Match thread

Kiwiwomble

@canefan said in Wales v All Blacks:

@Canes4life said in Wales v All Blacks:

@canefan said in Wales v All Blacks:

@kidcalder said in Wales v All Blacks:

Proctor has had his chances.. it hasn't worked out. Ioane is the best we have to play 13 currently- plenty of 12's but cupboard is bare of international standard 13's.

Proctor is another case that baffles me a bit. Razor gave him a decent crack and he didn't quite make the grade. The coaches seemed to agree because he sat out a bunch of games only to be reintroduced for the hardest game of the entire tour. And the most defensively capable centre isn't even in the 23. That just seems like madness to me

I wouldn’t mind seeing Proctor get a chance outside a 10 that isn’t Beauden. I’m not defending Proctor because he certainly hasn’t looked comfortable at 13 at this level but I do think the tactics that we are employing when Beauden’s running the cutter are all over the shop, and it’s hurting the youngsters in the team that are trying to find their feet.

The test that Tupaea looked really good in was the one with Damian at the helm, not surprising really.

Beauden in my view has really hamstrung our backline on attack. I also don’t see any point playing ALB or Ioane because they are on their way out IMO. I’d rather see Lester get another run at 13 before them.

BB makes everyone around him look lesser. Proctor has yet to convince at test level, but playing outside a decent 10 would help.

jesus, the first read of that i thought you were saying BB made other look lesser because he was so good

gt12

If Barrett starts, I wonder whether he is thinking of hanging up the boots. It would be strange to see him in this game, but with Mo'unga coming back I can't see Beauden making the WC. He could still demand a pretty good salary in Japan.

Nepia

@gt12 said in Wales v All Blacks:

If Barrett starts, I wonder whether he is thinking of hanging up the boots. It would be strange to see him in this game, but with Mo'unga coming back I can't see Beauden making the WC. He could still demand a pretty good salary in Japan.

He could be the first big name (rugby player) for R360.

Bones

@Nepia said in Wales v All Blacks:

@gt12 said in Wales v All Blacks:

If Barrett starts, I wonder whether he is thinking of hanging up the boots. It would be strange to see him in this game, but with Mo'unga coming back I can't see Beauden making the WC. He could still demand a pretty good salary in Japan.

He could be the first big name (rugby player) for R360.

This made me realise no one seems to have made a gif of all the chicks turning their light red on Take Me Out.

Canes4life

I’m hoping Love and Jordan gel together nicely at the back. That’s our strongest back three IMO. Hope it fires.

KiwiMurph

Playing Clarke seems like an unnecessary risk.

At least 10/15 combo should be interesting to keep an eye on.

canefan

Old timers' day for ALB

canefan

@Canes4life said in Wales v All Blacks:

I’m hoping Love and Jordan gel together nicely at the back. That’s our strongest back three IMO. Hope it fires.

I hope they play well enough to force the coaches to take a second look (I wish they'd played that back three months ago)

ShaquilleOatmeal

Well at least Sevu Reece isn’t… damnit!

Canes4life

@canefan said in Wales v All Blacks:

@Canes4life said in Wales v All Blacks:

I’m hoping Love and Jordan gel together nicely at the back. That’s our strongest back three IMO. Hope it fires.

I hope they play well enough to force the coaches to take a second look (I wish they'd played that back three months ago)

Yep, especially considering our woeful high ball exploits this year.

Landers92

ALB and Ioane the midfield…. Sevu on the bench. Wtf are we trying to achieve

Canes4life

@Landers92 said in Wales v All Blacks:

ALB and Ioane the midfield…. Sevu on the bench. Wtf are we trying to achieve

Hopefully a last hoorah for these guys.

Landers92

@Canes4life said in Wales v All Blacks:

@Landers92 said in Wales v All Blacks:

ALB and Ioane the midfield…. Sevu on the bench. Wtf are we trying to achieve

Hopefully a last hoorah for these guys.

