All Blacks 2024

@frugby said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Blunders said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@DaGrubster he has the physical size but he needs to show the grunt and consistency. Lord is a bit of a rake but has the height on his side.

Lord has a lot more than that on his side. I doubt there's a huge difference in the size of these two. There is a stark difference between their skills and athleticism though.

Height no, size yes. Parkinson is a unit, Lord still a bit of a twig.

Lord is no longer a twig. He was noticeably bulkier last year and he was physical to go with it. He just needs to outgrow his injury problems.

I don’t think Sam Whitelock is finished yet. I reckon he’ll go around again. Be back for the 2027 World Cup.

@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@frugby said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Blunders said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@DaGrubster he has the physical size but he needs to show the grunt and consistency. Lord is a bit of a rake but has the height on his side.

Lord has a lot more than that on his side. I doubt there's a huge difference in the size of these two. There is a stark difference between their skills and athleticism though.

Height no, size yes. Parkinson is a unit, Lord still a bit of a twig.

Lord is no longer a twig. He was noticeably bulkier last year and he was physical to go with it. He just needs to outgrow his injury problems.

He is bulkier, but he still has more filling out to do I think. I feel if you put him next to Retallick and Whitelock he would still look noticeably smaller.

@frugby said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Blunders said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@DaGrubster he has the physical size but he needs to show the grunt and consistency. Lord is a bit of a rake but has the height on his side.

Lord has a lot more than that on his side. I doubt there's a huge difference in the size of these two. There is a stark difference between their skills and athleticism though.

Height no, size yes. Parkinson is a unit, Lord still a bit of a twig.

Get him onto the Ethan Blackadder workout schedule. That’ll sort him.

@frugby said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@frugby said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Blunders said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@DaGrubster he has the physical size but he needs to show the grunt and consistency. Lord is a bit of a rake but has the height on his side.

Lord has a lot more than that on his side. I doubt there's a huge difference in the size of these two. There is a stark difference between their skills and athleticism though.

Height no, size yes. Parkinson is a unit, Lord still a bit of a twig.

Lord is no longer a twig. He was noticeably bulkier last year and he was physical to go with it. He just needs to outgrow his injury problems.

He is bulkier, but he still has more filling out to do I think. I feel if you put him next to Retallick and Whitelock he would still look noticeably smaller.

We've already had Retallick saying Lord is bigger.

@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@frugby said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@frugby said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Blunders said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@DaGrubster he has the physical size but he needs to show the grunt and consistency. Lord is a bit of a rake but has the height on his side.

Lord has a lot more than that on his side. I doubt there's a huge difference in the size of these two. There is a stark difference between their skills and athleticism though.

Height no, size yes. Parkinson is a unit, Lord still a bit of a twig.

Lord is no longer a twig. He was noticeably bulkier last year and he was physical to go with it. He just needs to outgrow his injury problems.

He is bulkier, but he still has more filling out to do I think. I feel if you put him next to Retallick and Whitelock he would still look noticeably smaller.

We've already had Retallick saying Lord is bigger.

Well he’s gonna sound like a cock if he says he’s smaller isn’t he ?

Of course Retallick is gonna talk up the newbie.

Lord looked bulkier to me this year, commented on it as soon as I saw him. he still looks to be filling out as is not unusual for a tall kid like him. One of reasons I like about Holland, he seems to have weight etc already.

Holland has good no-nonsense solid joints on him too, perfect for a lock.

@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

Holland has good no-nonsense solid joints on him too, perfect for a lock.

Is he actually any good at rugby?

@MN5 said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@frugby said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Blunders said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@DaGrubster he has the physical size but he needs to show the grunt and consistency. Lord is a bit of a rake but has the height on his side.

Lord has a lot more than that on his side. I doubt there's a huge difference in the size of these two. There is a stark difference between their skills and athleticism though.

Height no, size yes. Parkinson is a unit, Lord still a bit of a twig.

Get him onto the Ethan Blackadder workout schedule. That’ll sort him.

He'll get bigger and gain the ability to walk on water.

@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@taniwharugby Nope not taking away from that, I just think ST woulda been better - and I can't help but feel Taylor's form last year help shaped how great we think he was this year too.

Yeah, I thought ST would be our starting hooker come the RWC and would be an absolute weapon. Definite black mark against Ryan there who seemed to have some bias towards Taylor.

@mariner4life I said "pretty good" not great. I should've added some context: In terms of the gameplan the ABs tried to play, they needed a big guy at 12 not David H. Although JB is suited to 12 physically and skills-wise, questions of creativity and vision (as you've mentioned) remain. Some of these areas for development are self-inflicte, BC Razor chose him at 12 but then he left for canes country and played mostly 15 and even 13 early on.

@Frank said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

Holland has good no-nonsense solid joints on him too, perfect for a lock.

Is he actually any good at rugby?

He showed potential for NZ U20 and Otago.... https://i.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/126885745/meet-fabian-holland-the-teenage-dutch-lock-chasing-his-all-blacks-dream

@MN5 said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

We've already had Retallick saying Lord is bigger.
Well he’s gonna sound like a cock if he says he’s smaller isn’t he ?

