The Silver Fern

@SBW1 said in All Blacks EOYT:

If we can get our governance sorted out we maybe able to attract guys like Goodhue back. A lot of players who have gone offshore weren't on long contracts. Leicester, Richie and Shannon appear to be coming back, this could be a sign of more to come.

I swear this is an AI Crusaders account sometimes.

Well that was rather tragic viewing. Things that we've known for a while were there for all to see tonight. Having 3 opensides out there was a disaster even before Savea was forced off. They're far too passive playing together on defence and a lack of muscle in there was evident as the Irish virtually walked up the field on attack. Sam Cane wasn't great out there and despite him working hard, a lot of his work was ineffective, but was still a hell of a lot more than what Papali'i produced. He was anonymous all match and certainly isn't a starting test 6 on that evidence. Can't say I really noticed a lot of Ardie out there, certainly not on defence anyway. He made the odd ineffective carry. It's a broken record, but most of us can see that he's perfect foil for the bench. Don't think we need to see Sowakula for the next test. He has hands like feet and not much of a rugby brain in general. He reminds me of Peter Saili with his hands, difference is, is that Saili never got close to a test jersey and rightly so. Surely Sotutu comes in for the next test and hopefully Ioane on the side of the scrum. we need some power out there.

Don't know why Codie Taylor seems to have a mortgage on the 2 jersey. He's been on a steady decline for a while yet he seems to still be one of the first names of the teamsheet! Taukei'aho is well overdue to get his time as a starter now. Taylor, along with Tu'ungafasi, missed tackles and was extremely poor on the carry. Something Taukei'aho does very well with ball in hand is fight for every metre with his low centre of gravity and get you front foot ball, something that we did not get at all tonight as we had no strong ball carriers on for the first 55 minutes. No disrespect to George Bower, he was the most effective one out there along with Barrett and it's frustrating when we have ones sitting either on the bench or in the stands. Tu'ungafasi had a poor night and through no fault of his own, had to stay out there all game. He's another whose best work comes from the bench which we'll most likely see once Laulala returns.

Is Brodie Retallick's time up? I think we all know that he isn't the player he once was, but he was outshone by Scott Barrett tonight and with Sam Whitelock to return, is it time to put Retallick to the bench or even start to bring Tupou Va'ai into the 23? It pains me to say it as I love what Retallick has done for the black jersey, but itstead of bullying opposition, he's starting to get bullied by opposition tight 5s. He's also not getting any younger so maybe it's time to slowly move him on? (I know we won't). His body had taken a battering pre covid, and he hasn't come back the same after returning from Japan 6 kg lighter.

Tupaea and Fai'anganuku had nights to forget, especially Big Leicester. He looked lost out there, made a crucial error in early in the 2nd half, and then made a horrible misread on defence in the lead up to the Irish try before thankfully getting dragged, and with Jordan back and Possibly Clarke, I doubt we'll see him back next week.

Another key battle we lost out there was the aerial battle. Barrett and Smith, once our ball went static (and quite often too), were putting the ball too far, allowing their back 3 to return the ball with no pressure and allowing the Ireland forwards to get back to set up their attack, as well as not giving our wingers a chance to compete more often than not, where as the former Blues reserve halfback during the dark old days Gibson-Park was on point with his kicking from the base, where the Irish competed, and won almost everything in the air. He certainly redeemed himself after having an indifferent game last week .

Mass changes are certainly needed that's for sure after that debacle, I'm not holding my breath as they have proven that they are reluctant to make changes so I'm only expecting there to be about 2 changes max and I'm not on the anti-foster brigade, but I'm getting very close to joining as we seem to be going backwards at a rate of knots.

Just got back from the game......absolutely stoked to finally win down here for once! Credit to the Crusaders for the way they fought back especially when they were down to 14, showing how hard they are to beat no matter the situation, but also credit to the Blues for digging deep especially with a few desperate bits of defending from Rieko on Jordan which led to our first try, and his effort on Gardiner in the corner to win it for us, and also for big Luke Romano and his effort charging down the wing in the 70th minute to attempt to make a cover tackle after the shift he put in. Yes, they ended up with a 5 meter scrum, but its moments like that which live long in the memory. I put my hand up, I thought he shouldn't be playing so many minutes and was well over the hill, but his carries are invaluable and he really gives us a hard edge. Well played big fella.

