The Silver Fern

Rayasi was voted Man of the Match after Bordeaux's demolition of the Northampton Saints (50-28). Please watch the highlights and tell me what do you think of him.

He's been meh in the European cup games . I don't know whether he would have performed better than BB at 1st Five for the All Blacks but I don't think he was the Messiah. He is rather slow but tackles well and receives the ball from a deep run (not standing flat and still).

@canefan said in Super Rugby 2026:

Pro rugby league is an infinitely more exciting watch than Pro rugby union right now.

That's your opinion, not mine.

@mohikamo said in All Blacks 2026:

@ShaquilleOatmeal

Not sure exactly what you asked AI, but I was around for all of these teams.

1967-70
All of these teams were good. Supremely confident we would win every game..
Some saffas consider the 1970 AB team as better than the 1974 BI Lions team that beat them 4 zip.
I was confident we could beat SA in SA for the first time. A total contrast to how I feel 26.
Surprised we lost, but probably should not have been. The boks were good and they had a bit of extra assistance, of course.

1971
We were definitely on the slide a bit this year.
The third test in particular was a bit of a new experience as a youngster.
That game reminds me a bit of some of the losses in 25. Was goin "what the fuck happened!" We had nuthin.

1972
Was ok, all wins, but the wins were like wins in 25, none were emphatic.

1973
This was a bad year. Not for just onfield stuff. SA were meant to tour, but the govt came over the top and canned it.
Then we lost to an England team in their pre-season! (I think this was a hastily arranged subsitute game.)
Just about the worst AB loss ever!
The ABs also had a bit of an internal tour, which was complete BS, and no one was really interested.

1994
94 was actually more of a concern to me than 98. Really starting to have my doubts about Laurie Mains. A bit like my thoughts about Razor now. What happened in 95 was an unexpected turn around. And the turnaround seems to have been driven by the players (Laurie getting some player buy-in). Maybe something like that could happen this year.?

1998
The opposition was good; but we were ok. Could have won all the games. Thought we could turn this around easily.
Not the feeling I had in 25.

2025
In 25 I thought when we ran into a good team playing well, we had no chance. Probably never had that feeling with an AB team before.

The main problem with the 1998 team was the lineout. Anton Oliver could not throw properly. He was fine in the loose but incredibly poor at throwing. There were a lot of bloody good players in that team.

@sparky said in Super Rugby - The Future:

Super Rugby isn't driving enough revenue.

I think the long-term solution is going to be a joint Japanese, Australian and NZ franchise rugby competition to replace Super Rugby. Then some sort of play offs against the top European teams.

The status quo is slowly dying.

League is the smaller sport in Europe. Super League average attendances are about 10,000 compared to 15,000 in the Guinness Premiership or 12,000 in League One (third tier) football and the United Rugby Championship.

European club rugby will remain an attractive destination for players in the second half of their careers.

Top 14 is currently attracting a lot of people. La Rochelle celebrated last week their 113th consecutive soldout game at home. Their stadium contains 18,000 seats for two years now. Its former capacity was 16,000. Bordeaux attracts at least a 26,000 crowd each time they play at home (43,000 when they play at the Matmut stadium).

The SA depth is currently incredible. They are only matched by France as far as the number of talents is concerned. But France has a big weakness at LHP and THP, which is one of the SA strengths.

@OomPB
Stormers and Bulls are not exactly in the NH.

This is the average salary, of course. I do not have the explanations for these differences. I also thought - like you did - that THP was one of the top salaries.

@Steven-Harris
Maybe but given the presence of Genge and Baxter plus Obano's emergence, I still have some doubts about his capacities to be selected.

French annual salaries in the Top 14 by position :

LHP : 245 000 euros
Hooker : 247 000 euros
THP : 260 000 euros
Lock 4 : 290 000 euros
Lock 5 : 302 000 euros
LF : 242 000 euros
Nr. 8 : 296 000 euros
Halfback : 261 000 euros
1st Five : 343 000 euros
Centres : 274 000 euros
Wings : 223 000 euros
Fullback : 251 000 euros

He is a good prop but not good enough for the current English squad IMO.

