All Blacks 2026

@His-Bobness said in All Blacks 2026:

@voodoo said in All Blacks 2026:

I don't get the Rieko hate. I reckon he was one of the most underutilised players in the last few AB seasons. A direct recipient of slow ball into BB shovelling, putting JB into zero space meaning Rieko got trite double shovelled ball or maybe at best a pop pass in a tackle if Jordie freed his arms.. I don't recall him being given any ball in space then failing to put an outside away when he had the chance

Agree with this. Suspect Rieko was the victim of a combination of the tall poppy syndrome in New Zealand (not fake playing the 'aw shucks I'm just happy to be a caretaker of the black jersey' schtick) and the absence of any attacking strategy in the Razor regime with the contact-shy BB just either shovelling the ball on or kicking it aimlessly away. I certainly think he offers more at centre than a journeyman like ALB. And I don't agree he's 'past it'.

I think under the new attack strategy he might do well. Some highlights from his recent URC stint....

View embedded content

Some great passing in their from Rieko.

@brodean said in All Blacks 2026:

@His-Bobness said in All Blacks 2026:

@voodoo said in All Blacks 2026:

I don't get the Rieko hate. I reckon he was one of the most underutilised players in the last few AB seasons. A direct recipient of slow ball into BB shovelling, putting JB into zero space meaning Rieko got trite double shovelled ball or maybe at best a pop pass in a tackle if Jordie freed his arms.. I don't recall him being given any ball in space then failing to put an outside away when he had the chance

Agree with this. Suspect Rieko was the victim of a combination of the tall poppy syndrome in New Zealand (not fake playing the 'aw shucks I'm just happy to be a caretaker of the black jersey' schtick) and the absence of any attacking strategy in the Razor regime with the contact-shy BB just either shovelling the ball on or kicking it aimlessly away. I certainly think he offers more at centre than a journeyman like ALB. And I don't agree he's 'past it'.

I think under the new attack strategy he might do well. Some highlights from his recent URC stint....

View embedded content

Some great passing in their from Rieko.

That deep lying backline looked more like Rennie's ABs than either Fozzie's or Razor's

@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:

That deep lying backline looked more like Rennie's ABs than either Fozzie's or Razor's

What I thought was obvious was the number of times he was attacking the outside shoulder. In recent seasons he's been asked to run a short line and cut in

@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:

@brodean said in All Blacks 2026:

@His-Bobness said in All Blacks 2026:

@voodoo said in All Blacks 2026:

I don't get the Rieko hate. I reckon he was one of the most underutilised players in the last few AB seasons. A direct recipient of slow ball into BB shovelling, putting JB into zero space meaning Rieko got trite double shovelled ball or maybe at best a pop pass in a tackle if Jordie freed his arms.. I don't recall him being given any ball in space then failing to put an outside away when he had the chance

Agree with this. Suspect Rieko was the victim of a combination of the tall poppy syndrome in New Zealand (not fake playing the 'aw shucks I'm just happy to be a caretaker of the black jersey' schtick) and the absence of any attacking strategy in the Razor regime with the contact-shy BB just either shovelling the ball on or kicking it aimlessly away. I certainly think he offers more at centre than a journeyman like ALB. And I don't agree he's 'past it'.

I think under the new attack strategy he might do well. Some highlights from his recent URC stint....

View embedded content

Some great passing in their from Rieko.

That deep lying backline looked more like Rennie's ABs than either Fozzie's or Razor's

Having Reiko looking to make the outside break instead of cutting back in to bash the ball like he was asked to by Robertson looked great in those clips as well. As did all the running with the ball in two hands

@brodean said in All Blacks 2026:

@His-Bobness said in All Blacks 2026:

@voodoo said in All Blacks 2026:

I don't get the Rieko hate. I reckon he was one of the most underutilised players in the last few AB seasons. A direct recipient of slow ball into BB shovelling, putting JB into zero space meaning Rieko got trite double shovelled ball or maybe at best a pop pass in a tackle if Jordie freed his arms.. I don't recall him being given any ball in space then failing to put an outside away when he had the chance

Agree with this. Suspect Rieko was the victim of a combination of the tall poppy syndrome in New Zealand (not fake playing the 'aw shucks I'm just happy to be a caretaker of the black jersey' schtick) and the absence of any attacking strategy in the Razor regime with the contact-shy BB just either shovelling the ball on or kicking it aimlessly away. I certainly think he offers more at centre than a journeyman like ALB. And I don't agree he's 'past it'.

I think under the new attack strategy he might do well. Some highlights from his recent URC stint....

View embedded content

Some great passing in their from Rieko.

Not so much from Lowe.

