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All Black new cap contenders
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<blockquote data-quote="MotherRucker1" data-source="post: 726024" data-attributes="member: 72442"><p>I can totally understand Retallick. He would be up there when I think of "key All Blacks". </p><p></p><p>For me it would be Kieran Read and Julian Savea. Those two have done freakish things on the field which I never seen anybody else do. Read is the best number 8 we've had in many years, for his leadership quality and intelligence. Rodney So'oialo had a bit of that, but nowhere near this level. Then there's the many "man of the match" awards and tries Read has accumulated .. and he's not even a back! To me, Read over the last 3 years had typified what a modern day forward should be. You have to be able to run with acceleration, elusiveness and set other players up. McCaw was the benchmark player that you should measure yourself against once upon a time. Read has the torch now, that's just my opinion. As for Savea, it's a more simple reasoning. He's just a freak of nature that has got us through some pretty tough defenses and contributed so many tries obviously. He's less error prone than a Renee Ranger, and more consistent than a Hosea Gear, and offers more skills than a Jonah Lomu. We have other wingers floating round but he came into the roll and nailed it. I wouldn't say other teams fear him but his raw power is well known and he attracts many defenders on to him which can free up other player's channels. Even in our 2012 loss to England, these two men stood up.</p><p></p><p>The key story over the last few years luckily hasn't been about individuals, despite me singling Savea and Read out. Those two guys are crucial to us, but I remember the reliance we use to have on McCaw and Carter. At times that was unhealthy. Over the last few years it's been more about the team as a collective unit and how each player plays for the full 80. We've come close to losing a few, but the mental resilience seems to be better than ever. That's what you want in a World Cup. In my opinion, it's a much better place to be in. We just have to work on starting well .. something the All Blacks have grappled with for awhile. Knowing that we can chase, literally until the last second is good, but obviously we want to avoid it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MotherRucker1, post: 726024, member: 72442"] I can totally understand Retallick. He would be up there when I think of "key All Blacks". For me it would be Kieran Read and Julian Savea. Those two have done freakish things on the field which I never seen anybody else do. Read is the best number 8 we've had in many years, for his leadership quality and intelligence. Rodney So'oialo had a bit of that, but nowhere near this level. Then there's the many "man of the match" awards and tries Read has accumulated .. and he's not even a back! To me, Read over the last 3 years had typified what a modern day forward should be. You have to be able to run with acceleration, elusiveness and set other players up. McCaw was the benchmark player that you should measure yourself against once upon a time. Read has the torch now, that's just my opinion. As for Savea, it's a more simple reasoning. He's just a freak of nature that has got us through some pretty tough defenses and contributed so many tries obviously. He's less error prone than a Renee Ranger, and more consistent than a Hosea Gear, and offers more skills than a Jonah Lomu. We have other wingers floating round but he came into the roll and nailed it. I wouldn't say other teams fear him but his raw power is well known and he attracts many defenders on to him which can free up other player's channels. Even in our 2012 loss to England, these two men stood up. The key story over the last few years luckily hasn't been about individuals, despite me singling Savea and Read out. Those two guys are crucial to us, but I remember the reliance we use to have on McCaw and Carter. At times that was unhealthy. Over the last few years it's been more about the team as a collective unit and how each player plays for the full 80. We've come close to losing a few, but the mental resilience seems to be better than ever. That's what you want in a World Cup. In my opinion, it's a much better place to be in. We just have to work on starting well .. something the All Blacks have grappled with for awhile. Knowing that we can chase, literally until the last second is good, but obviously we want to avoid it. [/QUOTE]
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