Ticking a box and getting everyone a game. At least Will Jordan is in his best position. Would rather see Tangitau wearing 14 though

sparky

Kirifi at 7! 🤮
ALB at 12! 🤮

Wales to win.

sparky

@Landers92 said in Wales v All Blacks:

ALB and Ioane the midfield…. Sevu on the bench. Wtf are we trying to achieve

Giving Wales a collective orgasm.

Landers92

I’m glad razor managed to get his 6 Crusaders on the bench. So inspiring

Bovidae

The injuries certainly limited the options in the 23 based on who was left in the squad.

That is the backline Cully was predicting, except Reece and Jordan swapping roles.

Canes4life

Who leads the haka? Ioane?

That backline is a wasted opportunity for me. Looking forward to 2026, we aren’t going to learn anything useful from ALB and Rieko.

One could argue that it gives DMac a great chance to show at 10, and Love gets a go at 15 with experience all around, but hard to see anything done for cohesion.

And, if the backline DOES set the house on fire, where does that leave us going forward?

MN5

@pakman said in Wales v All Blacks:

That backline is a wasted opportunity for me. Looking forward to 2026, we aren’t going to learn anything useful from ALB and Rieko.

One could argue that it gives DMac a great chance to show at 10, and Love gets a go at 15 with experience all around, but hard to see anything done for cohesion.

> And, if the backline DOES set the house on fire, where does that leave us going forward?

Give ourselves an uppercut and remind ourselves it’s only Wales

Canes4life

Two players that I would love to see in the ABs are Tangitau and Flanders. A fit Flanders is better than Parker IMO and Tangitau is just a gun, noting he has a bit to work on defensively.

Torian

@Bovidae almost feels like they forgot to drop Reece from the squad back in October lol, he's getting himself a free cap this weekend hopefully it's his last

SouthernMann

Well, this side is a real fullstop on the end of the season.

Gives the vibe of waking up after smashing an entire pack of darts on a night out. Just a bit grim.

Jesus, we are a real mess aren't we?
What are we hoping to achieve with that selection? It's just 'make sure everyone gets a go' day in what is supposed to be a high performance environment, when we have not made the progress we need to and have a heap of unanswered questions.

Donsteppa

"And at half time we'll swap the backs around with the forwards". Hmmm....

canefan

@reprobate said in Wales v All Blacks:

Jesus, we are a real mess aren't we?
What are we hoping to achieve with that selection? It's just 'make sure everyone gets a go' day in what is supposed to be a high performance environment, when we have not made the progress we need to and have a heap of unanswered questions.

Another wasted opportunity

Ardie Savea and Beauden Barrett aren’t playing. Now we get to see how things go without them. 😬

Missed opportunity to run Savea off the bench as 7/12 cover.

antipodean

@Number-10 said in Wales v All Blacks:

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Kirifi, ALB, Reece, Christie. It's like a fucking nightmare.

The only bright aspect is no Savea wasting a position on the field and Damien has to make a turd sandwich palatable.

booboo

@hikastags said in Wales v All Blacks:

Not sure i've seen anything from Dyer that justifies him being an All Black.

Who is your alternative?

I would've had Marcel Renata ahead of Mafileo. Renata can also play both sides which is why Mafileo was picked.

I know he's 31 so on the older side, but props age like wine these days.

So both these dude's in front of Dyer? Cool. Not sure I can add any value to that.

But when we're down to numbers 4, 5, and 6 in any position it's getting somewhat subjective.

Appreciate your response. But what have you seen in Renata and Mafileo that justifirs them as All Balcks? (Genuine if somewhat smart arse question.)

@KiwiMurph said in Wales v All Blacks:

A missed opportunity if you dont include Tangitau (which I dont expect them to). A perfect chance to debut him.

yes - it's a pretty dick move by Razor to not give him a debut considering he missed the final All Black XV game against Uruguay to train with them, I mean we've really got nothing left to lose - the England test was all that mattered and Wales are essentially a tier 2 nation at this point...

@stodders said in Wales v All Blacks:

Ardie Savea and Beauden Barrett aren’t playing. Now we get to see how things go without them. 😬

Except we don't, because everything else has changed too.