@brodean said in All Blacks 2026:

@His-Bobness said in All Blacks 2026:

@voodoo said in All Blacks 2026:

I don't get the Rieko hate. I reckon he was one of the most underutilised players in the last few AB seasons. A direct recipient of slow ball into BB shovelling, putting JB into zero space meaning Rieko got trite double shovelled ball or maybe at best a pop pass in a tackle if Jordie freed his arms.. I don't recall him being given any ball in space then failing to put an outside away when he had the chance

Agree with this. Suspect Rieko was the victim of a combination of the tall poppy syndrome in New Zealand (not fake playing the 'aw shucks I'm just happy to be a caretaker of the black jersey' schtick) and the absence of any attacking strategy in the Razor regime with the contact-shy BB just either shovelling the ball on or kicking it aimlessly away. I certainly think he offers more at centre than a journeyman like ALB. And I don't agree he's 'past it'.

I think under the new attack strategy he might do well. Some highlights from his recent URC stint....

View embedded content

Some great passing in their from Rieko.

Not horrible. But geez he was slow on that intercept.

@Jnr said in All Blacks 2026:

@brodean said in All Blacks 2026:

@His-Bobness said in All Blacks 2026:

@voodoo said in All Blacks 2026:

I don't get the Rieko hate. I reckon he was one of the most underutilised players in the last few AB seasons. A direct recipient of slow ball into BB shovelling, putting JB into zero space meaning Rieko got trite double shovelled ball or maybe at best a pop pass in a tackle if Jordie freed his arms.. I don't recall him being given any ball in space then failing to put an outside away when he had the chance

Agree with this. Suspect Rieko was the victim of a combination of the tall poppy syndrome in New Zealand (not fake playing the 'aw shucks I'm just happy to be a caretaker of the black jersey' schtick) and the absence of any attacking strategy in the Razor regime with the contact-shy BB just either shovelling the ball on or kicking it aimlessly away. I certainly think he offers more at centre than a journeyman like ALB. And I don't agree he's 'past it'.

I think under the new attack strategy he might do well. Some highlights from his recent URC stint....

View embedded content

Some great passing in their from Rieko.

Not horrible. But geez he was slow on that intercept.

He showed enough pace on other plays and the important thing is the wing scored off a beautiful pass from him after the intercept. Better than what Proctor managed after his line break on Saturday.

@Duluth said in All Blacks 2026:

@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:

That deep lying backline looked more like Rennie's ABs than either Fozzie's or Razor's

What I thought was obvious was the number of times he was attacking the outside shoulder. In recent seasons he's been asked to run a short line and cut in

The very first try they gave him an extra yard of space on the outside and that's all he needed despite a 2on2 situation. That's exactly how I thought the ABs would use him when he shifted to 13. It's a bit concerning that both Jordie and Rieko are playing much better footy after spending time getting coaching up north...

@No-Quarter agreed. Jordi is definitely a better player for it. it looks like Ioane is too. I am happy with Ioane in the squad. I don't see him as a starter but as a 3rd choice 13 or wing cover under the new regime he could be useful. Put it this way, if we are 1 all going into the 3rd test against the Boers and we had an injury crisis at 13, I would be very happy for him to step in and play a very pressurized game at 13 against Kriel and De Allende. He isn't going to be overwhelmed by them.

@brodean said in All Blacks 2026:

@Jnr said in All Blacks 2026:

@brodean said in All Blacks 2026:

@His-Bobness said in All Blacks 2026:

@voodoo said in All Blacks 2026:

I don't get the Rieko hate. I reckon he was one of the most underutilised players in the last few AB seasons. A direct recipient of slow ball into BB shovelling, putting JB into zero space meaning Rieko got trite double shovelled ball or maybe at best a pop pass in a tackle if Jordie freed his arms.. I don't recall him being given any ball in space then failing to put an outside away when he had the chance

Agree with this. Suspect Rieko was the victim of a combination of the tall poppy syndrome in New Zealand (not fake playing the 'aw shucks I'm just happy to be a caretaker of the black jersey' schtick) and the absence of any attacking strategy in the Razor regime with the contact-shy BB just either shovelling the ball on or kicking it aimlessly away. I certainly think he offers more at centre than a journeyman like ALB. And I don't agree he's 'past it'.

I think under the new attack strategy he might do well. Some highlights from his recent URC stint....

View embedded content

Some great passing in their from Rieko.

Not horrible. But geez he was slow on that intercept.

He showed enough pace on other plays and the important thing is the wing scored off a beautiful pass from him after the intercept. Better than what Proctor managed after his line break on Saturday.

The important thing is we don’t compare what a player did in a URC game to a test match. If you’re going to compare Rieko and Proctor at least compare them on an even playing field i.e URC vs Super.

