All Blacks squad named

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

Yea he played about the first half of super rugby this year there. Started with a hiss and a roar but his shortcomings as a midfielder sorta started coming through and he was shifted to the wing where he excelled. He actually got a bit of game time there for the ABs vs France I think last year and was handy.
Agree he's not the ideal cover, but given it'd only be in the unlikely scenario that one of the midfielders went down that he'd actually play there, I don't think it's really much of a risk.

yup............

Ah I did know he played a bit there at the start of the season but didn't realise he got quite that much game time. I'm not going to deny that he can get a job done there but as you said, he has some shortcomings there.

You say it's an unlikely scenario for a centre to go down but it's not really is it? In your last 3 tests you had 2 centres ruled out. Ok SBW was a bit of an anomaly but Crotty's been pretty injury prone for a while. I'd be very surprised if you got through the RC without a centre getting injured.

 

[mania]

also bender has played in centre. was the centre cover for awhile when conrad was injured. whilst bender was still finidng his feet in the role i have no doubt that he's got the rugby brain to slot in there now and do an awesome job...but just in case we should trial it during an aussie game.

 

[The Jones Boy]

i
I'm not sold on Dagg at 15 for the AB's. Moving to 14 revived his test career but pretty much every time since when he has had to shift back to 15 to cover he hasn't really been up to scratch.

My sentiment exactly.
I don't rate Dagg as a fullback, he suddenly becomes fragile and unsure of himself, and he's getting on now.
Time to be thinking about the future and Jordie is a monty for the FB position.

 

[nzlizard]

i


I'm not sold on Dagg at 15 for the AB's. Moving to 14 revived his test career but pretty much every time since when he has had to shift back to 15 to cover he hasn't really been up to scratch.

Same, he has shown over and over again in the last 3 years that fullback is not his position. Would rather have NMS show us how he plays there to be honest.

 

[mackerzz]

a

I disagree with your assessment.



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.

Augustine Pulu????

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

a

Augustine Pulu????

Needs to sort out his passing and kicking if he wants to be effective at test level. He's not as good as TKB imo. I actually think that Weber is probably next in line, he just needs to get some game time... he was outstanding in 2016 and is a much better distributor than Pulu.

 

[Penne Rara]

Needs to sort out his passing and kicking if he wants to be effective at test level. He's not as good as TKB imo. I actually think that Weber id probably next in line, he just needs to get some game time... he was outstanding in 2016 and is a much better distributor than Pulu.

Yup, Pulu is sort of the opposite of TKB. While Pulu's running game is on point (even better than Perenara's IMO) he's found lacking on the basics of his position. He does an okay job but that won't be enough at test level indeed. TKB has a good rugby brain on his shoulders. Opportunistic and clever, he knows what to do in whatever situation. His passing game is great but not on par with Smith's, yet what I'm most impressed with is his defence. He's a calm, seasoned halfback and a very consistent one. He was never on top of the list because he doesn't stand out that much, and his distribution doesn't dictate the pace of the game as much as Aaron Smith's (which is obviously one of the All Blacks' strengths when Smith is ticking over).

 

[Larksea]

its interesting that TKB has been picked in the squad despite being signed overseas. Maybe it's an indication that the selectors are not comfortable with Pulu's game, or the crusaders options? I know I wouldn't be. Pulu is fast and dynamic but his kicking and decision making aren't up to scratch.

Bit of a shock that Coles is out of the first test with a head knock but so far it sounds completely precautionary. reacting to him getting a knock in the game rather than something more serious like his symptoms returning. Interesting that Riccitelli has been called in, I guess its not surprising I think Coltman out injured?

We are a little exposed at hooker, Taylor has been good but Harris hasn't yet got back to his best since he returned from a long injury layoff. Harris is a very smart player and at his best he is world class. Was interesting to see in the Lions series the coaches weren't putting Harris on. He got very little time off the bench, maybe shows he isn't quite right... Hopefully we will see some improvement from him.

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

Interesting that Riccitelli has been called in, I guess its not surprising I think Coltman out injured?

Yup Coltman injured, interesting that they didn't go with Parsons though... he was in there last year. Guess it's an indicator that they're keen on Riccitelli for the future.

 

[mania]

Yup Coltman injured, interesting that they didn't go with Parsons though... he was in there last year. Guess it's an indicator that they're keen on Riccitelli for the future.

wow i really dont rate Riccitelli. he's an all right journey man impact player but i wouldnt start him. parsons and harris need to get their **** together and step up.

TKB is a machine. has a big motor and good defender. his distribution isnt fast (but then no one compares to aSmith) but its still world class. he makes good decisions

 

[Ground We Won]

Parsons isn't good enough.

Not sure what he sees in Fifita.