Tom Jordan is excellent at 1st Five for Bristol. How could his talent be ignored by NZ provincial teams ?

@DurryMexted said in Hurricanes 2026:

@Canes4life From the post looks like Zach Taulapapa is tagged. Wonder if hes a relation of Jack Taulapapa who played a fair bit of club footy in wellies and played for Samoa I

He looks quite big for a winger !

@canefan
It's for the 2026 - 2027 season. So yes, he still has the possibility to play for the All Blacks before August 2026. But usually, players who are leaving are not selected.

Sevu Reece has signed a three year contract with Perpignan (USAP) so the game against Wales was his last with the black jersey.

@OomPB
Bayonne fielded a B-C team too.
For those who haven't watched the Saracens vs Clermont game, Harry Plummer had a mare. From what I have seen, he could not have been the answer for the All Blacks at first five (meh kicking, weak tackling, kick directly into touch from a restart, unseen with ball in hand, standing still as a first receiver ...). But maybe it was an off-day for him.

@cgrant said in NH Club Rugby:

@sparky said in NH Club Rugby:

@Duluth From what I've seen he fits very much in the "club legend" model. A very good player but not world class.

He's had the benefit of playing for France's and probably Europe's best team in recent years.

When fit, he's been Toulouse's top choice 12 for about about seven years. He looked very good during Covid times. A mid-fielder in the Garry Ringrose model. A very good organiser who others like Dupont and Ntamack could play around. He's won five French Championships and two European Championship with Toulouse.

That's said I can't remember him shining on a big occasion. He went off early in the 2024 European Cup Final and he's had a lot of injuries in the last 18 months.

He's a solid signing for the Blues, especially as they will miss Reiko's calmness in midfield next year. But I don't expect him to play the house down.

I agree. He rarely sets the world on fire but he is a good distributor, defends well and has a good vision of the game. At 31, after multiple injuries, he is on the downside IMO. He could be as valuable as Bryce Heems was a few years ago.

downslide (not downside).

@sparky said in NH Club Rugby:

@Duluth From what I've seen he fits very much in the "club legend" model. A very good player but not world class.

He's had the benefit of playing for France's and probably Europe's best team in recent years.

When fit, he's been Toulouse's top choice 12 for about about seven years. He looked very good during Covid times. A mid-fielder in the Garry Ringrose model. A very good organiser who others like Dupont and Ntamack could play around. He's won five French Championships and two European Championship with Toulouse.

That's said I can't remember him shining on a big occasion. He went off early in the 2024 European Cup Final and he's had a lot of injuries in the last 18 months.

He's a solid signing for the Blues, especially as they will miss Reiko's calmness in midfield next year. But I don't expect him to play the house down.

I agree. He rarely sets the world on fire but he is a good distributor, defends well and has a good vision of the game. At 31, after multiple injuries, he is on the downside IMO. He could be as valuable as Bryce Heems was a few years ago.

@Canes4life said in 2025 The Silver Fern Team of the Year:

My 1st XV for the year:

1. Ox Niche (South Africa)
2. Malcolm Marx (South Africa)
3. Thomas Du Toit (South Africa)
4. Maro Itoje (England)
5. RG Snyman (South Africa)
6. Pieter Steph-Du Toit (South Africa)
7. Pablo Matera (Argentina)
8. Harry Wilson (Australia)
9. Cam Roigard (New Zealand)
10. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (South Africa)
11. Louie Bielle-Biarrey (France)
12. Len Ikitau (Australia)
13. Huw Jones (Scotland)
14. Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa)
15. Damian Willemse (South Africa)

Excellent team ! Maybe Earl or Wiese instead of Wilson.
Here is my becnh :

16. Sheahan (Ireland)
17. Fischetti (Italy)
18. Louw (SA)
19. Holland (NZ)
20. McReight (Australia)
21. Gibson-Parkes (Ireland)
22. Carreras (Argentina)
23. Kriel (SA)

@Bovidae said in Chiefs 2026:

These training jerseys look better.

Who is the big guy on the left ?