All Blacks squad for their end of year tour

[Muzzy]

Cory Flynns injury will also open the door for either Rutledge or Elliot. i think he'll choose Rutledge

 

[dan the man]

Flynn is useless! With Mealamu and Hore both in there 30's they need to pick someone younger as the 3rd in line Hooker.
I think they'll just end up taking the 2 specialist hookers and then John Afoa, who can cover anywhere in the front row.

 

[Shaggy]

Here's the team courtesy of New Zealand's TV3 website

http://www.3news.co.nz/All-Blacks-n...ms-in/tabid/415/articleID/181746/Default.aspx

The squad is as follows: (Forwards) John Afoa Auckland (25 tests), Anthony Boric North Harbour (16), Daniel Braid Auckland (4), Tom Donnelly Otago (13), Hikawera Elliot Hawke's Bay (0), Ben Franks Tasman (7), Owen Franks Canterbury (17), Andrew Hore Taranaki (47), Jerome Kaino Auckland (33), Richie McCaw (Capt) Canterbury (89), Keven Mealamu Auckland (80), Liam Messam Waikato (5), Kieran Read Canterbury (25), Brad Thorn Canterbury (46) , Samuel Whitelock Canterbury (8), Tony Woodcock North Harbour (69). (Backs) Andy Ellis Canterbury (14), Daniel Carter Canterbury (74), Jimmy Cowan Southland (41), Stephen Donald Waikato (19), Hosea Gear Wellington (2), Cory Jane Wellington (20), Alby Mathewson Wellington (1), Mils Muliaina Waikato (89), Ma'a Nonu Wellington (52), Josevata Rokocoko Auckland (66), Sitiveni Sivivatu Waikato (43), Conrad Smith Wellington (41), Isaia Toeava Auckland (26), Sonny Bill Williams Canterbury (0).

 

[alex]

saw it just then, i think they shouldn't have selected Sitiveni Sivivatu/Rocococokocooco. because Fruean has been in good form. also i would've chosen Rutledge over Elliot, Slade over Donald, but otherwise it's a good squad.

 

[Shaggy]

saw it just then, i think they shouldn't have selected Sitiveni Sivivatu/Rocococokocooco. because Fruean has been in good form. also i would've chosen Rutledge over Elliot, Slade over Donald, but otherwise it's a good squad.

I guess the reason they went with Elliot over Rutledge is age and size, though I wouldn't be surprised if he's on call just in case Hore gets injured.

... I thought they would have gone for three no. 10's ... no Cruden, no Slade ... no Vito in the forwards either

... Hosea Gear made it, so no temper tantrum from Nickdnz either

 

[dan the man]

A bit gutted to see that Robbie Fruean didn't make it (just goes to show that SBW was going no matter what). Glad to see Hosea Gear gets his chance. Surprised that it's just Carter and Donald also.
Will be very interesting to see how Braid perform's after being away for so long...

 

[nickdnz]

Hosea Gear!

A few odd selections, but overall I'm happy with the squad. Thank god for Hosea Gear being the the squad, in fact I like the entire choice of wings and fullbacks. That's my choice for RWC (as much as I like Dagg). I hope to see Jane being played at fullback.

Great to see Toeava get back in there, especially with the whole utility option. I'm not upset about SBW getting in, but I thought him in the squad over Robert Fruean was a little wrong (but I guess a specialist 12 doesn't hurt). Anthony Boric over Chris Jack I don't really agree with, nor do I agree with Messam over Vito. Great to see Braid and Elliot back. Andy Ellis in the squad is farsical. Stephen Donald is not really my choice of first 5/8ths, but credit to him for improving enough to make the squad.

 

[Shaggy]

Hosea Gear!

HAHA ... speak up! ... I can't hear you over here ... was that something you said about SBW

 

[Darwin]

