@Old-Samurai-Jack said in All Blacks 2026:
@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
I would love to see Finau play like that every week if he could, lock him in as AB 6. But I am not sure he can.
No.6s at the international level take a bit of time to develop, don't they?
They do but Finau has been inconsistent at all levels for awhile now.
I hope he backs that performance up with more of those games.
@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:
@Bovidae said in All Blacks 2026:
Savea is wearing the no.7 jersey, but is he playing like we expect a 7 to?
That's precisely my point.
I don’t disagree with that I would put him on the bench.
But my point is the coaches seem to see him as a 7 so he is a 7 at selection time.
Still we don’t need a 35 year old with a broken body, I can not see him lasting a tour of SA.
He has had some injury concerns in Japan.
Yeah, I'm gonna have to agree. He was struggling in 2024, and I think he'd be even more busted now.
Great player, but time to move on.
@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
@Old-Samurai-Jack said in All Blacks 2026:
@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
I would love to see Finau play like that every week if he could, lock him in as AB 6. But I am not sure he can.
No.6s at the international level take a bit of time to develop, don't they?
They do but Finau has been inconsistent at all levels for awhile now.
I hope he backs that performance up with more of those games.
I think he was a bit lost under the last coaching group. Seemed confused as to what his role was.
He's one who I think is worth a look under a new coaching team.
@Chris said in All Blacks 2026:
I would love to see Finau play like that every week if he could, lock him in as AB 6. But I am not sure he can.
It's worth having Samipeni Finau in the extended squad though. I have thought Devan Flanders and Corey Kellow if they stay fit are his main rivals for the ABs 6 jersey this year.
My current thoughts on the back row squad are:
6: Finau, Flanders, Kellow.
7: Savea; Jacobson (or Paps if he can be delayed from going overseas).
8 Lakai; Sititi.
@African-Monkey said in All Blacks 2026:
I think he was a bit lost under the last coaching group. Seemed confused as to what his role was.
A lot of players would have felt that way.
It was that magic Razor communication
@sparky said in All Blacks 2026:
I like Samipeni Finau and he's certainly a contender for the 6 jersey, but he's another one I want to see smash into things and people more. Given his size and power, he should be making a lot more dominant tackles per game.
He must have been reading!
@cgrant said in All Blacks 2026:
Current options for the 7 jersey (no particular order) : Savea, Lakai, Kirifi, Jacobson, Segner, Kellow. Papali'i not considered because he is leaving. Jacobson, Segner and Kellow are playing like 6,5s (or 8 - Jacobson). Too early for Lee.
You’ll have to rule out Savea and Lakai too if you want someone who’s been playing openside like an openside. That leaves you with Kirifi, a player who was well out of his depth at test level last year.
@george33 said in All Blacks 2026:
Savea, Cane , Frizzell. Imagine that disaster. All playing in Japan currently.
Rennie.
Could play a RWC Final, or part of one, with that combo.
I'm confident there'll be at least one left-field selection in the loose forwards. Probably in the 6/8 role but not impossible to see an unexpected pick for 7 too.
There are worse suggestions than Johnny Lee.
To suggest Samipeni Finau's struggles were due to Robertson is ludicrous. It ignores the reality that All Blacks blindsides have been consistently inconsistent for the past 10 years.
I'd say blindside flanker was one position which actually had a clearly defined role - unfortunately Finau was unable to do that.
On Finau, him putting in a great performance at home against the Waratahs doesn't change anything - it certainly doesn't mean he should be our first choice blindside.
Equally, just because he has been poor at test level in the past doesn't mean it won't click for him as soon as this year - and if it does, I think to say it is due to the new coaches is more than likely correlation than causation - and this goes for many players who didn't look particularly good in black last year.
I wouldn’t be that surprised to see Rennie revisit the idea of playing one of the locks at 6 ,
Not saying it’s the answer, but given what we have, I get the temptation, particularly against the boks
@frugby said in All Blacks 2026:
and if it does, I think to say it is due to the new coaches is more than likely correlation than causation - and this goes for many players who didn't look particularly good in black last year.
I'd push back on that somewhat
I think Barnes is technically a much better hands on coach than Razor so I believe there is some real improvement to be made there.
Same goes for the other coaches.
@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2026:
@frugby said in All Blacks 2026:
and if it does, I think to say it is due to the new coaches is more than likely correlation than causation - and this goes for many players who didn't look particularly good in black last year.
I'd push back on that somewhat
I think Barnes is technically a much better hands on coach than Razor so I believe there is some real improvement to be made there.
Same goes for the other coaches.
Definitely a tough thing to measure - but take Parker for example. Say he plays awesome in black this year, is that down to coaching, or is it simply that he has gone away and adjusted to test rugby. Likewise Finau, if he plays awesome, is that because after all this time he has simply adjusted?
I feel like that is basically impossible to prove either way?
The only thing you can really measure if the overall functions of the team, and for that I actually think more is at the feet of Mike Blair in getting the attack to function. If you fix the All Blacks attack, I'd wager we still have the best outside backs in the world, and getting the right guys in those positions scoring tries fixes a lot of issues.
@frugby but that is what good coaches do, get the best out of players, but agree given limited time, if someone from last year suddenly becomes world class, it is hard to say this is down to just Rennie
With this lot getting out and about, hopefully providing feedback to the squad from last year about what they need to see from them along with fringe players about what they like and anything more they want to see.
It is a huge opportnuity for alot of players this year, and Rennie has a clean slate to work with, although we know a large base of players used last year are likely to be used again, but hopefully he doesnt squander this like it appeared Razor did.
Worth noting Finau has been messed around a bit when it comes to selection over the last two years. Had a couple of starts early on then got relegated to the bench or tackle bag holder while they experimented with other options like Sititi, Blackadder, Vaii and parker. None of those guys have really done any better at 6 and arguably lack the raw materials that Finau has.
Who knows where he could be now if he was persisted with.
It’s the same mistake that has been repeated over and over since Kaino left.
