I don't care how well Beauden trains, we've seen him play and he better be nowhere near #10. You just know he will revert to cross-kicks under pressure rather than retain the ball.
Fullback I can just stomach, but even then it better not be the test team.
@tubbyj said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
Hmmm
Pretty sure that could be any barista in Wellington
I'd have had Kirifi, Hotham and Harkin in the squad. I won't have had Beauden Barrett.
No complaints elsewhere.
Go Black!
@steven-harris Harkin played a pre season game for the Hurricanes in 2019 but got injured and missed out on playing rugby for quite some time. Then had to wait for a while to even play NPC.
@frugby said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
Just playing devil’s advocate here. Razor and the Canterbury mafia copped plenty of heat for a perceived bias towards Canterbury players.
STT a bit of a Captain’s/Assistant Coach pick? I don’t think anyone was picking him ahead of CLW or even Casey after Super Rugby.
It's a product of playing for Moana. If STT had put up the last 2 seasons for the Highlanders there would have been huge clamouring for him to be in black.
NZ are in short supply of power loosies. STT is a power 8. Excellent selection
@bones said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
Can anyone find those Blackadder stats that show his improvement this year?
If someone can point to his best game I'll put TSF Stat Bot on it.
@frugby said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
Just playing devil’s advocate here. Razor and the Canterbury mafia copped plenty of heat for a perceived bias towards Canterbury players.
STT a bit of a Captain’s/Assistant Coach pick? I don’t think anyone was picking him ahead of CLW or even Casey after Super Rugby.
Speak for yourself.
@kiwimurph said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
@frugby said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
Just playing devil’s advocate here. Razor and the Canterbury mafia copped plenty of heat for a perceived bias towards Canterbury players.
STT a bit of a Captain’s/Assistant Coach pick? I don’t think anyone was picking him ahead of CLW or even Casey after Super Rugby.
It's a product of playing for Moana. If STT had put up the last 2 seasons for the Highlanders there would have been huge clamouring for him to be in black.
NZ are in short supply of power loosies. STT is a power 8. Excellent selection
He's in his early twenties.
Looks 30
@kirwan said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
@bones said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
Can anyone find those Blackadder stats that show his improvement this year?
If someone can point to his best game I'll put TSF Stat Bot on it.
Ethan Blackadder's standout game of the 2026 season was the Crusaders' 36–20 victory over the Blues on 8 May 2026.Having missed a stretch of games earlier in the autumn due to a calf strain, this round marked his highly anticipated return to the starting lineup at blindside flanker.Why This Was His Best Performance
The "BIGGA" Engine: Blackadder recorded his highest "repeat-effort" metrics of the year during this match. Analysts noted his incredible capacity to make a tackle, immediately bounce back to his feet, and contest the subsequent breakdown.
Defensive Masterclass: He spearheaded the Crusaders' defensive line against a heavy Blues pack, completing a game-high 24 tackles without missing a single attempt.
Attacking Impact: He secured one of his 2 season try assists during this match, providing a crucial offload in heavy traffic to unlock the Blues' midfield.
@kirwan said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
I think the technical term is boomfa! Here's hoping that appears at test/midweek level.
@bones said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
Can anyone find those Blackadder stats that show his improvement this year?
- He's not injured.
@kiwimurph said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
NZ are in short supply of power loosies. STT is a power 8. Excellent selection
I remember STT making plenty of metres against SA opposition for the NZ U19s on that tour.
@reprobate said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
@kirwan said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
Blackadder and Bell real head scratchers. Is Blackadder going to be a midweek captain maybe?
Zero surprise with either for me.
Blackadder is the closest player to Jacobson, and regardless of what you think of his selection it would be hard to argue that he doesn't fit the Rennie work ethic criteria.
Bell's throwing is much improved, and he's very good around the park - I reckon he's clearly 4th.
Paps would have been ideal. Poor bastard has snapped his achilles.
@frank said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
The selection of Blackadder is clearly so we can have an injury to get Mounga in
Meltdown alert: Frizell.
@bovidae said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
McAlister being named as the Canterbury captain also pointed to him not being the fourth hooker.
And surely BB is the likely non-test captain if he plays.
That said, he's only one call away.
@no-quarter said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
Also great to see Rieko there, Rennie made the comment that we was still up in Ireland when the initial squad was selected (even though he could have picked him). Felt like Rieko was always in Rennie's plans, they just wanted a close look at Proctor and Tupaea at 13. If we are going to have either of those guys starting at 13 (like Tupaea), then we really need Rieko in the 23 as insurance.