NC: All Blacks
Match thread
Italy
@Rugbyman said in 2026 Nations Championship: All Blacks v Italy:
@stodders Personally I think Esterhuizen is better than De Allende. More powerful 120kgs and has a better passing game. De Allende is very experienced and makes very few errors. I wouldn't be surprised if Esterhuizen is starting at 12 by WC next year unless they want him to specialize as a bench, impact, hybrid type player.
Yeah I agree on De Allende . He is one hell of a player and you want him in your back line but you don’t turn on your tv to watch him.
In other news, I’m in Rome and you wouldn’t know they are playing us tomorrow. Rugby still not really a thing here.
@MajorStokes said in 2026 Nations Championship: All Blacks v Italy:
@Rugbyman said in 2026 Nations Championship: All Blacks v Italy:
@stodders Personally I think Esterhuizen is better than De Allende. More powerful 120kgs and has a better passing game. De Allende is very experienced and makes very few errors. I wouldn't be surprised if Esterhuizen is starting at 12 by WC next year unless they want him to specialize as a bench, impact, hybrid type player.
Yeah I agree on De Allende . He is one hell of a player and you want him in your back line but you don’t turn on your tv to watch him.
In other news, I’m in Rome and you wouldn’t know they are playing us tomorrow. Rugby still not really a thing here.
Fuck i bet that's hot
@KiwiMurph just a week out from trampling the best French team ever. WR hates the ABs.
Be interesting to see how this forward pack goes against the Italians. Apparently this is the forward pack that defeated England, and coming off an embarrassing loss to Japan, Italy may be more competitive.
Love looks taller than Fehi, shows how suspect these stats are. Don't know if weight is as misleading as it was decades ago when forwards filled themselves with water etc before weighin.
Anyone else uncomfortable with these constant references from the ABs coaches to the need for ‘brutality’ on the part of the team? Brutality means needless cruelty and violence and implies the illegitimate use of force. Seems an odd choice of word, particularly given the ABs’ problems with cards in recent years. I get they want to go in hard, but ‘brutality’ sounds a tad excessive to me
@His-Bobness That came up a while ago but they may mean "merciless" or "relentless" rather than violent. Never missing tackles and making the opposition work harder to gain metres, for example.
@ShaquilleOatmeal said in 2026 Nations Championship: All Blacks v Italy:
@His-Bobness That came up a while ago but they may mean "merciless" or "relentless" rather than violent. Never missing tackles and making the opposition work harder to gain metres, for example.
Merciless is a much better word
@His-Bobness said in 2026 Nations Championship: All Blacks v Italy:
Anyone else uncomfortable
Not in the slightest.
Who dropped it? Just lay on the ground and slowly got it. Hadn't even got up before the ball was on the other side of the field.
@Bones said in 2026 Nations Championship: All Blacks v Italy:
Who dropped it? Just lay on the ground and slowly got it. Hadn't even got up before the ball was on the other side of the field.
Jordan I think
@KiwiMurph said in 2026 Nations Championship: All Blacks v Italy:
@Bones said in 2026 Nations Championship: All Blacks v Italy:
Who dropped it? Just lay on the ground and slowly got it. Hadn't even got up before the ball was on the other side of the field.
Jordan I think
Should have known.
@KiwiMurph said in 2026 Nations Championship: All Blacks v Italy:
What's the excuse for Proctor this time?
That was a shocker
@sparky said in 2026 Nations Championship: All Blacks v Italy:
Looked like a double movement to me.
Eh? Not even a hint of it.