Fuck rotation

Pick your best

Sub when the job is done

@Bovidae said in All Blacks v Italy, 2026:

Clarke looked lost on defence.

Agreed, he was found out far too often. It goes back to confidence for me. He just doesn't look confident out there. When he runs, he doesn't smash through players like he used to. Naturally, he's a soft sort of character so whatever we need to do to fire him up every game, let's make sure we do that.

the French obviously identified something given they seemed to attack through thier right side alot more than the left.

@Tim said in All Blacks v Italy, 2026:

Start the Hurricanes front row with Tosi starting or on bench. Vaai replaces Lord. Taukei'aho on the bench. Segner on the bench. Might need to manage Savea's minutes, so 6-2 split?

Wouldn't be surprised if Clarke picked up an injury before being subbed against France.

Think we'll see minimal changes in the starting XV. But maybe quite a few on the bench. Preston in for Ratima.

Who captains if RD is subbed? Jordie?

I know De Groot hasn't played much recently but that may have been a serious gash. Give him a rest or at least some bench time.
Is Tosi fit? I'd also play him.
Didn't really notice Lomax much but he did a fine cold shoulder to Jailbait (I refuse to spell that correctly, he looks like a talented branleur to me).

Given coaches have made noises about everyone getting a run i would expect a fair few changes noting too that Italy lost to Japan on the week

@Bovidae said in All Blacks v Italy, 2026:

Clarke looked lost on defence.

His defence has been very reliable over the years.

@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks v Italy, 2026:

@Tim said in All Blacks v Italy, 2026:

Start the Hurricanes front row with Tosi starting or on bench. Vaai replaces Lord. Taukei'aho on the bench. Segner on the bench. Might need to manage Savea's minutes, so 6-2 split?

Wouldn't be surprised if Clarke picked up an injury before being subbed against France.

Think we'll see minimal changes in the starting XV. But maybe quite a few on the bench. Preston in for Ratima.

Who captains if RD is subbed? Jordie?

I don't disagree with having Preston ahead of Ratima in the pecking order but what's the point in dropping Ratima after playing just five minutes?

Missed tackles on Saturday

5 @37.5% Damian Mckenzie
3 @66% Quinn Tuapaea
3 @72% Xavier Numia
2 @81% Jordie Barrett
2 @71% Peter Lakai
2 @89% Sam Darry
1 @75% Caleb Clarke

Of all the guys you could talk about who had poor defence on Saturday.

@brodean "Lost on defence" = provincialism.

The defense certainly needs major improvement in this match so we are ready to face Ireland.

Just for context this French team made 12 line breaks which is 1 more line break than the Boks made last year when they hammered us with a record score.

MIssed tackles stats dont always tell the whole story.

I mean you are positioned wrong, and dont even get near someone, you havent missed a tackle, but if the guy inside/outside you then comes across to cover for you but misses, then he gets the missed tackle.

Similarly, FB's will often feature higher as they are often the guy called on to cover after someone else has missed, all about context, but I am sure the coaches look at that in thier analysis too.

I'll be a bit disappointed if they give Tupaea one game at 13 then drop him from there.

Any Chiefs fan will tell you that he hardly plays there for us, so to expect him to walk in and be world class at defence (in probably the hardest position to be world class in at defence), is pretty unfair on the Super rugby player of the year.

He's a 12 who can stretch to 13, and if they want him to be WC there, he needs as many games as possible to start there so he can build his understanding.

Not every good performance is defined by the winning margin. This week, I'd make defence the key performance indicator. If they keep Italy's score down through disciplined, accurate defence, that's a better sign of progress than simply racking up points themselves.

@taniwharugby

Yes, centers are often used to shoot up and close down space, which leads to missed tackles recorded but not defensive lapses. Tupaea didn't do that though. It would be better to look at the root cause of the defensive problems than blame your least favourite team's wing.

Tupaea might successfully convert from 12 (where is very good) to 13, but his defensive lapses won't go away immediately.

We also need to get better at tackling and slowing down the opposition rucks.

@taniwharugby said in All Blacks v Italy, 2026:

MIssed tackles stats dont always tell the whole story.

I mean you are positioned wrong, and dont even get near someone, you havent missed a tackle, but if the guy inside/outside you then comes across to cover for you but misses, then he gets the missed tackle.

Yes. You have to attempt a tackle to miss one. But getting stepped or beaten has the same effect.

@Tim I was talking generally, not about any one player.

Agree, plenty to work on, but probably more to feel positive about in that 80 mins than we saw in the past 2 seasons.

re the suggestions of QT at 12....i think if hes a serious option at 13 then he was less than perfect on sat and so a few games in a row would be good, moving him immediately doen't let him settle

@Kiwiwomble Agreed. If the coaches have a clear idea of how they want to play and which players best suit that style, they can't start chopping and changing every week or at the first sign someone isn't perfect. That applies to Tupaea at centre, the loose forward trio I still don't like and everything else. This is the fifth or sixth time I've said it, but they need to find their best lineup (which may well require some tinkering) and give it time to develop.

Ardie should start and it should be at no8. Sure sub him off if they don’t want him to go the distance. But moving Lakai to 8 would make no sense at this early juncture after playing him at blindside in the opener. Lakai played 50 odd minutes, maybe this week sub off the 7 or 8 and try a different combo to close things out.