All Blacks squad named

[Skylinerd1]

I hope that savea will make the squad but I doubt that he will but I agree with the rest of this bu Id say that Dmac will be on the bench not Lima because he can play 15

Why should Savea get in over any of those other players imo he was terrible in that last lions game when he had a MASSIVE point to prove. He was basically a senior back out there and Barrett at 20 years old dropped less ball than this clown did.

I dont even think Ardie should be there either after that Lions series. At times for me he looked like he was getting rag dolled out there in that final test he needs to bulk up big time if he ever wants to displace Cane. Id still take Todd over him anyday.

 

[The Jones Boy]

Ardie has proved he's a great impact player, I'm not so sure about him being a starter. His pace makes a difference late in the game. He does look a little lightweight compared to Cane.
Cane is mean at the collision and shows no interest in his personal well being. I like that kind of Kaino style grit. I was not a fan of Cane but he has earned my respect since the Great McCaw departed the AB's.
Cane is a constant tackler.
He beavers away largely unseen so often that I fail to see him in live games but when I watch the replay I see how much work he gets through, and how much punishment he takes from opposition loosies.

 

[smartcooky]

Good selection, I do think Hansen just isn't telling the truth with Fekitoa though.

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/spo...ve-hansen-all-but-closes-door-malakai-fekitoa

You're picking TKB who is leaving. So this comment is pure bullshit. I think it would've been better for everyone if he just said he wasn't up to the mark or up to standard in his eyes. Would've made others work hard and what ever.

You excluded him from the Lions tour and picked a bunch of inexperienced kids ahead of him. Then you're giving him stick for "leaving" after getting the message?

This is really rude from Hansen. I think he's been pretty poor this year.

I disagree with your assessment.

"when you get down to the crunch if there's two people with similar ability or close to it, then you're going to reward the guy that's staying."

He's talking about Fekitoa. There are any number of midfield players who are as good as or even better than him - Crotty, Goodhue, Ngatai, SBW, Moala, Lienert-Brown, Laumape, Jordy Barrett, even Reiko Ioane. But as regards to your cmments about TKB, can you name a SH in NZ who is good enough to replace him in the squad.

 

[Ground We Won]

Yeah, I got it wrong.

Our midfielders coming through look great, hopefully peaking by the RWC, we need them to be, the NH teams are defending well.

 

[Larksea]

Forwards
Hookers: Dane Coles, Nathan Harris
Props: Props: Kane Hames, Nepo Laulala, Atu Moli, Jeffery Toomaga-Allen and Ofa Tu'ungafasi.
Locks: Dominic Bird, Tom Franklin, Brodie Retallick and Patrick Tuipulotu.
Loose forwards: Sam Cane, Vaea Fifita, Akira Ioane, Jerome Kaino, Ardie Savea and Liam Squire

Backs
Halfbacks: Tawera Kerr-Barlow, TJ Perenara and Aaron Smith.
First five-eighths: Beauden Barrett, Damian McKenzie and Lima Sopoaga.
Midfielders: Richard Buckman, Ngani Laumape, Anton Lienert-Brown, Charlie Ngatai, Sonny Bill Williams
Outside backs: Jordie Barrett, Rieko Ioane, Nehe Milner-Skudder, Waisake Naholo, Julian Savea, Ben Smith.

Its an interesting squad though its hard to read into it too much knowing the crusaders will displace ~9-10 or so of these guys.
Some of my observations from recent times and the lions series in particular.
#1 for mine is that as great and accomplished a player Crockett is. I think he is starting to get a bit past his used by date at test level. With faumuina now gone too we desperately need to develop more depth on both sides of the front row. Moody was very good in the lions series and standards seemed to drop when Crockett came on for him.

Seems like some guys here dont know these props well.
kane hames had an excellent end to the season. Hes already had a taste of test footy and was good, I would keep him in but that would mean dropping someone like Crockett out...
Nepo Laulala was an all black in 2015 and was very unlucky not to make the World Cup Squad. he seemed like the find of the season. he then blew his Knee and spent 2016 on the sidelines.
Ofa Tu'ungafasi has been a bit of a project for the All Black coaches for a while, highly rated through the age grade system. Probably hasn't delivered yet but he is still solid and very young. Seems like he has been groomed to take over from Faumuina for a couple of years now. I say he is young but he's now 25 and really needs to start delivering.
Atu Moli has been great off the chiefs bench, solid at scrum time and an excellent ball carrying prop who adds impact. Probably wont make the full squad.
Jeffery Toomaga-Allen - I'm simply not a fan of this guy. He can be a bit silly at times. hes solid around the park but in my opinion frankly not good enough in the scrum to be anywhere near the full AB squad any time soon. Also unlikely to make the full squad.

Unlucky: I really like Daniel Lienert-Brown, hes like an extra loose forward around the field. Solid at scrum time. If anything maybe he is a bit small as far as the current meta goes with props regularly being 115kg-120kg+ but he is only 24.

