this time and the leadership / game plan was shit. -
I'm waiting for this cycle to end tbh. I can't see any improvement going into next year and yeah, we may go on a run in the RWC as sometimes not the best teams can go far in that tournament, but it's been a disappointing 2 years by our standards, similar to the last cycle, but funnily enough, towards the end of that last cycle, I did see some improvement.
Seeing the back of Savea, the Barrett's (well, 2 of them at least), the other squad members that have been around forever that are still around the squad, and this coaching staff and being able to start fresh hopefully will be nice from 2028 onwards where we don't have senior players well past their best holding the jersey hostage.
We do have the cattle, there's no doubt about that, but we either aren't seeing it, or the coaches aren't getting the best out of it.
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@Tim said in All Blacks 2025:
Man, I really would prefer Plummer over Barrett at the Blues next season.
I still don't know why Cotter gave the team back to BB after Plummer won him the title the year before. BB is kissed on the cosk so much but is so undeserving now days
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Eventually, sport gives you the truth. One of few things in life that does. For me the biggest storyline from 2025, barring a defeat next week, will be France bringing their C team. Had they brought their lunch, the truth would have surfaced much earlier.
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I'm waiting for this cycle to end tbh. I can't see any improvement going into next year and yeah, we may go on a run in the RWC as sometimes not the best teams can go far in that tournament, but it's been a disappointing 2 years by our standards, similar to the last cycle, but funnily enough, towards the end of that last cycle, I did see some improvement.
Seeing the back of Savea, the Barrett's (well, 2 of them at least), the other squad members that have been around forever that are still around the squad, and this coaching staff and being able to start fresh hopefully will be nice from 2028 onwards where we don't have senior players well past their best holding the jersey hostage.
We do have the cattle, there's no doubt about that, but we either aren't seeing it, or the coaches aren't getting the best out of it.
“Congratulations Beauden Barrett on your 200th test, especially in this important 2028 Rugby Championship clash against the Springboks.”
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“Congratulations Beauden Barrett on your 200th test, especially in this important 2028 Rugby Championship clash against the Springboks.”
@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks 2025:
“Congratulations Beauden Barrett on your 200th test, especially in this important 2028 Rugby Championship clash against the Springboks.”
Don't give them ideas, they're probably reading.
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https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/360887652/where-did-it-all-go-wrong-all-blacks-against-england-london
All Blacks coach Scott Robertson is certain to make changes for the test against Wales, but you would expect he won't tell captain Scott Barrett to take a rest.
Barrett won't have an appetite to return home in the knowledge his most recent appearance for the All Blacks was while giving interviews as the defeated commander in chief.
Robertson, who is contracted to NZ Rugby through to the 2027 World Cup, is likely to be asked tough questions from the board when he returns Down Under.
Things are busy on the home front. There's a whiff of change in the air.
Hmm ... We can only hope that an intelligent chairman gets rid of an idiot coach.
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One of the biggest hopes for next year is that Lomax and Tu'ungufasi are fit all season long. We desperately need more ball carrying from our props. de Groot is particularly useless as a carrier. Williams in top form would be a massive improvement for us.
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One of the biggest hopes for next year is that Lomax and Tu'ungufasi are fit all season long. We desperately need more ball carrying from our props. de Groot is particularly useless as a carrier. Williams in top form would be a massive improvement for us.
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Parker, Finau, Jacobson, Sititi - all complete failures this year from the Chiefs. Same players responsible for their team having a record loss in the 2024 SR final, a loss in the 2025 quarter final, and didn't fire a shot in 2025 final.
Picking all four of them was insane. To make matters worse, the retard coach picked Vaai at 6 too. No imagination, let alone intelligence or analytical ability.
Good lord, what a shit group of players.
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Parker, Finau, Jacobson, Sititi - all complete failures this year from the Chiefs. Same players responsible for their team having a record loss in the 2024 SR final, a loss in the 2025 quarter final, and didn't fire a shot in 2025 final.
Picking all four of them was insane. To make matters worse, the retard coach picked Vaai at 6 too. No imagination, let alone intelligence or analytical ability.
Good lord, what a shit group of players.
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@gt12 The flip argument is he is getting no game time because he has been poor - which begs the question, why haven't they tried someone else?
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The absolute worst selection this year for me was Sevu Reece. The guy is shit at test level, as was revealed constantly in 2024. He is never making the world cup, he is never doing anything good. Why the fuck was he there. Terrible. Only an idiot would select him.
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Well Holland already jumped/pushed.
Hansen, Ellison to go?...but again, who comes in for these guys? Cupboard seems bare right now.
What's worse, is the shit show extends beyond this coaching team, NZR has shit on thier hands, right back to how Foster was appointed, how Razor was appointed and the whole process.
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Parker, Finau, Jacobson, Sititi - all complete failures this year from the Chiefs. Same players responsible for their team having a record loss in the 2024 SR final, a loss in the 2025 quarter final, and didn't fire a shot in 2025 final.
Picking all four of them was insane. To make matters worse, the retard coach picked Vaai at 6 too. No imagination, let alone intelligence or analytical ability.
Good lord, what a shit group of players.
@Tim said in All Blacks 2025:
Parker, Finau, Jacobson, Sititi - all complete failures this year from the Chiefs. Same players responsible for their team having a record loss in the 2024 SR final, a loss in the 2025 quarter final, and didn't fire a shot in 2025 final.
Picking all four of them was insane. To make matters worse, the retard coach picked Vaai at 6 too. No imagination, let alone intelligence or analytical ability.
Good lord, what a shit group of players.
chiefs were only team to pick big 6s , next year looks like other teams are going to as well, may the best big win
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@Tim said in All Blacks 2025:
So where does Robertson go from here? The positives were the lineout, the form of Taylor and Roigard, and the development of Holland and Lord. Very little else.
Defence, scrum, high ball, kicking game, ruck work, ball carrying, midfield all massive concerns. Scrum, high ball, ruck, defence could be helped by specialist coaches, but need better selections too. Ellison is fucking shithouse and needs to go ASAP. We don't have a specialist scrum coach, IIRC.
Does Robertson go back to what he knows best and double down on Crusaders players? He will have his great hope, Mounga, returning ...
Looks very bleak to me.
I agree with all that but compared with Fosters era we do have a forward pack that can compete with anyone.
Not having Lomax, Holland, Vaai and Roigard's injury hindered us a bit this time and the leadership / game plan was shit.@BerniesCorner said in All Blacks 2025:
we do have a forward pack that can compete with anyone
Except England and Sth Africa - and poss. Argentina.
What's worrying is Ryan has done a great job with the tight 5, players selected by Foster have been developed and new talent like Holland brought into the team - yet they still go to shit for extended periods regularly.
There's something very wrong with the headspace/culture of this team - and it isn't getting any better
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@BerniesCorner said in All Blacks 2025:
we do have a forward pack that can compete with anyone
Except England and Sth Africa - and poss. Argentina.
What's worrying is Ryan has done a great job with the tight 5, players selected by Foster have been developed and new talent like Holland brought into the team - yet they still go to shit for extended periods regularly.
There's something very wrong with the headspace/culture of this team - and it isn't getting any better
@Victor-Meldrew You are arguing with an old boomer retard. The only person I have blocked on here.
