2024 All Blacks

[OomStruisbaai]

Mark Robinson is a doos.

[Jethro]

The 36-man Rugby Championship squad will be named at 3pm.

Scooter had surgery on a finger after the Fiji test and will miss the first couple of rounds, at least. Ardie is likely to be the captain in the meantime.

Just shaken off my second bout of Covid. I'm ready to step up if the call comes.

Thank God, was a bit worried about our stocks

Anyone else think they have seriously fracked up the Rugby Championship match schedule:

NZ vs Argentina Rd 1

NZ vs Argentina Rd 2

South Africa vs NZ Rd 3

South Africa vs NZ Rd 4

Oz vs NZ Rd 5

NZ vs Oz Rd 6

So the only home and away NZ plays is against Australia

Seriously who thinks up this shite and thinks the public are going to pack the stadiums. Early prediction, Bokke to win the RC at a canter, NZ to retain the Bled, wonder if the English football is starting soon, oh yes it is, next week - might have some clashes with the NPC though

They should have a final between the two top teams played at a neutral venue as a promotion for the sport, and proper home and away fixtures.

[Gumboot]

Seriously who thinks up this shite and thinks the public are going to pack the stadiums. Early prediction, Bokke to win the RC at a canter, NZ to retain the Bled, wonder if the English football is starting soon, oh yes it is, next week - might have some clashes with the NPC though

No schedule clashes, thankfully. NPC games on test days finish early to avoid that happening, which has the added benefit of more afternoon domestic footy here in NZ.

[Gumboot]

Ardie's been confirmed as captain for the two tests against Argentina in Scooter's absence.

Harry Plummer has been called in as cover for Stephen Perofeta, who has "a bit of a niggle".

So does Will Jordan come straight in at 15, with Beaudie resuming his super-sub role? And has Razor decided that Reece is our nailed on 14, given he's started him there in 3 straight tests?

[Guy Smiley]

I reckon they'll start with DMac and BB in the 10-15 axis, bleeding Jordan in slowly from the bench. He's had a lot of time out. They might go the other way with BB on the bench with Plummer.


edit... surely Reece's spot is a no brainer? His work ethic is excellent and the theme is multi functionality is players, his ability to go to the base of the ruck and stand in as half back surely works in his favour.

[Torquemada 1420]

Bring back Foster...?

[Enzedder]

Bring back Foster...?

Dave Rennie is available.

Never look back

[Guy Smiley]

[Guy Smiley]

The post game presser,




Razor the morning after,

[Torquemada 1420]

Not seen the game but the reports in France suggested too much by way of wild errors and that clip is definitely such.

[Guy Smiley]

Not seen the game but the reports in France suggested too much by way of wild errors and that clip is definitely such.

That was late in the game and ended up with Argentina scoring off the next play. It was far and away the worst error of the game. The were others but nothing as clownshow as that... in the first 1/4 of the game, they had two kickable penalties that they turned down in favour of a lineout. They failed both of those attempts, so you could say they were errors. Perenara was charged twice lumbering himself into position for a box kick, that was frustrating.

There were lots of little compounding errors that proved costly, as opposed to lots of wild errors. There's clearly some rustiness to their play but on top of that seems to be some confusion over getting new systems into place. New coach, new ways, same old players... that can be messy. I think the over riding failure seems to have been a lack of on field leadership when it counted.. that clip I posted is perplexing. The ball is won by Blackadder, Ardie the captain and #8 retrieves it with the halfback right on his shoulder but decides to throw a pass that while a bit loose was definitely playable and MacKenzie decides to then throw a pass to clear space. That smacks of players trying to do too much when calmer heads could have settled, gone to contact and reset the play. Fuck, they'd won the damned lineout. They had the ball where they needed it, at halfway.

Actually, just fuck.

[Torquemada 1420]

Not seen the game but the reports in France suggested too much by way of wild errors and that clip is definitely such.

