I don't care if I'm being biased, the forecast for Saturday is wind and rain so I'd like to see as many Canes in the side as a possible. The Italians won't know what hit them.
I'd go:
I want minimal changes as they need time to build the combinations, so only where better players are now fit should they come into the 23.
Having said that, time to put the pressure on Proctor to step up. Tupaea is not a centre.
And earlier use of the bench. Italy got done by Japan. The game should be over by halftime.
@Canes4life I'd be happy with that if they start ST
I think we'll see only a few changes to the starting side - Aumua at hooker, Parker on the flank, Proctor in the midfield and Fineanganofo on the wing.
Otherwise, Tosi, Vaa'i, Moorby to come onto the bench.
I don't think we'll see every player get minutes during these three Tests. Bower, Preston, Carter, Segner and potentially even Beauden Barrett might not take the field.
@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks v Italy, 2026:
I am hoping we will see the same intensity but less helter skelter.
One thing I saw, haven't seen specifically commented on but I've skipped a fair amount, was our propensity to pass to a player, slightly wider in midfield, who received ball and defender at the same time. Led to a lot of dropped ball. An example being Lakai to Groot near the posts.
Seemed a deliberate tactic to challenge the D, but needs a tweak to make it work.
@Bones said in All Blacks v Italy, 2026:
@Canes4life I'd be happy with that if they start ST
Yeah wouldn't mind starting ST. But either way, I feel like one of them needs to be on the bench for impact.
@pakman said in All Blacks v Italy, 2026:
@Victor-Meldrew I expect three or four. BB to get a start at 15.
Minimal changes 9-12. Ditto 15. Think they should give Love and DMac more time together as well. Proctor at 13. - and give QT game time at 12.
@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks v Italy, 2026:
@pakman said in All Blacks v Italy, 2026:
@Victor-Meldrew I expect three or four. BB to get a start at 15.
Minimal changes 9-12. Ditto 15. Think they should give Love and DMac more time together as well. Proctor at 13. - and give QT game time at 12.
I actually like your thinking around giving Tupaea and Proctor a run together.
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.
@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.
Clarke continues to be very underwhelming; he just looks like a player very low on confidence. Hopefully he can find it again because he can be very devastating. Maybe a hangover from the Blues environment.
@Canes4life 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.
Clarke continues to be very underwhelming; he just looks like a player very low on confidence. Hopefully he can find it again because he can be very devastating. Maybe a hangover from the Blues environment.
He wasn't close to being that bad. He had a solid game.
@SouthernMann He played well. I'd like to see the Hurricanes front row (with Tosi) in action though. He'd still be in the 23 for Italy.
@Bovidae said in All Blacks v Italy, 2026:
@Tim The left edge was exposed more and Clarke often defended narrow but didn't tackle anyone in those French tries.
That's a function of being tied to the people inside him. The line doesn't come up quickly enough and they can' cut off the quick hands.
@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 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.
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.
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.
@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks v Italy, 2026:
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.
With a similar lineup, they're perfectly suited to a 6:2 bench split. It'd be very easy this weekend to sub Savea at half-time without also having to shift Jacobson or Lakai - assuming they're starting again - and still give one of them a rest too.