Considering BBBR is one of the biggest locks around, no.

@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@MN5 said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

We've already had Retallick saying Lord is bigger.
Well he’s gonna sound like a cock if he says he’s smaller isn’t he ?

Considering BBBR is one of the biggest locks around, no.

In NZ maybe.

Overseas guys seem bigger than he is.

@MN5 said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@frugby said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@frugby said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Blunders said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@DaGrubster he has the physical size but he needs to show the grunt and consistency. Lord is a bit of a rake but has the height on his side.

Lord has a lot more than that on his side. I doubt there's a huge difference in the size of these two. There is a stark difference between their skills and athleticism though.

Height no, size yes. Parkinson is a unit, Lord still a bit of a twig.

Lord is no longer a twig. He was noticeably bulkier last year and he was physical to go with it. He just needs to outgrow his injury problems.

He is bulkier, but he still has more filling out to do I think. I feel if you put him next to Retallick and Whitelock he would still look noticeably smaller.

We've already had Retallick saying Lord is bigger.

Well he’s gonna sound like a cock if he says he’s smaller isn’t he ?

Of course Retallick is gonna talk up the newbie.

Yeah true of course that's it, how could I stray from such clear logic.

@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@MN5 said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@frugby said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@frugby said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Blunders said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@DaGrubster he has the physical size but he needs to show the grunt and consistency. Lord is a bit of a rake but has the height on his side.

Lord has a lot more than that on his side. I doubt there's a huge difference in the size of these two. There is a stark difference between their skills and athleticism though.

Height no, size yes. Parkinson is a unit, Lord still a bit of a twig.

Lord is no longer a twig. He was noticeably bulkier last year and he was physical to go with it. He just needs to outgrow his injury problems.

He is bulkier, but he still has more filling out to do I think. I feel if you put him next to Retallick and Whitelock he would still look noticeably smaller.

We've already had Retallick saying Lord is bigger.

Well he’s gonna sound like a cock if he says he’s smaller isn’t he ?

Of course Retallick is gonna talk up the newbie.

Yeah true of course that's it, how could I stray from such clear logic.

Lord is the 2024 version of Ethan Blackadder and you’re falling for the hype.

I honestly expect better from you.

Not sure where to post this but here’s some trivia for everyone. What does the current AB captain, the current Black Caps captain, and the current Team NZ skipper have in common? (Other than the obvious of being Kiwi and skippers of their respective national teams).

tauranga boys

@ploughboy nice one, i didn’t know that until today. Pretty cool for Tauranga Boys.

@Canes4life were they all there together?

No. Cane was originally at Reporoa College and only at TBC for his final year.

It was sealed: in early 2009, a few weeks after future Black Caps skipper Kane Williamson and future Team NZ America’s Cup-winning helmsman and Olympic gold medallist Peter Burling farewelled Tauranga Boys’, Cane and Axtens made the 90-minute drive from Reporoa to their new school.

@MN5 said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@MN5 said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@frugby said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@frugby said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Blunders said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@DaGrubster he has the physical size but he needs to show the grunt and consistency. Lord is a bit of a rake but has the height on his side.

Lord has a lot more than that on his side. I doubt there's a huge difference in the size of these two. There is a stark difference between their skills and athleticism though.

Height no, size yes. Parkinson is a unit, Lord still a bit of a twig.

Lord is no longer a twig. He was noticeably bulkier last year and he was physical to go with it. He just needs to outgrow his injury problems.

He is bulkier, but he still has more filling out to do I think. I feel if you put him next to Retallick and Whitelock he would still look noticeably smaller.

We've already had Retallick saying Lord is bigger.

Well he’s gonna sound like a cock if he says he’s smaller isn’t he ?

Of course Retallick is gonna talk up the newbie.

Yeah true of course that's it, how could I stray from such clear logic.

Lord is the 2024 version of Ethan Blackadder and you’re falling for the hype.

I honestly expect better from you.

What? What hype?

But yeah another great call, after I was of the opinion Lord should be ahead of Vaai, I've now fallen for the massive hype and gone overboard with the praise by saying Lord is better than Parkinson. Holy shit I've gone mental.

@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@MN5 said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@MN5 said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@frugby said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@frugby said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Blunders said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@DaGrubster he has the physical size but he needs to show the grunt and consistency. Lord is a bit of a rake but has the height on his side.

Lord has a lot more than that on his side. I doubt there's a huge difference in the size of these two. There is a stark difference between their skills and athleticism though.

Height no, size yes. Parkinson is a unit, Lord still a bit of a twig.

Lord is no longer a twig. He was noticeably bulkier last year and he was physical to go with it. He just needs to outgrow his injury problems.

He is bulkier, but he still has more filling out to do I think. I feel if you put him next to Retallick and Whitelock he would still look noticeably smaller.

We've already had Retallick saying Lord is bigger.

Well he’s gonna sound like a cock if he says he’s smaller isn’t he ?