That was late in the game and ended up with Argentina scoring off the next play. It was far and away the worst error of the game. The were others but nothing as clownshow as that... in the first 1/4 of the game, they had two kickable penalties that they turned down in favour of a lineout. They failed both of those attempts, so you could say they were errors. Perenara was charged twice lumbering himself into position for a box kick, that was frustrating.

There were lots of little compounding errors that proved costly, as opposed to lots of wild errors. There's clearly some rustiness to their play but on top of that seems to be some confusion over getting new systems into place. New coach, new ways, same old players... that can be messy. I think the over riding failure seems to have been a lack of on field leadership when it counted.. that clip I posted is perplexing. The ball is won by Blackadder, Ardie the captain and #8 retrieves it with the halfback right on his shoulder but decides to throw a pass that while a bit loose was definitely playable and MacKenzie decides to then throw a pass to clear space. That smacks of players trying to do too much when calmer heads could have settled, gone to contact and reset the play. Fuck, they'd won the damned lineout. They had the ball where they needed it, at halfway.

Actually, just fuck.

[Grandpa]

Not seen the game but the reports in France suggested too much by way of wild errors and that clip is definitely such.

That was late in the game and ended up with Argentina scoring off the next play. It was far and away the worst error of the game. The were others but nothing as clownshow as that... in the first 1/4 of the game, they had two kickable penalties that they turned down in favour of a lineout. They failed both of those attempts, so you could say they were errors. Perenara was charged twice lumbering himself into position for a box kick, that was frustrating.

There were lots of little compounding errors that proved costly, as opposed to lots of wild errors. There's clearly some rustiness to their play but on top of that seems to be some confusion over getting new systems into place. New coach, new ways, same old players... that can be messy. I think the over riding failure seems to have been a lack of on field leadership when it counted.. that clip I posted is perplexing. The ball is won by Blackadder, Ardie the captain and #8 retrieves it with the halfback right on his shoulder but decides to throw a pass that while a bit loose was definitely playable and MacKenzie decides to then throw a pass to clear space. That smacks of players trying to do too much when calmer heads could have settled, gone to contact and reset the play. Fuck, they'd won the damned lineout. They had the ball where they needed it, at halfway.

Actually, just fuck.

To cap it off, I expected Rieko to throw it into the crowd...

[Gumboot]

So a loss and a win against the Pumas, and now it's off to South Africa for the next stage of The Rugby Championship.

Scott Barrett's finger is fully mended and he'll lead the tour, but there are doubts over the fitness of Tuipulotu, Jacobson and de Groot, with a call on them to be made on Wednesday.

We probably have enough cover at lock and loosie now, but I wonder if they'll bring in another loosehead if de Groot misses the trip. I also wonder if Tamaiti Williams should now be our starting no.1 regardless of de Groot's fitness. Jeez, he was impressive last night.

Obviously hoping for 2 wins in the Republic, but realistically I'll be pretty happy if we can come home with one win over the imperious Bokke.

Bring it!

[Flockwitt]

A win would be fine. It’ll be tough.

[Guy Smiley]

I thought I'd let this settle after last night before posting and chatted with a mate at work about it today...

among my personal and completely subjective arguments about the team and tactics is one disturbing theme... over the last 5 years or so we've seen the ABs show up and get shown up too many times. Teams getting bossed off the ball, out muscled by the same qualities they have employed so consistently and well.

We've seen them mount impressive fightbacks when backed up against the wall... Jo'burg last year and at the RWC, then last night after last week.

It's not good enough. Whatever the rot is, or soft caramel centre, Razor will want to root that out and fuck it off.

[OomStruisbaai]

So a loss and a win against the Pumas, and now it's off to South Africa for the next stage of The Rugby Championship.

Scott Barrett's finger is fully mended and he'll lead the tour, but there are doubts over the fitness of Tuipulotu, Jacobson and de Groot, with a call on them to be made on Wednesday.

We probably have enough cover at lock and loosie now, but I wonder if they'll bring in another loosehead if de Groot misses the trip. I also wonder if Tamaiti Williams should now be our starting no.1 regardless of de Groot's fitness. Jeez, he was impressive last night.

