2025 All Blacks v France series
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@brodean said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
Overall there seems to be some height and weight in the locks/backrow.
The backs don't seem particularly big.
There are not too many very young players. There are a lot of players in their mid twenties which should be hitting their peak.
Actually I thought the flankers look on paper tall but light and apart from locks and some props that looks like a very light team. Probably very fast though
@nostrildamus said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
@brodean said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
Overall there seems to be some height and weight in the locks/backrow.
The backs don't seem particularly big.
There are not too many very young players. There are a lot of players in their mid twenties which should be hitting their peak.
Actually I thought the flankers look on paper tall but light and apart from locks and some props that looks like a very light team. Probably very fast though
Irrelevant. The game is played on a field, not on paper.
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@DMX said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
@Victor-Meldrew said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
@Bovidae said in 2025 All Blacks Squad v France:
The pressure will be on Robertson and the ABs to win 3-0.
Hopefully people/press see the series as a real opportunity for Robertson to put his stamp on things and chance his arm a bit. Ideal scenario is getting 2-0 up and having the confidence to give people like Proctor & Love plenty of game time.
I would really be hoping that Proctor is in pole position and starts all three tests.
Don't think he will. Probably be Roigard/BB/JB/RI/WJ with Caleb Clarke & Reece on the wings to start Frog 1. Maybe Ratima/DMac will start. Conservative for first Test
Hopefully see Proctor& QT given plenty of game time and start in Frog 3
@Victor-Meldrew said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
@DMX said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
@Victor-Meldrew said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
@Bovidae said in 2025 All Blacks Squad v France:
The pressure will be on Robertson and the ABs to win 3-0.
Hopefully people/press see the series as a real opportunity for Robertson to put his stamp on things and chance his arm a bit. Ideal scenario is getting 2-0 up and having the confidence to give people like Proctor & Love plenty of game time.
I would really be hoping that Proctor is in pole position and starts all three tests.
Don't think he will. Probably be Roigard/BB/JB/RI/WJ with Caleb Clarke & Reece on the wings to start Frog 1.
That's most likely, but it wouldn't be too surprising if Proctor played centre and they pushed Rieko to the wing. I think that's the only way they can cover every position effectively against injury - assuming ALB isn't fit.
QT can probably cover midfield otherwise, but if Rieko (at centre) got injured in the first 10 minutes, you're asking plenty of him to play most of a test at centre.
Similarly, with Billy Proctor covering 2nd five. I recall last year vs Oz they didn't want to do that.
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Well this makes the loose forward mix for the first test very interesting.
It would be perhaps unlikely Jacobson will play too.
So are we looking at Finau, Kirifi, Savea with Lio-Willie off the bench?
@zedsdeadbaby said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
Well this makes the loose forward mix for the first test very interesting.
It would be perhaps unlikely Jacobson will play too.
So are we looking at Finau, Kirifi, Savea with Lio-Willie off the bench?
Or does Vaii start at six..
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id be happy i they wanted to be brave and give CLW a run, we're talking about a light French team
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@zedsdeadbaby said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
Well this makes the loose forward mix for the first test very interesting.
It would be perhaps unlikely Jacobson will play too.
So are we looking at Finau, Kirifi, Savea with Lio-Willie off the bench?
Or does Vaii start at six..
@SouthernMann said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
@zedsdeadbaby said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
Well this makes the loose forward mix for the first test very interesting.
It would be perhaps unlikely Jacobson will play too.
So are we looking at Finau, Kirifi, Savea with Lio-Willie off the bench?
Or does Vaii start at six..
That could happen…Holland debut off the bench at ‘home’
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@brodean said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
Good to Razor had no hard feelings about the Papali'i headbutt.
After Wallace being ruled out, he should probably be in the squad proper. That's a lot of green players in the back row, and I'm not sure Luke will be ready to go judging by the look of him in the final
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@AmberArmy said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
Papali’i coming in ahead of Blackadder is another blight on the current selectors…
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@brodean pretty sure that didn’t happen.
@chchfanatic said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
@brodean pretty sure that didn’t happen.
The headbutt was so strong Razor has no memory of it
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where are all these sick new usernames coming from?
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where are all these sick new usernames coming from?
@mariner4life said in 2025 All Blacks v France series:
where are all these sick new usernames coming from?
unleash the AI
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The selectors are really going hard on the loose forward positions being interchangeable and not being wedded to who's playing where.
I was thinking when they named their original five that actually they had three people who could play each position.
- Finau, Sititi, Jacobson
- Kirifi, Savea, Jacobson
- Sititi, Savea, Jacobson
But with CLW coming in - if Luke is ruled out and Dalton also comes in, really we'd have:
- Finau (I guess Dalton at a pinch)
- Kirifi, Savea, Papali'i
- CLW, Savea
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The selectors are really going hard on the loose forward positions being interchangeable and not being wedded to who's playing where.
I was thinking when they named their original five that actually they had three people who could play each position.
- Finau, Sititi, Jacobson
- Kirifi, Savea, Jacobson
- Sititi, Savea, Jacobson
But with CLW coming in - if Luke is ruled out and Dalton also comes in, really we'd have:
- Finau (I guess Dalton at a pinch)
- Kirifi, Savea, Papali'i
- CLW, Savea
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The selectors are really going hard on the loose forward positions being interchangeable and not being wedded to who's playing where.
I was thinking when they named their original five that actually they had three people who could play each position.
- Finau, Sititi, Jacobson
- Kirifi, Savea, Jacobson
- Sititi, Savea, Jacobson
But with CLW coming in - if Luke is ruled out and Dalton also comes in, really we'd have:
- Finau (I guess Dalton at a pinch)
- Kirifi, Savea, Papali'i
- CLW, Savea