Everyone really stepped up in the forwards tonight, especially our loose trio led by Dalton Papalii. A superb shift from him and well complemented by Sotutu and Robinson as well as big Ofa who was everywhere.

Hope Hodgman is OK. An awful shot put on him by Barrett. No excuse for it and needs a lengthy suspension for it. Gallagher and Gardiner did well under the circumstances.

Was disappointed with our kicking game just giving it back to Jordan. I wanted to strangle Barrett after that chip which led to the Reece try but in general play he was decent, just his kicking game was poor, and Perofeta didn't have a great night either especially that missed kick on half time. Mounga and Jordan began to drive us back and all we did was hand it back to them instead of putting it in the stands, or going to the air, but we did enough to hold on!

Must say i let a huge celebration on fulltime, with a few glares but they all came and congratulated me which was nice and were generally in good spirits apart from the booing when Barrett got sent off. A great night to be a blues fan, wins in chch dont come everyday thats for sure!

@chchfanatic said in All Blacks 2025:

Sorry just come back on here to see if you’re all still sacking the coach.

Your team plays poorly, the coach usually gets criticised especially as ABs coach. It's how it goes.

You guys in Chch should know this. You spent 4 years trying to get Foster and Cane sacked.

It always helps when Akira's in the starting lineup. He sorted the Pumas out last year when he came in and did much the same last night. Jacobsen was also very strong and worked well with Ioane, where both were stopping the Fiji ball carriers in their tracks. I'm definitely on the Jacobsen bandwagon for the time being, he reminds me of a young Kieran Read style wise. Would like to carry Papali'i off the bench for the Aussie test as he can cover all 3 backrow positions, with the same back row.

I know its only 25 mins against a tiring Fiji pack, but Taukei'aho is certainly one to watch. He could become a regular in the matchday 23 in the not too distant future. Scott Barrett has definitely gone ahead of Tuipulotu as well in the lock department. He gives away penalties at times, but his wor in the tight is more effective than Tuipulotu at this level. Tuipulotu needs to go back to his old role in the side which is a 15-20 minute impact player as he is no starter at this level sadly.

In the backs, I like Havili at 12. He's certainly the most rounded midfielder in the country as he's light on his feet, has the ability to crash and play as another playmaker. If they're gonna keep starting Mo'unga, I feel that Havili has to start outside him. He has the ability to take the pressure off Mo'unga and they've played more than enough rugby together.

My preferred back 3 would be Rieko, Jordan and Jordie with Reece off the bench but it looks like they prefer Reece starting. Not usually a Reece fan, but he's been good against the Fijians, so he deserves a spot for now somewhere in the 23.

Lol Marshall was more than happy to throw Foster under the bus to the South African's at the World Cup by saying that Foster wanted Razor barred from games, tried to have a fight with Akira Ioane after we went down to Ireland at home, and now isn't saying a word of relevance to protect his mate(s).

What a disgrace he and the media are.

Fuck you all, Rieko's the man, give him time!

@Duluth said in All Blacks 2024:

@Chris said in All Blacks 2024:

I agree it is but some of the BS on these threads is over the top.

How does it compare to what you wrote in the previous 2-3 seasons? I think the criticism has been mild

It has. Like, I back every coach we have and I think things will improve once the selectors figure out what they want and who their best side is going forward, but the public and media Came down on Fozzie like a ton of bricks at any opportunity, yet every excuse under the sun is made for Razor and his team.

This will be a great season for bringing Razor down a peg or 2 as well. Enough of these stupid 3 part docos on how great he is, parading around like a drunk idiot at the annual black clash, having everyone telling him how wonderful he is, picking and choosing what rep teams he wants to coach, hiding in SR when in all honesty, he outgrew the comp after about 3-4 seasons and I personally would have liked to have seen him take up another challenge before considering the ABs gig, his answer of 'I don't need to learn overseas, I already did my time over there as a player' something along those lines was of a concern to me, suggested he was too good for that sort of challenge etc. etc. He's also being a bit of a smart arse with his answers now that things aren't all going his way. He's only used to having everything in his favour and asked easy positive questions by the media.

I believe he'll get there eventually and deserves year 2 at least to find the right team and style, but I also think he was a bit smug and thought it would be a lot easier than it has been despite the warnings from Jeff Wilson and the 1% of the public that didn't grease up to him.

@chris Geez mate a bit desperate going to the journalists to back up your point haha. They would have less knowledge than us idiots on here and we're bad enough!

