@nostrildamus Yep, as a group, the Welsh seem much more like us, the French and the Saffas. Loving and rooting for their team, but also massively respecting the game, the opposition and the contest. They know their Rugby history and Rugby's traditions.

I'm not saying there aren't individual English, Welsh or Irish fans like that, but as a group they bring other vibes as well.

I've nothing against the Welsh fans apart from they cheer for an international team that doesn't wear Black.

@reprobate said in Wales Vs All Blacks:

My favourite bit is going to be us rolling out a B team, with Mckenzie to start at 10 without Roigard and without Jordie Barrett - and all the combinations being shit, so Raygun can convince himself that he did the right thing by starting BB all season.

Otherwise known as the Foster Defence

@nostrildamus said in Wales Vs All Blacks:

Ok, dark secret out. Of all the UK/Irish teams I'd mind losing to the Welsh the least. Apart from what that means in terms of form, of course. Anyway I was expecting us to lose 2 games on tour, which for me was just about on a minimum acceptance level. But now losing another game (and in a row) is not acceptable.

Did you cope with 1953 ok ?

@sparky said in Wales Vs All Blacks:

@African-Monkey You don't know the meaning of "the 16th man" until you've heard the Welsh home crowd in full voice. They'll give their side an enormous lift.

If their side was half decent then yes, I'd believe it. Not this tier 2 Welsh version though.

This game has a real Pohangina B vs Apiti feel about it.

@frugby said in Wales Vs All Blacks:

Predicted Team

1. Williams
2. Taukei'aho
3. Mafileo
4. Barrett
5. Holland
6. Sititi
7. Kirifi
8. Savea
9. Ratima
10. McKenzie
11. Clarke
12. ALB
13. Ioane
14. Reece
15. Jordan
16. Bell
17. Bower
18. Tosi
19. Lord
20. Parker
21. Christie
22. Love
23. Fainga'anuku

This starting backline makes me think we're playing the 3rd vs 4th bronze match of a world cup or something lol can beauden get a send off too actually no don't take me seriously with that suggestion

@sparky the problem for us is your mediocre players are better than our "good" ones.

Jordan is a 14. The test has failed. Put Love at 15, DMAC at 10. Keep the Tupea/Fainga midfield and Clarke at 11. Savea is tired, no more energy. Put Papai' at 7.

Based on who’s available and are in and around the squad I’d play Sititi, Lakai, CLW

@frugby said in Wales Vs All Blacks:

Predicted Team

1. Williams
2. Taukei'aho
3. Mafileo
4. Barrett
5. Holland
6. Sititi
7. Kirifi
8. Savea
9. Ratima

Stopped there. That's a fucking dreadful team.

Sititi isn't a blindside's arsehole. I'm in my 50s and I put in more dominant tackles.

Kirifi has shown the disparate leap between Super Rugby and Tests. Literally too small to have a positive impact.

Savea is fucking arse. Useless fluffybunny won't hit a ruck. Might as well select my dead grandmother.

@taniwharugby said in Wales Vs All Blacks:

@sparky said in Wales Vs All Blacks:

I reckon if you go back over Razors tenure, how many games have we bricked it in the 2nd half?

Come to think of it most of them - even the games we have won!

It's quite unbelievable for a professional coach to not have remedied this issue (and have made it worse) with 26 tests played under Razor now.

Roof will be on

Every point scored against NZ will be roared on like we’re shagging the best looking girl in the bar

Every point conceded won’t matter because we’re chatting up the best looking girl in the bar

A fantastic day in store

@taniwharugby said in Wales Vs All Blacks:

Yeah right, I mean even if some were jettisoned or walk, who is gonna join this shit show?

This. Any potential decent AB coach would have second thoughts after the NZR shit-show of the last 5 years

@MiketheSnow said in Wales Vs All Blacks:

Roof will be on

Every point scored against NZ will be roared on like we’re shagging the last best looking girl in the bar Chip Alley.

Fixed it for you.