I feel the team is a little loose. I'd like us to be tighter in future and respect different tactics and the opposition a bit more.

I think we were guilty of underestimating the Lions. We did have some key injuries but, we should have put that series away. It was easily the worst test series from the AB's since France 2009.

Tactically Hansen was shown up. Hopefully, he uses this year to give experience to guys who will 100% be there in 2019 and strengthen those new combinations while also protecting the older fellas who don't need to be busting a gut on an EOYT because they've been there done that 10 times over and then some.

It wouldn't be stupid for Coles to take a sabbatical along with Ben. Protect them like we did with Dan. These guys have proved they're invaluable, protect them.

 

[Larksea]

I disagree on Parsons, I've been surprised how well he did when he rolled out for the AB's. He's smart and mobile and still quite physical as well.

selecting Riccitelli is obviously with an eye on development with him being only 22... i think if we were going into an important test and Coles replacement had to play then they would have probably selected Parsons.

 

[The Jones Boy]

I don't know enough about these fringe players you guys are talking about but it occurs to me that resting Colkes would be a very good idea.
Repetitive head injuries need a lot of rest and recovery time.

 

[Ground We Won]

I disagree on Parsons, I've been surprised how well he did when he rolled out for the AB's. He's smart and mobile and still quite physical as well.

selecting Riccitelli is obviously with an eye on development with him being only 22... i think if we were going into an important test and Coles replacement had to play then they would have probably selected Parsons.

Those are Parsons strengths but, he has weaknesses that make him not of All Black standard. His decision making and set piece are the worst out of all the franchise hookers by a considerable distance. I would actually take Ash Dixon ahead of Parsons simply because his set piece is that bad. No way he is All Black standard.

 

[The Jones Boy]

I'm disappointed that Moala isn't in the mix as an impact player for SBW, when the big fella gets tired we have another battle tank to bring on who is a proven line breaker.
Yes he's green and injury prone but he is a line breaker and he has a physicality far above the likes of laumape who is tiny.

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

he has a physicality far above the likes of laumape who is tiny.

100+ kgs of explosive muscle is not tiny lol

 

[The Jones Boy]

Thats my weight (perhaps not quite so much muscle on my part as I have comfortably eclipsed the half century ;-) ) and it won't cut it against the likes of SBW or Moala or others of a similar size range like Jonathon Davies and co.
He is too small for top level rugby and he will be found out in the modern game.
I'm not rubbishing him as a player, it's just that a good big man will always beat a good small man in physical contests.
SBW takes 2-3 tacklers and still gets away an offload.
Laumape takes up a single tackler, thats it.
It becomes much harder to crerate gaps at the top level when you lack the impact.
Sure he's quick and he may prove me and the statistics wrong, but I doubt it and with Crotty already being a smaller type of player, we need to look at a bigger lump to play off him.

 

[The Jones Boy]

Just to qualify, I don't have a 'problem' with Laumape if he is alongside a lump. Like Little and Bunce for instance. The contrast is worth perservering with as I prefer the centers to have a wriggler and a blockbuster working together. We already have a champion wriggler at first five in Beauden Barrett so I don't fancy seeing three of them in a row.

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

I'm disappointed that Moala isn't in the mix as an impact player for SBW, when the big fella gets tired we have another battle tank to bring on who is a proven line breaker.
Yes he's green and injury prone but he is a line breaker and he has a physicality far above the likes of laumape who is tiny.

Sorry what? Laumape's 103kg, sure he's not quite SBW size (108kg) but for a centre 103kg is still very large; and 4kg heavier than George Moala who you're saying is more physical. Laumape is admittedly quite short but when he's as fast and big as he is regardless that just means he has a lower centre of mass and is all the more devastating. Really not quite sure why you have this idea that Laumape's small and lacks physicality, the man is a beast.

 

[The Jones Boy]

Yeah I've seen the AB stats being *ahem* 'adjusted' before, like for the last 4 decades.
Laumape is a midget.
See him stand next to SBW and he looks like a little boy in short pants. He looks 92 kilos at the most.
He busts with speed not power.
Doing that at the top level against the topsides is a different ball game to doing it at Super rugby level.
George Moala is more physical and he busts his lines open with a more physical approach.
Different to Crotty.
Laumape strikes me as being more of the same.
He may prove to be a legend, but as it stands I'll be keen for the AB's to play a wriggler alongside a blockbuster.
SBW and Moala are blockbusters.
Laumape is more of a wriggler.

The other issue is his defence...

For me this picture says it all, 5 Kg's difference between them? Yeah right...

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LsCOdZvO2MM/VedBB1Y5A2I/AAAAAAAEJKE/vYP9eJTgsso/s1600/Sonny+bill+Williams.jpg