K
Yes the 49ers were decimated by injury but the Seahawks defense is unbelievably good.
Whilst it's commendable the 49ers made the playoffs considering they had all the injuries, they have a lot of issues going forward. Purdy is good but their line play simply isnt good enough. They sneakily have a lot of holes in the roster.
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
@Smudge said in All Blacks 2026:
Runs counter to other info on here, but my channels tell me T Brown is free to walk from the Boks now if he wants.
if he wants?! That is also interesting. I thought he really enjoyed working with Joseph.
If this is true, then the 'want' would be determined by whether or not Joseph gets the head coaching job presumably.
@Bones said in All Blacks 2026:
@tubbyj so don't hurt cantabs feelings, but fuck Foster and Savea? Fair enough.
How about Dalton's feelings when Razor fucked him over?
@tubbyj said in All Blacks 2026:
This may have been necessary but it is not good for Scott Robertson personally, NZ rugby or the All Blacks
If it was necessary then I would suggest it is good for NZ rugby and the All Blacks.....
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
Very sad we don't get someone like Tony Brown.
Let's see what happens with Brown.
I'm sceptical that 48 hours after the coaching change is announced that there's a definitive answer on Brown.
Whilst there was plenty of rumours in this thread that were on the money this week, there was also plenty that weren't.
@kev said in All Blacks 2026:
@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2026:
@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.
Which might be the point. Sometimes success is just around the corner ….not saying that was the case with Razor as there wasn’t a game where you could say we played well.
In his second year Cleary took the Warriors to 4th on the regular season ladder. I just dont see the parallels
@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.
@Bones said in All Blacks 2026:
@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2026:
I just read this on the reddit redo of the Gregor Paul article 'Gregor Paul: The day I knew Razor would be exiting the All Blacks':
"The Herald has been told that Mo’unga – one of the game’s most genuine and likeable characters – independently rang McKenzie and Barrett to assure them he was not agitating for either an early release from his Toshiba contract or a change in eligibility laws, and he was uncomfortable he was some kind of shadow narrative to the All Blacks’ season."Can anyone here confirm this?
So we all should have taken more notice when Mounga walked just as Razor got the top gig.
Was he only sticking around previously to play AB rugby and then decided that wasn't going to be a bearable option once Scott stepped up?
I recall Mounga being quite a strong advocate for Foz - at least publicly
@Frank said in All Blacks 2026:
Fuck, this Gregor Paul article is scathing.
Absolutely fascinating read
@Kirwan said in All Blacks 2026:
No need for us to repeat Australian mistakes by picking foreign coaches. Plenty of talent with NZ coaches that understand the players and the culture.
No issue with foreign assistants. Mick Byrne was excellent.
Very interesting article from Gregor Paul today
But as hard as I looked, I couldn’t find his superpower. If there was hidden depth to him, it was brilliantly hidden.
Pixel by pixel, a picture started to form for me from the earliest days of his appointment that he lacked the emotional intelligence and maturity to manage the complex requirements of the job, and that these shortcomings were also preventing him from understanding the sheer scope of the head coaching role.
Interestingly, he was the first All Blacks coach to have come into the role having only ever worked in professional rugby. Henry had been an educator, Hansen a policeman and Foster a commercial director, Robertson had only ever played rugby and coached rugby.
I say “only” because it limited his frame of reference for problem-solving, for contextualising and understanding the privilege of working in the non-serious world of sport.
Ultimately it meant he didn’t have the worldliness or breadth of life experience to flit effortlessly between telling a young Polynesian player he’d been dropped to speaking at a function hosted by a mega-corporation sponsor the way the job demands.
Ultimately, though, what I came to believe is that his greatest weakness was the sense of self he carried into the role and the ambiguity that created for me in trying to determine whether he sometimes made decisions that were best for him rather than best for the team.
@Jet said in All Blacks 2026:
@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:
@Jet said in All Blacks 2026:
@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2026:
I actually just remembered something that Goldie Wilson said on Breakdown. He hopes we go back to traditional All Black rugby, as we have drifted away from it.
Anyway, I just waiting to see who get's the gig now. I am a JJ fan, and had wanted him for sometime , just a feeling I have, no great knowledge or anything. And as much as anything , if he gets it who will he get in his group,Is it fair to say Jamie Joseph was a bit of a grub as a player?
Remember a bit of biff from him against the English, not that I'll hold that against him.
He was a grub as I recall
Thats what we need.
Rassie wasnt exactly mr gentle as a player
@tubbyj said in All Blacks 2026:
Why not Foster was he not the head coach and ultimately responsible?
Presumably because the belief was that with stronger assistant coaches (i.e. Schmidt and Ryan) that they could turn things around. They went from losing a home series vs Ireland to knocking over Rassie's Boks at Ellis Park then knocking Ireland out of the World Cup. Foster also had the advantage of 8 years in the environment/test rugby etc compared to Razor coming in fresh.
@tubbyj said in All Blacks 2026:
@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2026:
@tubbyj said in All Blacks 2026:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@tubbyj said in All Blacks 2026:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@tubbyj said in All Blacks 2026:
No I am saying that Ardie should have been just as damning of Foster not saying "hes my coach and I have his back" if he was consistent and not one of the single biggest problems in the team culture himself.
??
Maybe because Ardie wasn't ignored by the Head Coach when he had problems/concerns
Are you saying the All Blacks should not be about test results but making Ardie Savea feel listened to and important?
I'm saying a really shit coach treats his players like shit and creates a toxic culture where players simply give up trying - which is what we've seen this year.
Are you saying there are no example of coaches treating players like shit and keeping the culture on edge that have not produced wildly successful results?
If Razor had produced wildly successful results he would still be in a job
Where did I disagree with that? I am asking why Ardie Savea didn't want Ian Foster fired for producing equally dire results.
And we answered that changes occurred. Plumtree and Moaar got canned. We are going around in circles.
@tubbyj said in All Blacks 2026:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@tubbyj said in All Blacks 2026:
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:
@tubbyj said in All Blacks 2026:
No I am saying that Ardie should have been just as damning of Foster not saying "hes my coach and I have his back" if he was consistent and not one of the single biggest problems in the team culture himself.
??
Maybe because Ardie wasn't ignored by the Head Coach when he had problems/concerns
Are you saying the All Blacks should not be about test results but making Ardie Savea feel listened to and important?
I'm saying a really shit coach treats his players like shit and creates a toxic culture where players simply give up trying - which is what we've seen this year.
Are you saying there are no example of coaches treating players like shit and keeping the culture on edge that have not produced wildly successful results?
If Razor had produced wildly successful results he would still be in a job
@tubbyj said in All Blacks 2026:
Which is why you don't listen to the players on who should be coach. Fair enough fire Robertson on the results but not Ardie Saveas feels
When asked in the presser what he thought as a fan Kirk touched on things like inconsistency, slumps in the 3rd quarters of games and discipline.
@tubbyj said in All Blacks 2026:
What did that fix? We got thrashed at Twickenham, lost to Argentina at home, lost our first RWC pool game and I don't see the WC in our trophy cabinet.
I just answered your question about 2022.
@tubbyj said in All Blacks 2026:
Why wasn't he concerned in 2022 when Foster was dragging the team down to this level?
They made changes in 2022. Plumtree and Moaar got punted - Ryan came in and Schmidt became a full on coach