Of course Retallick is gonna talk up the newbie.

Yeah true of course that's it, how could I stray from such clear logic.

Lord is the 2024 version of Ethan Blackadder and you’re falling for the hype.

I honestly expect better from you.

What? What hype?

But yeah another great call, after I was of the opinion Lord should be ahead of Vaai, I've now fallen for the massive hype and gone overboard with the praise by saying Lord is better than Parkinson. Holy shit I've gone mental.

I’m just pleased Lord got rid of that mullet.

@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@frugby said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Crazy-Horse said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@frugby said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@Blunders said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@DaGrubster he has the physical size but he needs to show the grunt and consistency. Lord is a bit of a rake but has the height on his side.

Lord has a lot more than that on his side. I doubt there's a huge difference in the size of these two. There is a stark difference between their skills and athleticism though.

Height no, size yes. Parkinson is a unit, Lord still a bit of a twig.

Lord is no longer a twig. He was noticeably bulkier last year and he was physical to go with it. He just needs to outgrow his injury problems.

He is bulkier, but he still has more filling out to do I think. I feel if you put him next to Retallick and Whitelock he would still look noticeably smaller.

We've already had Retallick saying Lord is bigger.

He is the tallest and heaviest on paper I think, but once again, this doesn't mean literally bigger in terms of maximising body... and granted, I'm not suggesting it would be in Lord's best interests to get much bigger.

I think he is naturally a lot lankier than Retallick and Whitelock for example, but example he could be more mobile. Him and S Barrett could be a nice combo in the short run, though I'd worry we'd get fucked by the Boks with those two.

@frugby said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

though I'd worry we'd get fucked by the Boks with those two.

Why?

@Bones said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@frugby said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

though I'd worry we'd get fucked by the Boks with those two.

Why?

I second this question tbh, bc the Bok coaches didn't build lock depth during this past 4-year cycle for the post-2023 period and:

1. Etzebeth is long in the tooth.
2. Mostert is primarily a lineout guy (but since so few sides actually contest oppo lineout, his worth is down imo). Also, already 33 yrs old.
3. Jean Kleyn (30) is at times pretty meh when he comes on.
4. RG Snyman is the youngest (28, I think) and best all-round, but is prone to long-term injuries. If I'm not mistaken, his Irish club is suing SA for compensation for yet another injury RG suffered at RWC23.

So, there shouldn't be that much fear factor when facing Bok 2nd rowers atm.

The boks have a lot of players to replace over the next 4 years.

We will likely see most of their pack gone for the next World Cup along with a lot of backs.

Won’t be too much of an issue I would have though in the forwards as they always produce a certain standard.

I’m quite confident, we will have a pack to match theirs even though we are replacing a couple of iconic locks

@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@antipodean said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

At the moment I don't think our shape affords him much space and time to use his threats as much as we'd like.

the last 3 games our midfield played very straight and very narrow to pull in defenders and free up Mo'unga to the loop. SA shut it down instantly the first time we ran it, so we just played straight and narrow.

Working out how to free up RI should the attack coaches first priority

Take this comment against the background that I have been such a massive RI fanboy that my mates call him my "son" but... if I was the attack coach, I would totally re-shape the way we attack to get as much depth and space as possible for RI to use his pace. The "flat" backline relies on bruisers or steppers to get over the gain line or make breaks and RI is neither of those things. His pace is the whole reason to move him to 13, but we've hardly seen have the time or space to use that pack, mainly because of our shape, but also because what time and space our shape creates has been created for RM and BB to use.

Another midfielder I'll be keen to watch is Daniel Rona

@junior That is such a great point about the depth of the AB attack and the type of players required for a flatter variation.

@Punch_up

You didn’t mention Lood De Jager, big bugger but will be 34 at the time of RWC2027.

@cliff said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

Another midfielder I'll be keen to watch is Daniel Rona

Yeah I'm looking forward to seeing more of him next year, looks the most natural centre I've seen in a while.

Rona will be like a few other players mentioned previously in that they might not get that much time on the field to push for higher honours.

@DaGrubster I don't really know why he was left out of the Bok squad (didn't keep up on those developments at the time tbh), but I just know he was REALLY REALLY disappointed not being part of the WC setup and considering the same coach will be involved for the coming 4-year cycle... Let's just say that they'll have to do some serious begging to get him involved again.if they

@Punch_up said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

@DaGrubster I don't really know why he was left out of the Bok squad (didn't keep up on those developments at the time tbh), but I just know he was REALLY REALLY disappointed not being part of the WC setup and considering the same coach will be involved for the coming 4-year cycle... Let's just say that they'll have to do some serious begging to get him involved again.if they

Could have been due to this,

@Frank Wow...did not know that. Thx for posting.

Interesting Read gives a bit of an insight in to Razor's approach to the AB coaching role.

@Chris said in All Blacks 2024 - no interminable Foster arguments:

Interesting Read gives a bit of an insight in to Razor's approach to the AB coaching role.

View embedded content

That is tantalising, having read that I feel like there is great hope for the future