FWIW, I can see why people are criticising Blackadder, but there's something to work with there. Hes a handy player to have in the squad and there's far more upside in his game than Frizzell. I think he'll go better in his next start but probably wouldn't have him in my strongest 23 just yet, but still, far better than last years options Grace and Frizzell who both should never have been anywhere near the squad.

I remember saying after his debut that Taukeiaho is the future and its definitely looking that way. Going forward, I would actually like him and Aumua in our 23 with Taukeiaho starting as his set piece work is far better than Aumua (which Aumua will no doubt improve at) but they sure do get through a lot of work and its effective work as well. Both strong on the carry and hit hard on d. Nothing against Taylor as he's done fairly well in the past, but his form has dipped in the last season or 2 in Black and I'd probably have him as 4th choice now (shows our depth there at the same time). Coles imo, still has a bit to offer and will keep the 2 youngsters honest.

Am I the only one who was very impressed with Vaai? Every time he carried he busted over the advantage line and got us good go forward. I thought he out performed Tuipulotu and is certainly more mobile around the field than Tuipulotu who for me, is no more than a 20 minute player at test level but for me, is the 5th choice lock. Hes a bit slow getting off the deck and is slow to get into defensive position. He'll get caught out in d against a quicker side with halfbacks that will snipe around the ruck and play at a quicker tempo, similar to Luke Romano a few years back, which i feel Tuipulotu is these days, which is another version of Romano. His physicality is also less prominent at the highest level where more often than not he gets caught either on or behind the advantage line with ball in hand. Funnily enough, I think Japanese rugby will help him which usually isn't the case with our big men, as it might speed him up a bit around the field.

Sotutu was back to his best I thought. He picked his moments when to pick and go, targeting the lazy Argies ruck defence and did it brilliantly which led to the first try. Hes been guilty for me of overplaying his hand a lot of the time and trying to pull off the miracle plays but yesterday, he rained it in and we saw how good he can be when he uses his brain. His work off the back of the scrum was also top notch for me, where he got us out of trouble with his carries, as well as playing a part in Perenara's first half try with his work off our attacking scrum. Again, not quite in our strongest starting 23, but he provides good competition for the starters.

Is it just me or has Lomax improved out of sight from last year? He was very strong at scrum time and I like what he brings in the tight (even though he plays on the edge traditionally) but yeah, been really impressed with his game of late. I never thought too much of him in the past, but he looks a much better than what I've seen of him previously and is miles ahead of Ta'avao imo. With Tu'ungafasi's injury record of late, I think Lomax should be there if any injuries occur especially against the bigger more physical sides. Ta'avao is not test standard for me as he is a poor scrummager and is not even effective around the field as he misses tackles and doesn't really carry which is a must for an impact player. I'd consider him as nothing more than an ok Super Rugby player.

Sad to say that I can't see Christie lasting beyond this year as an AB. He didn't seem to enjoy the Argies pressure at ruck and set piece time. He wasn't terrible, but he looks a bit fragile out there and will get monstered out there with teams that apply pressure at breakdown time. He tries to play at a quick tempo similar to McDermott for the Wallabies, but lacks a Smith type pass and strength to give himself time in contact when in trouble like Perenara has to be considered a real option at test level, and has no real box kick or any kicking game in general. Still, good to have him if shit hits the fan in that position.

Was impressed with McKenzie and Tupaea. McKenzie didn't overplay his hand which was key and played very flat, getting our runners hitting the ball at pace which kept the argies defence guessing, as its not usually what we see from him. He looked very assured out there and him, Tupaea and Rieko looked very comfortable working together. We saw another side to McKenzie game last night and showed that he can be a quality 10 at test level when he uses his brain and doesn't try and score off every play, similar to Sotutu. I feel you can only take 2 out of him, Barrett and Mo'unga in the starting 23 and before this test it would have been Barretg and Mo'unga off the bench, but with McKenzie being the more versatile out of the 2 and proving that he can be effective as a 1st receiver, maybe Mo'unga misses out in the future? Good problem to have having said that.

George Bridge is a funny one. Not a fan of his usually, but would be be worth starting against the Boks next week? He'd nullify De Klerk's box kick. Yes he's ineffective in the contact despite his efforts to get his hands on the ball, can get caught out on d but went ok last night, but he goes alright in the air. He's a safe option, something you're more likely to see in a European back 3, but lacks the attacking spark that we like in our left wings like we have in Ioane, Clarke and Faianganuku where they can smash themselves over the advantage line. Maybe a start next week for him however to blunt their high ball tactic for one of the fern favorites? Even if he only plays the first 50, I wouldn't complain, before bringing/ shifing Ioane/Reece to the left wing (I'd have Reece kn the bench) to finish the game. Food for thought anyway. A solid, without being spectacular outing from our George last night.