Interesting squad!
Props: No surprises as these are clearly the preferred four props.
Hookers: Surprised (but happy) to see them take three hookers - clearly they don't think Afoa is up to hoking at test level. With Flynn out the third hooking spot obviously came down to Hika Elliot, Rutledge or de Malmanche. Surprised they went for Elliot, as he is known to have off-field issues - hopefully these are a thing of the past. The fact that Flynn was listed as unavailable suggests he may well have toured ahead of Elliot if he was not injured.
Locks: As expected. It will be interested to see whether Sam Whitelock or Boric are given a chance to see whether than can adequately cover 6 at test level during this tour.
Loosies: Surprised by the omission of Vito, his poor game versus Australia obviously cost him. Happy to see Braid back, as I think his style of play will suit the expansive game the AB's have been playing this year, and I really think we do need a genuine 7 to cover for McCaw.
Halfbacks: Glad they took three halfbacks. Not really surprised to see Ellis there, as he is a favourite of the selectors. I'm hoping Mathewson gets a good amount of gametime on the tour, as he is a real threat at halfback
First-five: Surprised to see only two taken, given Carter is only coming back from injury - obviously Carter is expecting to be fully fit for the Hong Kong test. Bit disappointed not to see Slade taken, as I rate him very highly, but am glad they took Donald rather than Cruden. With the absence of both Weepu and Dagg they really needed to have a reliable goalkicker to backup Carter, which may have helped to convince the selectors to pick Donald.
Midfield: No surprises there, the fact SBW was going to be chosen has been common knowledge for some time.
Outside backs: Really surprised to see Hosea Gear there. With Dagg ruled out, it opened another space for an outside back - I was expecting it to be taken by Ranger, but I'm sure a lot of people on this site are going to be very excited to see Gear included!

 

[Sneaki]

Well here are my thoughts then...

Picking Messam over Vito is the main surprise for me, personally I though that Vito had only gotten better as the season went on, maybe he didn't do quite enough while he was with the AB's. Or I suppose they could be giving Messam another shot at backing up solid form for Waikato with good form for the AB's, something I've yet to see from him. He's certainly got the potential though.

Also surprised to see Braid back! I've always thought he was lacking in size a little, but maybe the coaches figure they can overlook that with guys like Kaino and Read supporting him.

Picking Donald over Slade/Cruden is another intriguing one, but personally I think the decision may have been made for them by Weepu's (very unfortunate) injury last night, as they would always need three halfbacks with Weepu out of the picture. And with Carter just coming back from injury they would want a relatively experienced back up there (and arguably the best kicker out of the three).

The halfbacks pretty much picked themselves, I would have preferred Leonard or even Fotualii/anyone over Ellis (I'm not really a big fan of his), I'm not sure if Leonard's recovered from the head clash a couple of weeks ago though.

The locks and props were farily straightforward too. I'll be intersted to see how Elliot does coming back though, as Hore might not be ready for the first couple of games.

There were a few more surprises in the backs though, especially in the wings. It's great to see Gear getting another chance, while I also didn't forsee Joe still being in the mix with the recent form of Fruean and Ranger, as well as the return of Sivivatu. I think Joe would've been lucky to make it if Dagg was fit. Also I'm glad they brought Toeava back, as I think he's a safer player to pick than Ranger, and offers a lot more versatility.

And of course SBW made it... no surprise there

. I'll be interested to see how much gametime he gets, whether it's just off the bench or if he starts against a couple of the NH teams.

Overall a good squad though, I can't wait to see how they perform on this tour.

 

[Larksea]

well I'm obviously happy to see donald selected and also gettong to gloat about it too

he got a lot of praise from Henry, pretty much said Slade and Cruden did all they could but Right now donald was just better. With Weepu out his goal kicking would have given him a good leg up on the other too. The way he's turned Waikato around has been inspiring.

Vito misses out, shame for him but only 5 loose forwards. It does make sense, Messam is much more experienced and comfortable at 8 than Vito.

Only Change I would make to that squad as Leonard in and Elis out.

I wasn't awear that Dagg's injury was going to keep him off the tour. That will make things interesting as for 15 cover, Jane may take up that slack but also note that all Sivi, Roko and Gear are all spec left wingers. it may be that Toeava will be the man covering 15 from the bench.

 

[nickdnz]

well I'm obviously happy to see donald selected and also gettong to gloat about it too

he got a lot of praise from Henry, pretty much said Slade and Cruden did all they could but Right now donald was just better. With Weepu out his goal kicking would have given him a good leg up on the other too. The way he's turned Waikato around has been inspiring.

Vito misses out, shame for him but only 5 loose forwards. It does make sense, Messam is much more experienced and comfortable at 8 than Vito.

Only Change I would make to that squad as Leonard in and Elis out.

I wasn't awear that Dagg's injury was going to keep him off the tour. That will make things interesting as for 15 cover, Jane may take up that slack but also note that all Sivi, Roko and Gear are all spec left wingers. it may be that Toeava will be the man covering 15 from the bench.

Jane will probably be on the right wing, and move to fullback if Mils is injured, maybe with either of them getting some bench time to test out other wingers (Rokocoko has also played a lot on the right wing). Let's hope Gear gets some genuine game time, and not just a token one-off selection.

 

[Ninja]

Bloody can't believe that Robbie Fruean didn't get picked!

And Donald over Slade???

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

Basically means Canterbury are guaranteed to win the ITM Cup, with Slade remaining and Donald going If only we could get one more game out of him...

