All Blacks squad named

[The Jones Boy]

Fekitoa is no longer required by Mr Hansen.
After 20 odd caps he's been considered a failure.
Moala barely got an opportunity and he was injured.
Unlike some he did score a try in the defeat to Ireland...
He may or may not get another chance in the future.
It's unlikely Fekitoa will wear the black jersey again.

 

[mania]

Fekitoa is no longer required by Mr Hansen.
After 20 odd caps he's been considered a failure.
Moala barely got an opportunity and he was injured.
Unlike some he did score a try in the defeat to Ireland...
He may or may not get another chance in the future.
It's unlikely Fekitoa will wear the black jersey again.

fekitoa had his chance. time to try some others. loved fekitoa in his first season. he was a beast, but he never reclaimed that level of play and it seemed the harder he tried the more errors he made. life goes on and there are better players who deserve a chance.
moala is a monster. strong and has a nose for the gap. but his levels have also dropped.

 

[The Jones Boy]

I had high hopes for Fekitoa after his first season but he lacked the vision to go on to the next level.
I like Moala, not simply because I'm a Blues fan, but because he has the tools to be great, thats no guarantee though... but I would really like to see Buckman get a chance.
He has the hallmarks of being another Conrad Smith kind of player.

 

[The Jones Boy]

Be interesting to see how the AB's go today and see if the outcome affects what Hansen wants for the his AB squad set up.

 

[Larksea]

I had high hopes for Fekitoa after his first season but he lacked the vision to go on to the next level.
I like Moala, not simply because I'm a Blues fan, but because he has the tools to be great, thats no guarantee though... but I would really like to see Buckman get a chance.
He has the hallmarks of being another Conrad Smith kind of player.

I agree, IMO fekitoa started out with raw physical tackle busting power but he lacked vision and decision making skills. Initially you would back a young player to pick those up over time. But he seemed to lose a lot of that raw tackle breaking ability, he did become an excellent defender, world class even... But his decision making skills never really improved. At times it even seemed like if there was a wrong option he would take it and that is why ALB had such a dramatic effect when he came in as what was a surprise injury replacement at the time. All of a sudden the AB's backline started scoring a ton of trys and it was simply because ALB made good decisions. That night and day change was really the end for Fekitoa, the selectors saw exactly what they had been missing.

I also agree about Moala, the guy has what is needed he just hasn't got a proper chance to show that at test level, mostly because of bad timing with injuries. What was great about nonu was that although he was big physically and seen as a power back. Most of the good things he did on attack were through footwork and speed. I see that in Moala, the guy is a giant easily stronger than Nonu. But when he is at his best its his footwork that makes him so dangerous. This year hasn't been great for Moala, his form is down a bit. I know I keep saying it but it doesn't help that he is at the blues and the rest of the guys are in functioning high performing backlines. SBW was a mixed bag this year in super rugby, 10 was a revolving door at the blues and Pulu is more of an individual 9 than a playmaking 9 not a great canvas for Moala to shine.

Buckman is excellent and I think for that midfield role of decision maker and elite defender he is 2nd only to Crotty in the NZ game, and arguably better in some respects. he is constantly the player that is unexpectedly good. For a smaller guy he doesn't just make tackles he makes strong tackles that hault momentum and win turnovers.

 

[Larksea]

interesting article on Stuff today stating that Brad Shields has an English passport through family and is a potential target for Eddie Jones. The thing that surprises me is that if true this hasn't come up sooner. Shields is easily one of the top loose forwards in NZ and has been for years now. i'm surprised he hasn't been poached sooner. I can only imagine he has been approached but turned down offers wanting to make the AB's. but with 2019 fast approaching that may change.

 

[mania]

interesting article on Stuff today stating that Brad Shields has an English passport through family

didnt shields play for ABs vs the boks?[/QUOTE]

 

[Larksea]

Brad Shieds is uncapped, hes been part of training squads in the past but has never played for the AB's

 

[mania]

Brad Shieds is uncapped, hes been part of training squads in the past but has never played for the AB's

Dm would've sworn he played vs the boks and got owned. Dmnd old age

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

Dm would've sworn he played vs the boks and got owned. Dmnd old age

You may be thinking of James Broadhurst.