This is probably Wales’ best chance to beat the ABs since….

This match is huge for NZ

Perform badly against us and it's a real downer on which to end the year

Lose - we can dream - and NZ is in the fucking toilet

Realistically - and barring injury - Razor should pick his strongest side and destroy us

If he tinkers then it could be his undoing

@MiketheSnow said in Wales Vs All Blacks:

This match is huge for NZ

The pressure on Robertson to resign is growing. If we lose on Saturday, he won't be given that courtesy. He'll be fired.

@MiketheSnow said in Wales Vs All Blacks:

This match is huge for NZ

Perform badly against us and it's a real downer on which to end the year

Lose - we can dream - and NZ is in the fucking toilet

Realistically - and barring injury - Razor should pick his strongest side and destroy us

If he tinkers then it could be his undoing

Made that mistake against Italy last year.

Don't make wholesale changes, but the team certainly needs freshening up.

Last match ffor Beauden Barrett. Give him a good farewell. Same thing for Savea

@game_film We've got no chance but 2004 still haunts me, I was in the stadium and honestly thought we could do it until the Joe Rokocoko show. 24-25 🥴

@pooler-fan said in Wales Vs All Blacks:

@game_film We've got no chance but 2004 still haunts me, I was in the stadium and honestly thought we could do it until the Joe Rokocoko show. 24-25 🥴

Me too

I'd go with something like:

1. Ethan De Groot
2. Codie Taylor
3. Fletcher Newell
4. Scott Barrett (c)
5. Josh Lord
6. Wallace Sititi
7. Peter Lakai
8. Christian Lio-Willie
9. Finlay Christie
10. DMac
11. Caleb Clarke
12. Quinn Tupaea
13. Leicester Fainga'anuku
14. Will Jordan
15. Ruben Love

16. George Bell
17. Tamati Williams
18. Tavatio Mafileo
19. Fabian Holland
20. Ardie Savea
21. Folau Fakatava
22. Rivez Reihana
23. Reiko Ioane

@pourfasse

Watched that. Noticed:

Tony Spreadbury was a bloody good Ref, Martyn Williams was world-class as was Gethin Jenkins, Dan Carter was as chilled in his early career as he was at the end.

Oh, and Jonathan Davies actually added value to a commentary back then.

@MiketheSnow said in Wales Vs All Blacks:

This match is huge for NZ

Perform badly against us and it's a real downer on which to end the year

Lose - we can dream - and NZ is in the fucking toilet

Realistically - and barring injury - Razor should pick his strongest side and destroy us

If he tinkers then it could be his undoing

Even a non convincing win would put him under all sorts of pressure

So did we find out what the deal is with Holland?

@Bones People think it's the same as The Netherlands. It's not.

It's just two provinces of the country. North Holland and South Holland. Okay, they are the most historically important and richest parts of the country. North Holland = Amsterdam. South Holland = Rotterdam and The Hague.

But the whole country is called The Netherlands.

@antipodean said in Wales Vs All Blacks:

@frugby said in Wales Vs All Blacks:

Predicted Team

1. Williams
2. Taukei'aho
3. Mafileo
4. Barrett
5. Holland
6. Sititi
7. Kirifi
8. Savea
9. Ratima

Stopped there. That's a fucking dreadful team.

Sititi isn't a blindside's arsehole. I'm in my 50s and I put in more dominant tackles.

Kirifi has shown the disparate leap between Super Rugby and Tests. Literally too small to have a positive impact.

Savea is fucking arse. Useless fluffybunny won't hit a ruck. Might as well select my dead grandmother.

I am expecting this to be the worst team we’ve seen all year. It is going to be a combo of those who haven’t played and those needing more chances… I can’t see anything other than farewells in the backline especially

@frugby no chance of a recall for two players loyal to nz rugby who are seemingly back in form in Folau Fakatava & Braydon Ennor?