 

[Ninja]

Basically means Canterbury are guaranteed to win the ITM Cup, with Slade remaining and Donald going If only we could get one more game out of him...

Yeah, that's the positive for Canterbury that we retain 2 game breakers for the ITM Cup.

 

[smartcooky]

Andy Ellis in the squad is farsical.

With Weepu gone, and them taking three halfbacks, Ellis was always going to make the sqaud.

Who else could go? Leonard (LMAO) or Fotoali'i?

 

[Tomsey]

Sonny Bill makes All Blacks Squad

Big call, there are going to be some haters. Pitty Robbie Fruen missed out though I rate him. I guess it will be interesting how much he improves under Henry and Hansen.

Rugby league convert Sonny Bill Williams has been named in the All Blacks rugby squad to tour Britain in November, the only newcomer in the 30-man party.
Williams, who defected from Australia's National Rugby League in 2008 to play rugby for French club Toulon, turned down multimillion dollar offers to stay in France to pursue his dream of earning an All Blacks jersey.
The giant midfield back has produced a series of strong performances for Canterbury province in New Zealand's National Provincial Championship in recent weeks to gain national selection for the first time.
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Hooker Hikawera Elliott, who played his only previous All Blacks match against the Irish side Munster in 2008, has been recalled, as has veteran flanker Daniel Braid who recently played Super 14 rugby in Australia for the Queensland Reds.
Braid, whose father Gary was an All Blacks lock, played the most recent of his four Tests for New Zealand against Australia in Sydney in 2008.
Scrumhalf Albie Mathewson has won the chance to add to his one Test by taking the place of veteran Piri Weepu, who broke his ankle while playing for Wellington in a national championship match on Saturday.
Weepu has been an integral part of All Blacks teams in recent times for his ability to play scrumhalf and flyhalf and to kick goals.
Winger Hosea Gear and flanker Liam Messam - who won gold medals as members of the New Zealand Sevens team at this month's Commonwealth Games - have both won recalls, as have flyhalf Stephen Donald, scrumhalf Andy Ellis and centre Isaia Toeava.
Toeava only recently returned after hip surgery while hooker Andrew Hore has been sidelined since May when he dislocated his shoulder.
Star flyhalf Dan Carter has reclaimed his place after missing the last match of this season's Tri-Nations tournament because of ankle surgery. Winger Sitiveni Sivivatu is also back after a shoulder operation.
Fullback Israel Dagg, hooker Corey Flynn, center Richard Kahui, utility Luke McAlister, Weepu and lock Ali Williams were not considered because of injuries.
"Regarding the make-up of the touring squad, we feel that we have got a very good rugby squad, well led by some very experienced All Blacks, and we are excited by the challenges that we have ahead of us," coach Graham Henry said.
The members have a cumulative total of 972 Test caps while captain Richie McCaw has played 89 Tests.
The New Zealanders are unbeaten in nine Tests this season and Henry said their focus was to continue developing their game.
"We are playing top quality teams on this tour, starting with Australia in Hong Kong, and it's important that we make continual improvements to our game to stay ahead of the opposition," he said.
New Zealand play Australia in Hong Kong on Oct 30, England in London on Nov 7, Scotland in Edinburgh on Nov 14, Ireland in Dublin on Nov. 21 and Wales in Cardiff on Nov. 28.
NZ SQUAD:
Forwards: John Afoa, Anthony Boric, Daniel Braid, Tom Donnelly, Hikawera Elliot, Ben Franks, Owen Franks, Andrew Hore, Jerome Kaino, Richie McCaw (captain), Keven Mealamu, Liam Messam, Kieran Read, Brad Thorn, Samuel Whitelock, Tony Woodcock.
Backs: Andy Ellis, Daniel Carter, Jimmy Cowan, Stephen Donald, Hosea Gear, Cory Jane, Alby Mathewson, Mils Muliaina, Ma'a Nonu, Josevata Rokocoko, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Conrad Smith, Isaia Toeava, Sonny Bill Williams.

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/union-news/sonny-bill-in-all-blacks-squad-20101017-16ox6.html

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

What have you got against Leonard smartcooky?

 

[Ninja]

With Weepu gone, and them taking three halfbacks, Ellis was always going to make the sqaud.

Who else could go? Leonard (LMAO) or Fotoali'i?

I think Fotuali'i could've been an option. He was awesome in the Super season, although I'm not sure how he has been going in the ITM Cup as I have not been following Hawkes Bay's games. But I know they've been using him at 1st/5. So he could cover both halfback and 1st/5.

 

[Larksea]

Leonard's been in awesome form. Better than anything I've seen from Elis or Cowan for some time that's for sure.