Obviously hoping for 2 wins in the Republic, but realistically I'll be pretty happy if we can come home with one win over the imperious Bokke.

Bring it!

All Blacks are the big favorites

[Gumboot]

All Blacks are the big favorites

[Flockwitt]

I thought I'd let this settle after last night before posting and chatted with a mate at work about it today...

among my personal and completely subjective arguments about the team and tactics is one disturbing theme... over the last 5 years or so we've seen the ABs show up and get shown up too many times. Teams getting bossed off the ball, out muscled by the same qualities they have employed so consistently and well.

We've seen them mount impressive fightbacks when backed up against the wall... Jo'burg last year and at the RWC, then last night after last week.

It's not good enough. Whatever the rot is, or soft caramel centre, Razor will want to root that out and fuck it off.

Yeah/nah. Unfortunately I can't agree. Global professionalism has caught up with the ABs. The days of the team having nearly double figures of players who'd walk in the best XV in the world for their position are over. The margins as every coach has now stated at the top level are razor thin. A few % off your game and you're toast, and you are not going to get it right every time and/or the opposition is going to which you have to respect. The ABs in full flight are still one of the best sights possible to see in rugby and for 50 minutes we got that last night. I'll be happy with that... but not expect it week in week out. It simply won't happen, the opposition now is too good relatively.

[Guy Smiley]

Totally agree regarding the quality of the opposition and I get a mixture of excitement and dread over the lift in intensity that comes with that. I'm happy to see the sport improving and becoming less a matter of one team being overwhelming favourite...

but my misgivings about the ABs is less related to external factors and more about internal dynamics and application. I take your point about that fine margin between a win and a loss that can blow out easily and be a substantial loss. That can exaggerate differences and / or individual performances, for sure... and being emotional creatures, our perceptions can be coloured as a result. What I'm driving at is my perception that there is some sort of complacency present within this group of players. The last two tests are a perfect example... we know Argentina can run hot and cold but for the ABs to return such a wide gap in performance over consecutive games bothers me.

This ties into a post I put up a while back quoting a passage from Sam Whitlock's book where he talks of being blindsided by the player driven approach to Mark Robinson last year in South Africa that led to the clumsy and messy retention of Fozzie's job after a series of poor results some would call disastrous while looking fearfully skywards. Whitelock was a senior player and surely part of the 'leadership group', yet he mentions being blindsided by the move. My read of that is disunity. Something isn't quite right within the group... who is leading who?

[Sandstorm]

It’s not the coach. In a country with some of the most embarrassing haircuts this decade, Razor’s greasy mop is not inspirational.

[Guy Smiley]

It’s not the coach. In a country with some of the most embarrassing haircuts this decade, Razor’s greasy mop is not inspirational.

It's not the coach, but it is the coach because of his hair?

[Sandstorm]

It’s not the coach. In a country with some of the most embarrassing haircuts this decade, Razor’s greasy mop is not inspirational.

It's not the coach, but it is the coach because of his hair?

He’s a fantastic coach, he proved it at the Sader’s when he had normal hair. His players followed him into hell. But in 2024……he’s not that guy any more. And I think it’s his haircut.

[OomStruisbaai]

It’s not the coach. In a country with some of the most embarrassing haircuts this decade, Razor’s greasy mop is not inspirational.

It's not the coach, but it is the coach because of his hair?

He’s a fantastic coach, he proved it at the Sader’s when he had normal hair. His players followed him into hell. But in 2024……he’s not that guy any more. And I think it’s his haircut.

Fosters haircut?