Its going to be interesting to see what happens with Michael Alaalatoa. Samoan Aussie, played in NZ for a few years, brother is a wallabie. He has been excellent for the Crusaders. Interesting to see if he is keen to stay in NZ and potentially be an All Black. Surely the aussies will be chasing him as well?

#2, this maybe blasphemy to some but as I said for Crockett maybe we are in the same situation with Jerome Kaino. hes been off the boil for a while, spent a fair bit of time injured, average against the lions, gave away a silly card and the coaches pulled him when we were down to 14? What does that say? Kaino is still massive, physically is there anyone with shoulders like his? He is not an easy guy to replace. Replacing Kaino is every bit as hard as replacing McCaw. But kaino is now 34 and has a lot of miles on the clock. With the Lions Tour over we need to build for the next WC which is 2 years away...

 

[Larksea]

the all blacks squad proper has been named! http://allblacks.com/News/31181/all-blacks-squad-named-for-2017-investec-rugby-championship

22 year old Chiefs, Waikato and former NZ Under 20 prop Atu Moli comes in as an "apprentice".

of note:
Laulala in for Faumuina
TKB is still in!?
No Savea.... Nehe & Riko in
Dmac is in for Cruden
Sopoaga makes it in ahead of RMo'


Forwards

Hookers
Dane Coles (Wellington/Hurricanes, 49)
Nathan Harris (Bay of Plenty/Chiefs, 8)
Codie Taylor (Canterbury/Crusaders, 19)

Props
Wyatt Crockett (Canterbury/Crusaders, 62)
Owen Franks (Canterbury/Crusaders, 94)
Nepo Laulala (Counties Manukau/Chiefs, 4)
Joe Moody (Canterbury/Crusaders, 28)
Ofa Tu'ungafasi (Auckland/Blues, 4)

Locks
Scott Barrett (Taranaki/Crusaders, 8)
Brodie Retallick (Hawke's Bay/Chiefs, 64)
Luke Romano (Canterbury/Crusaders, 26)
Samuel Whitelock (Canterbury/Crusaders, 88)

Loose forwards
Sam Cane (Bay of Plenty/Chiefs, 44)
Vaea Fifita (Wellington/Hurricanes, 1)
Jerome Kaino (Auckland/Blues, 74)
Kieran Read, captain (Counties Manukau/ Crusaders, 100)
Ardie Savea (Wellington/Hurricanes, 16)
Liam Squire (Tasman/Highlanders, 8)

Backs

Halfbacks
Tawera Kerr–Barlow (Waikato/Chiefs, 25)
TJ Perenara (Wellington/Hurricanes, 33)
Aaron Smith (Manawatu/Highlanders, 62)

First five–eighths
Beauden Barrett (Taranaki/Hurricanes, 53)
Lima Sopoaga (Southland/Highlanders, 7)

Midfielders
Ryan Crotty (Canterbury/Crusaders, 27)
Ngani Laumape (Manawatu/Hurricanes, 2)
Anton Lienert-Brown (Waikato/Chiefs, 13)
Sonny Bill Williams (Counties Manukau/Blues, 36)

Outside backs
Jordie Barrett (Taranaki/Hurricanes, 2)
Israel Dagg (Hawke's Bay/Crusaders, 65)
Rieko Ioane (Auckland/Blues, 4)
Nehe Milner-Skudder (Manawatu/Hurricanes, 8) Waisake Naholo (Taranaki/Highlanders, 13)
Ben Smith (Otago/Highlanders, 62)

Utility back / Replacement
Damian McKenzie (Waikato/Chiefs, 2)

 

[Larksea]

it is kinda strange seeing potentially 7 outside backs there...

edit: ok so the idea is that Ben Smith is there for the first 2 tests only then Dmac will become a full member or something like that...

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

Absolutely no surprises with that selection for me.

TKB is still in!?

Who else would they pick??

The big question was always who'd miss out in the outside backs out of NMS and Bus. Given he couldn't even start for the Canes in recent weeks, it's no surprise that it's Savea. Hopefully this will finally be the wake-up call he needs to pull his head in and get back up to pace. Shag did say that he still has a part to play in the ABs going forward.
It'll be interesting to see how much faith they show NMS... maybe he'll come onto the right wing when Bender takes his break and Dagg'll go back to FB?

Good to see Dmac there, though it must've been tempting to bring in Mo'unga and let DMac get time at 10 for Waikato.

I'm very happy with Moli being there as an apprentice, I really rate him and believe he's the man to take over from Franks when the time comes.

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

Predicted 23:
1. Moody
2. Coles
3. Franks
4. Retallick
5. Whitelock
6. Kaino
7. Cane
8. Read
9. Smith
10. Barrett
11. Ioane
12. SBW
13. Crotty
14. Dagg
15. Smith

16. Taylor
17. Crockett
18. Laulala
19. Barrett
20. Savea
21. Perenara
22. Sopoaga
23. ALB

A few tough calls to be made there...
- Who'll win the battle for 11 between Ioane and Naholo? Bit of a 50/50... If it's Naholo, Ioane could be a very good bench option.
- What will the midfield look like? Personally I like ALB at center with either of the other 2 inside him... maybe SBW as an impact sub is the best option?
- Laulala vs Tu'ungafasi for that bench spot... they clearly really like Tu'ungafasi but Laulala is a specialist tighthead and a very accomplished player, so he's the better option imo.
- Could McKenzie make the bench ahead of Sopoaga?