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

Todd is out for a month. Cane in doubt due to his head knock. This makes things interesting...
If Cane is MIA for a while, who do they bring in? Surely it has to be a specialist 7, which I guess would be Blake Gibson? I think Gibson is a good player and is very promising, but it's quite a drop off from the other 3...

 

[mackerzz]

i dunno about that. i'm 5'8" and i'm taller than he is when i got autographs off him for my kids.
that's what makes him that much more of phenomenon. he's like a dwarf star, small but packed with a sht load of force

ngani is 6 ft 7 1/2 that's why

 

[The Jones Boy]

Todd is out for a month. Cane in doubt due to his head knock. This makes things interesting...
If Cane is MIA for a while, who do they bring in? Surely it has to be a specialist 7, ...

Hard one to call but I'd imagine they go for a specialist sniffer.

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

As expected, Blake Gibson has been called in. https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/spo...ies-hit-hard-steve-hansen-gives-him-big-wraps

 

[Kiwiwomble]

glad they've brought in someone young and in form rather than just reshuffling old hats out of position. didn't see much of him but seems to be some good chatter. Hopefully he actually gets a game

I was hoping it would be Dillon Hunt but that's just because i saw him play a lot for the highlanders, i love a fairy tale story from wider training group to starting openside to mentioned for the AB's.

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

Hames in as cover for Moody and, interestingly, Tasman prop Tim Perry has been called in to join the squad in Auckland... odd choice if you ask me. A number of guys I'd have ahead of him, the likes of Leirnert-Brown and Chris Eves, but especially Pualiasu Manu.

 

[Kiwiwomble]

never heard of him...super rugby team?

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

never heard of him...super rugby team?

Crusaders, he's the 3rd choice loosehead.

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

So Whitelock, Retallick, Squire, Cane, Barrett and Crotty are skipping Argentina and going straight to Africa while Todd, Kaino, Tuipulotu and JTA join the squad..... interesting.
I hope the locks can step up, the gap between the top 2 and the rest has been too big for quite a while now. I'm glad that Tuipulotu's back, he's been really good for Auckland, expect he'll come off the bench.
Really interested to see what they'll do with the loosies... out of Kaino, Savea, Fifita and Todd someone will have to miss out (unless the want to rest Read.) Surely they've gotta play Kaino to get him back into the mix, but then again we do really wanna see Fifita get another run. They love Todd and he's generally a preferred starting 7 to Savea, so I'd expect him to start, and Savea is the best impact forward in the world so surely he gets the bench spot. Really tough call on who misses out. If it were up to me I'd probably start Kaino and Savea with Fifita on the bench since Todd hasn't played in over a month, but I doubt Shag'll do that.
Also really hoping Ngani gets the 12 jersey, he's waited long enough, it's time to unleash him. SBW could also do with a spell.
And it looks like Havili will be getting his debut. Considering Sops is the only 10, I think Havili will start with Dmac on the bench to cover. As for the wings, you'd think Naholo might finally get a shot, but I'd be really reluctant to drop Ioane or Nehe with the form they're playing themselves into.

Now watch them do the complete opposite of everything I just said...

 

[The Jones Boy]

Yeah it's time for the up and coming locks to make the step up and start to deliver at the same level as the chuckle brothers have been for so long now.
It would be nice to see Naholo get in amongst it and get busy. I'd drop Nehe to let Naholo have a run.
Is Todd along for the ride to get the feel of how things are done at the top level?
I would love to see Fifita get a run, he's very exciting.
Big opportunity for Sopoaga this week to show his quality. I like him he's a quality player. Lets see how he handles the pressure when the buck stops with him.
Laumape should definitely get a run either starting or from the bench. With only SBW and ALB in the midfield it's looking favourite that Laumape will get game time.
I take my hat off to Hansen. He has got some balls taking a team full of greenhorns to Argentina to put it on the line.
It's a wonderful opportunity for these young fellas to get starts and game time but make no mistake these inexperienced guys are being asked to perform a massive task.
The Pumas at home are no mugs and have given us real headaches before...