I'll stand up for our lad. EDG has played one game in six weeks. He needs to keep playing.
NC: All Blacks
Match thread
Italy
@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.