 

[Larksea]

from the press conference it seems the selectors see dmac as a guy who can play 10 now.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

Hames, Toomaga-Allen, Tuipulotu and Ioane will be brought into the squad for the intra-squad match over the weekend.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

 

[Larksea]

I missed the #3 I was going to list before which is Owen Franks. not that he needs to be replaced but according to reports he takes 5 days to recover after games and he is carrying an ankle injury. The guy has been around a long time now and hardly misses a game, hes had a huge workload and a lot of responsibility over he years and with Carlie gone its going to be harder to manage Owens workload. Probably the reason why there is an extra tighthead in the squad as well as Moli as an apprentice

 

[mania]

hes had a huge workload and a lot of responsibility over he years and with Carlie gone its going to be harder to manage Owens workload.

u should see the franks brothers in the gym. i sht u not, the amount of weights they work out on is intimidating. on the machines they use they run of plates to put on so they hang the biggest dumbells they can find off it. and theyre quiet and just get on with it. eerie

 

[smartcooky]

Funny press release from World Rugby about SBW's appeal.

http://www.worldrugby.org/news/268782

Pichot apparently spitting feathers that two 40min long knocksabouts have been counted as "matches". Accusations of NZ creating "matches" as means to lift a ban. Last time that loop hole is exploited methinks. Should have saved that sort of move for when it really mattered, like prior to a RWC.

Pichot is misinformed. These matches are not "created as a means to lift a ban", they have been played every year since 2012. This one has been on the schedule since last year and was announced in June, well before SBW's ban.

This event at ECOLite Stadium is just a repeat of what happened last year (August 12, 2016) on the same weekend when the All Blacks played against Counties-Manuakau and Northland. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11662836

Tickets prices start at $7 and that is a very, very cheap price for people in the provinces to get to see the All Blacks play in their home town.

 

[Penne Rara]

Pichot is misinformed. These matches are not "created as a means to lift a ban", they have been played every year since 2012. This one has been on the schedule since last year and was announced in June, well before SBW's ban.

This event at ECOLite Stadium is just a repeat of what happened last year (August 12, 2016) on the same weekend when the All Blacks played against Counties-Manuakau and Northland. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11662836

Tickets prices start at $7 and that is a very, very cheap price for people in the provinces to get to see the All Blacks play in their home town.

Will it be broadcasted? Is there any way to watch it on streaming?

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

Does Vaea Fififta really deserve his place? I'm not challenging, just curious on a Kiwi's point if view. He is clearly a very impressive player but I'm not really sure what he's done to displace Todd or to earn the call over Shields or Taufua who have both been very impressive for a few seasons now. I guess Fifita has more X Factor which Hansen is clearly a fan of but I'd have thought when looking for a Kaino back-up/replacement you'd look more for physicality which Shields and Taufua bring in spades. It's nit-picky in what is otherwise a very well selected squad but Fifita's inclusion seems off to me. At 25 it's not like he's got an age advantage either (Taufua 25, Shields 26).

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

Will it be broadcasted? Is there any way to watch it on streaming?

It was implied that it would be broadcast but I can't find it listed on Sky's website as yet...

 

[Larksea]

Taufua maybe suffers from lack of height compared to the other guys, and while being a very good player he maybe hasn't stood out enough to demand selection with so many other options around.

Brad Shields is just unlucky, who knows what Hansen wants him to do to get selected. I would have liked one of the reporters to ask him that question. because in terms of that physical presence that Kaino has on the advantage line Shields is one of the few players that is up in that kind of level consistently. Given that shields has basically been right up there for 3-4 years and continued to improve and be a proven consistent performer yet he hasn't got his chance yet. I wouldn't be surprised if he was a bit frustrated. By the sound of it not making the AB squad for the Lions tour was tough on Shields.

Consider that a group of seriously talented 6/8 options all came onto the NZ scene at a very similar time. Luatua, Luke Whitelock, Elliot Dixon and Brad Shields... of these guys Shields is the only one that hasn't got a shot yet and he arguably deserved it the most, in my opinion he has been the most consistent performer of all these guys.

Vaea Fififta isn't much younger than Shields but maybe doesn't have nearly the number of miles on the clock. he is taller and a bit more mobile. height is a big factor for selection and he is very tall, tall enough and skilled enough to cover lock but it seems for the All Blacks he is only being considered as a 6 and not as an option at lock.

Fififta is certainly a very good player, as to why he may have been selected before other options like Ioane, Shields, Taufua or even the experience of someone like Messam isn't obvious.

 

[The Jones Boy]

Are they grooming Fififta to take over from Kaino?