@Daffy-Jaffy said in All Blacks 2025:

https://www.planetrugby.com/news/james-oconnor-perplexed-most-consistent-performer-is-not-in-the-conversation-to-solve-all-blacks-selection-issue

James O'Connor doing his best for the Wallabies then....

But seriously, Havili is a decent enough operator, been a great servant for the Crusaders, but he's been tried and failed more than enough at Test level to the point where we have better options waiting.

I notice the only time Marshall has bought up Blues players was to slag them off like he did with Papali'i and Sotutu the other day.

So does tonight's performance confirm to us that there is a reason why previous AB coaches got international experience before taking on a massive gig like this?

Razor won 7 titles in a row with his 'quarterback' (stupid term) Richie Mo'unga.

The much maligned Rob Penney just won a SR title with journeyman Rivez Reihana running the cutter......

How much did Razor and his team really learn by staying in SR, being the big fish in a small pond?

Did they need to stay in SR for 7 seasons?

@Bones said in Exodus:

God I would laugh if Higgins fucked off.

There would be a certain new Welsh fan on here if that did happen.

@Tim said in England Vs All Blacks:

Around 32:30 we nearly scored in the corner, then meekly allowed England to drive us off the ball. See if you can spot a loose forward in these pictures ... Savea stands way off the ruck and looks disinterested. Terrible openside. Absolutely shithouse selection. They never even looked interested in the follow-up ruck after LF was tackled.

The much maligned Sam Cane at his peak would have cleaned someone out there.

@Jet said in England v All Blacks:

We are being gaslit by the Allblacks social media team on a weekly basis. Im with Devlin on this.

Footage of Savea sweeping the floor of the dressing room to ethereal sombre music.

The lad spent 80 minutes avoiding tackling and hitting rucks.

Gotta give it to Ardie to pick himself up off the goalpost looking into the sky to then have the courage to pick up a broom and try and sweep that performance under the rug......

@booboo said in All Blacks 2025:

@Steven-Harris said in All Blacks 2025:

his form is way better than it was last year

Not exactly a resounding endorsement.

I'll be the first to admit that his form is better, I think I was and got flak for it.

But I still don't see a player who is screaming "pick me" as an All Black.

The thing that annoys me a bit about Fihaki getting included, is that Shaun Stevenson had bashed the door down for years, is a better player than Fihaki, but had defensive issues and got crucified for it. It almost felt like he got picked to shut the public up before getting spat out into no man's land once he missed a tackle.

Fihaki, whose defence so far looks worse than Stevenson, seems to be getting every opportunity possible to prove himself. If he gets picked and does well, fair play, but as of right now in their careers, Stevenson has done far more to deserve some sort of run in the black jersey than someone like Fihaki.

@frugby The fern logic, the less you play, the higher you get rated.

Man, this forum is crazy. We're in a transition period and things will take time getting used to. Like yeah, players had indifferent nights, but if it were up to people on Here, we'd make about 13 changes a test just to get peoples favourites in. They're still finding their feet and getting used to things under a nee coaching system. It always seems to be the same parochial bias as well which clouds everyone's judgement.

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.

@Kiwiwomble said in Springboks vs All Blacks 2:

@Stag said in Springboks vs All Blacks 2:

@Kiwiwomble you are appropriately named. Blackadder has been in of the best AB’s this season and clearly would have started again.

are their any stats to back up he's one of the best ABs? leading tackle count? dominant tackles? even rucks hit? turnovers?

He tries hard don't get me wrong, but yeah, gets hammered every time in contact. I want him to do well, but the truth is, he's a bit of a lightweight at this level and loses most contact battles on attack and defense.

Maybe he'd be better suites to a bench role if/when fit?

@Boourns said in All Blacks v France I:

@BerniesCorner said in All Blacks v France I:

How good is it to have a unit in the middle of the lineout securing possession, catching kick-offs and the scrum not going backwards.

At least our centres were better

Is that you Billy Proctor?

Does Brodie McAlister get another test after that? Usually not the time to get too carried away but that was seriously a career ending stint from him, Jason Ryan's boy from Sydenham might I add.