[Grandpa]

Totally agree regarding the quality of the opposition and I get a mixture of excitement and dread over the lift in intensity that comes with that. I'm happy to see the sport improving and becoming less a matter of one team being overwhelming favourite...

but my misgivings about the ABs is less related to external factors and more about internal dynamics and application. I take your point about that fine margin between a win and a loss that can blow out easily and be a substantial loss. That can exaggerate differences and / or individual performances, for sure... and being emotional creatures, our perceptions can be coloured as a result. What I'm driving at is my perception that there is some sort of complacency present within this group of players. The last two tests are a perfect example... we know Argentina can run hot and cold but for the ABs to return such a wide gap in performance over consecutive games bothers me.

This ties into a post I put up a while back quoting a passage from Sam Whitlock's book where he talks of being blindsided by the player driven approach to Mark Robinson last year in South Africa that led to the clumsy and messy retention of Fozzie's job after a series of poor results some would call disastrous while looking fearfully skywards. Whitelock was a senior player and surely part of the 'leadership group', yet he mentions being blindsided by the move. My read of that is disunity. Something isn't quite right within the group... who is leading who?

Has the 2010 to 2015 messed with our expectations? That team could play poorly and then somehow in the last 20 minutes recover from a 20 point deficit to win.. even against top sides like SA, Ireland and Australia at the time. But prior to that... maybe apart from that 1995 to 1997 side... haven't we always had those annoying losses... maybe less than most teams, but they were still there.

So if we were to go unbeaten for 10 matches... we'd have the makings of a great side. Which may take a few seasons to develop... doing it now would be quite the miracle..? Even SA has lost already this season... Ireland I guess did it for a period but then lost the vital match at the World Cup and has since lost to England and SA... so while it would be great... I think it might be a year or two before we get to that level again... if we ever do under Razor...

[Jethro]

So a loss and a win against the Pumas, and now it's off to South Africa for the next stage of The Rugby Championship.

Scott Barrett's finger is fully mended and he'll lead the tour, but there are doubts over the fitness of Tuipulotu, Jacobson and de Groot, with a call on them to be made on Wednesday.

We probably have enough cover at lock and loosie now, but I wonder if they'll bring in another loosehead if de Groot misses the trip. I also wonder if Tamaiti Williams should now be our starting no.1 regardless of de Groot's fitness. Jeez, he was impressive last night.

Obviously hoping for 2 wins in the Republic, but realistically I'll be pretty happy if we can come home with one win over the imperious Bokke.

Bring it!

All Blacks are the big favorites

Against the World Champions? Where can I get some of that action, whoever is giving odds against the Bokke at home against a rebuilding AB outfit is headed toward bankruptcy.

Advantage Bokke in this encounter, but should harden up some of our new troops, NZ building nicely imho.

[Dan54]

I thought I'd let this settle after last night before posting and chatted with a mate at work about it today...

among my personal and completely subjective arguments about the team and tactics is one disturbing theme... over the last 5 years or so we've seen the ABs show up and get shown up too many times. Teams getting bossed off the ball, out muscled by the same qualities they have employed so consistently and well.

We've seen them mount impressive fightbacks when backed up against the wall... Jo'burg last year and at the RWC, then last night after last week.

It's not good enough. Whatever the rot is, or soft caramel centre, Razor will want to root that out and fuck it off.

Yeah/nah. Unfortunately I can't agree. Global professionalism has caught up with the ABs. The days of the team having nearly double figures of players who'd walk in the best XV in the world for their position are over. The margins as every coach has now stated at the top level are razor thin. A few % off your game and you're toast, and you are not going to get it right every time and/or the opposition is going to which you have to respect. The ABs in full flight are still one of the best sights possible to see in rugby and for 50 minutes we got that last night. I'll be happy with that... but not expect it week in week out. It simply won't happen, the opposition now is too good relatively.

One of most sensible posts I have read. I always remember the worry that as the game went pro, NZ market was probably to small to really retain all the players we wanted to, and would slowly drain the depth that kept us near the top for so long. I think we are doing bloody well, I genuinely enjoy test rugby probably more now than I did in say late 80s etc when we basically trotted out on field and beat whoever truned up, except on odd occasions.
I actually think the other thing we have to be realistic about is something 50yo son and mates were saying, when they grew up you had a choice on weekend played rugby (or maybe soccer) or did nothing socially . Now there is so many sports etc, especially on tv kids just have options etc. and we not bringing through generations who have lived and breathed the game.
Mind you I also enjoy it as I finally learnt in the 90s when we lost tests etc it wasn't the end of world and sun still came up. And usualyy it was just because other team was better on the day, and out players/coaches weren't useless.