@Grooter One can only hope

I'd like to have sees what a 9-10-12 of Roigard, McKenzie, Jordie could do this season, but unfortunately because of Raygun's insistence on BB and now injury we're only likely to see Ratima, McKenzie, Tupaea this week. Which is okay, but tells us nothing.
If he is going to make wholesale changes so we achieve nothing, then @Grooter at least I'd like to see him throw his toys and tell a few guys to watch this one from the stands because it's not fucking good enough. But sadly I don't think he has the cajones for that and we'll get what @frugby says.

@reprobate said in Wales Vs All Blacks:

I'd like to have sees what a 9-10-12 of Roigard, McKenzie, Jordie could do this season, but unfortunately because of Raygun's insistence on BB and now injury we're only likely to see Ratima, McKenzie, Tupaea this week. Which is okay, but tells us nothing.
If he is going to make wholesale changes so we achieve nothing, then @Grooter at least I'd like to see him throw his toys and tell a few guys to watch this one from the stands because it's not fucking good enough. But sadly I don't think he has the cajones for that and we'll get what @frugby says.

na, they'll give ALB a start alongside Proctor surely.

@MN5 ALB and Rieko surely? Unless Rieko is on the wing?

@MN5 said in Wales Vs All Blacks:

@reprobate said in Wales Vs All Blacks:

I'd like to have sees what a 9-10-12 of Roigard, McKenzie, Jordie could do this season, but unfortunately because of Raygun's insistence on BB and now injury we're only likely to see Ratima, McKenzie, Tupaea this week. Which is okay, but tells us nothing.
If he is going to make wholesale changes so we achieve nothing, then @Grooter at least I'd like to see him throw his toys and tell a few guys to watch this one from the stands because it's not fucking good enough. But sadly I don't think he has the cajones for that and we'll get what @frugby says.

na, they'll give ALB a start alongside Proctor surely.

Sigh. Yep, they probably will.

@frugby said in Wales Vs All Blacks:

@MN5 ALB and Rieko surely? Unless Rieko is on the wing?

Yes. Forgot about him ( as have the selectors ) he'll be there somewhere.

Start Love to show him some love.

Finding it incredibly hard to get excited for this game. Putting 50 on wales should be a given. Anything less would be a fail mark.

Would like to see what Love can do at 10 or 15, with Dmac at the other.

Stick give Lord and Darry (or Holland if fit) more time in the locks.

Give Parker one last chance before the season ends to impose himself on a game. The other options like Sititi seems pointless.

CLW at 8, Lakai at 7.

Anyone other than Ratima at 9

Centres is an issue. Tupaea and LF offer soemthing in attack but neither can tackle. So what the fuck do we do there?

Jordan at 14. Anyone other than Carter at 11. He was a shit show last week (and the week before).

Anyone who hasn’t had game time on the bench. At least they’ll be hunger.

Announce Beuaden’s and Savea’s retirement at the end of the match.

I expect they'll run out a full B team. It'll be an absolute mess and the All Blacks will stumble home unconvincingly, winning by less than twenty. A fitting farewell match for Sevu Reece, Finlay Christie and Anton Lienert-Brown.

However, I'd go with the best team possible, other than injuries and maybe resting players who've had a heavy workload. That best team possible would not include Beauden Barrett or Ardie Savea.

@ShaquilleOatmeal said in Wales Vs All Blacks:

I expect they'll run out a full B team. It'll be an absolute mess and the All Blacks will stumble home unconvincingly, winning by less than twenty. A fitting farewell match for Sevu Reece, Finlay Christie and Anton Lienert-Brown.

However, I'd go with the best team possible, other than injuries and maybe resting players who've had a heavy workload. That best team possible would not include Beauden Barrett or Ardie Savea.

If Reece, ALB, and Christie are playing next week, I might have a brain aneurism

@jimmyb said in Wales Vs All Blacks:

Finding it incredibly hard to get excited for this game. Putting 50 on wales should be a given. Anything less would be a fail mark.

Um, now you are just being silly. England did that this year (68-14) but no one else did, including South Africa (45-12). And we didn't beat England.