@Kiwiwomble said in All Blacks XV:
@Crucial feels like semantics now, yeah, i think some people are selected "just in case" as in building depth. and some times that depth goes past the obvious selections, i feel in the past the 4th or 5th choice or a bolter for a position was normally someone young so you were developing long term talent...but now it feels like we are just as likely to see a 28 year old come out of the blue...they cant be seen as a long term option
I guess it depends on what your definition of long term option is. Let’s say Aumua makes the ABs because of a combination of his form and injury to one or two others (not an unusual path) and he finds his feet in test footy quickly. He could still have 5 or even 6 years of test footy (some recent ABs have played till 34 or 35).
That would be a lot more than past ABs who were selected at 22 or 23 who have played a few tests, been on the fringe for a year or two and then gone overseas to play club footy as an “All Black International”.
The thing with pro team sport selections is that it’s subjective and each is on its merits for the particular circumstances. Let’s not forget we have had injuries galore in the midfield over a number of years so building depth would be a priority for any coach/selector.
using PGS again as the example...it wasn;t a mistake, they didnt select him as an accident, he was chosen to at most play 20min, in the past i think we would have had someone younger come on to play 10 minute bursts and you could legitimately say they were selected with the potential to go on and play more.
One could easily argue that the PGS was a genuine look because we had for arguments sake player X who was in and out because of injury and player Y who they weren’t sure about and player Z playing lock and filling in. Again this sort of selection has been a feature on the past. If you start looking at other factors like who the player is also eligible to play for or worrying about “will they actually be long term”, then you might miss something that will help you immediately.
So yeah, sometime i think they freak out that we might not have the depth they want and so they pick people just in case that depth is needed
Been happening for the last 15 years since the evolution of the full use of the 22/23. I’d say but don’t have any hard data to back it up, but injuries are far more common so not being caught out is pretty important.