[Jethro]

It’s not the coach. In a country with some of the most embarrassing haircuts this decade, Razor’s greasy mop is not inspirational.

It's not the coach, but it is the coach because of his hair?

Hey we can match Australia in break dancing

[Kiwias]

Rangi stepping down as one of the AB coaches.

[Guy Smiley]

Beat me to it

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/350387514 ... frica-trip

All Blacks assistant coach Leon MacDonald has quit his job midway through the Rugby Championship due to a clash of coaching styles with head coach Scott Robertson.

New Zealand Rugby said discussions between Robertson and MacDonald on their “working approach” have been taking place for several weeks, with the pair agreeing to mutually part ways.


The All Blacks have announced the shock coaching change as they prepare to travel to South Africa for two tests against the world champion Springboks.

Assistant coach Scott Hansen and contact skills coach Tamati Ellison will take on additional responsibilities for the remainder of the season.

“Leon and I have been having some honest conversations with each other for a little while now,” Robertson said.

“As coaches we have differing views and both agreed it wasn’t working. Leon and I both care deeply about the All Blacks and we believe we’ve made a decision that’s best for this team.

“There’s a huge amount of respect and appreciation for Leon in the group and the work he’s put in to get us to this point in our journey.

“As a team we have acknowledged that contribution and our focus now needs to be on South Africa, it’s going to be two tough test matches over there.”

MacDonald was recruited by the All Blacks after coaching the Blues at Super Rugby Pacific.

[Enzedder]

This is normally when we recruit Wayne Smith

[Guy Smiley]

Weird title for this clip that comes nowhere close to what's in there. Have a watch and tell me you come away unmoved...

[Jethro]

This is normally when we recruit Wayne Smith

Or pull a quick one, and appoint the Taranaki coach, who let's face it is doing a decent job just recently.

[handyman]

Is Breakdown the top NZ rugby show?

[Grandpa]

Is Breakdown the top NZ rugby show?

No, it's awful.

Try Aotearoa Rugby Pod with James Parsons and Brynn Hall

[handyman]

Is Breakdown the top NZ rugby show?

No, it's awful.

Try Aotearoa Rugby Pod with James Parsons and Brynn Hall

Cheers. I like Mils, Goldie and the rest, Kirwan not so much.

[OomStruisbaai]

Is Breakdown the top NZ rugby show?

No, it's awful.

Try Aotearoa Rugby Pod with James Parsons and Brynn Hall

Will you put up the link please Oupa.

[Grandpa]

Is Breakdown the top NZ rugby show?

No, it's awful.

Try Aotearoa Rugby Pod with James Parsons and Brynn Hall

Will you put up the link please Oupa.

This is last weeks. Next one due in a couple of days

[Grandpa]

Is Breakdown the top NZ rugby show?

No, it's awful.

Try Aotearoa Rugby Pod with James Parsons and Brynn Hall

Cheers. I like Mils, Goldie and the rest, Kirwan not so much.

They're very vanilla... you get much greater depth on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.

[Guy Smiley]

No, it's awful.

Try Aotearoa Rugby Pod with James Parsons and Brynn Hall

Cheers. I like Mils, Goldie and the rest, Kirwan not so much.

They're very vanilla... you get much greater depth on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.

I avoid the Breakdown like the plague. They're terrible, paid cheerleaders pushing the NZR party line at all times, it's all about keeping the image of NZR looking good with no objective criticism to speak of. I've also had enough of Kirsty Stanaway's excited shouting in normal conversation. Fuck the lot of them. Someone should jam one of our many, many orange plastic road traffic cones down Justin Marshall's gullet.