@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2026:

@brodean said in All Blacks 2026:

@Jnr said in All Blacks 2026:

@brodean said in All Blacks 2026:

@His-Bobness said in All Blacks 2026:

@voodoo said in All Blacks 2026:

I don't get the Rieko hate. I reckon he was one of the most underutilised players in the last few AB seasons. A direct recipient of slow ball into BB shovelling, putting JB into zero space meaning Rieko got trite double shovelled ball or maybe at best a pop pass in a tackle if Jordie freed his arms.. I don't recall him being given any ball in space then failing to put an outside away when he had the chance

Agree with this. Suspect Rieko was the victim of a combination of the tall poppy syndrome in New Zealand (not fake playing the 'aw shucks I'm just happy to be a caretaker of the black jersey' schtick) and the absence of any attacking strategy in the Razor regime with the contact-shy BB just either shovelling the ball on or kicking it aimlessly away. I certainly think he offers more at centre than a journeyman like ALB. And I don't agree he's 'past it'.

I think under the new attack strategy he might do well. Some highlights from his recent URC stint....

View embedded content

Some great passing in their from Rieko.

Not horrible. But geez he was slow on that intercept.

He showed enough pace on other plays and the important thing is the wing scored off a beautiful pass from him after the intercept. Better than what Proctor managed after his line break on Saturday.

The important thing is we don’t compare what a player did in a URC game to a test match. If you’re going to compare Rieko and Proctor at least compare them on an even playing field i.e URC vs Super.

It was Italy and we beat them 47 to 17. Leinster and some of the top French teams that play in the Champions Cup would beat Italy. The Canes, the Chiefs and probably the Crusaders would beat Italy at home.

@brodean said in All Blacks 2026:

@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2026:

@brodean said in All Blacks 2026:

@Jnr said in All Blacks 2026:

@brodean said in All Blacks 2026:

@His-Bobness said in All Blacks 2026:

@voodoo said in All Blacks 2026:

I don't get the Rieko hate. I reckon he was one of the most underutilised players in the last few AB seasons. A direct recipient of slow ball into BB shovelling, putting JB into zero space meaning Rieko got trite double shovelled ball or maybe at best a pop pass in a tackle if Jordie freed his arms.. I don't recall him being given any ball in space then failing to put an outside away when he had the chance

Agree with this. Suspect Rieko was the victim of a combination of the tall poppy syndrome in New Zealand (not fake playing the 'aw shucks I'm just happy to be a caretaker of the black jersey' schtick) and the absence of any attacking strategy in the Razor regime with the contact-shy BB just either shovelling the ball on or kicking it aimlessly away. I certainly think he offers more at centre than a journeyman like ALB. And I don't agree he's 'past it'.

I think under the new attack strategy he might do well. Some highlights from his recent URC stint....

View embedded content

Some great passing in their from Rieko.

Not horrible. But geez he was slow on that intercept.

He showed enough pace on other plays and the important thing is the wing scored off a beautiful pass from him after the intercept. Better than what Proctor managed after his line break on Saturday.

The important thing is we don’t compare what a player did in a URC game to a test match. If you’re going to compare Rieko and Proctor at least compare them on an even playing field i.e URC vs Super.

It was Italy and we beat them 47 to 17. Leinster and some of the top French teams that play in the Champions Cup would beat Italy. The Canes, the Chiefs and probably the Crusaders would beat Italy at home.

Do you also think those teams would beat England and Scotland?

@Bones said in All Blacks 2026:

@brodean said in All Blacks 2026:

@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2026:

@brodean said in All Blacks 2026:

@Jnr said in All Blacks 2026:

@brodean said in All Blacks 2026:

@His-Bobness said in All Blacks 2026:

@voodoo said in All Blacks 2026:

I don't get the Rieko hate. I reckon he was one of the most underutilised players in the last few AB seasons. A direct recipient of slow ball into BB shovelling, putting JB into zero space meaning Rieko got trite double shovelled ball or maybe at best a pop pass in a tackle if Jordie freed his arms.. I don't recall him being given any ball in space then failing to put an outside away when he had the chance

Agree with this. Suspect Rieko was the victim of a combination of the tall poppy syndrome in New Zealand (not fake playing the 'aw shucks I'm just happy to be a caretaker of the black jersey' schtick) and the absence of any attacking strategy in the Razor regime with the contact-shy BB just either shovelling the ball on or kicking it aimlessly away. I certainly think he offers more at centre than a journeyman like ALB. And I don't agree he's 'past it'.

I think under the new attack strategy he might do well. Some highlights from his recent URC stint....

View embedded content

Some great passing in their from Rieko.

Not horrible. But geez he was slow on that intercept.

He showed enough pace on other plays and the important thing is the wing scored off a beautiful pass from him after the intercept. Better than what Proctor managed after his line break on Saturday.

The important thing is we don’t compare what a player did in a URC game to a test match. If you’re going to compare Rieko and Proctor at least compare them on an even playing field i.e URC vs Super.

It was Italy and we beat them 47 to 17. Leinster and some of the top French teams that play in the Champions Cup would beat Italy. The Canes, the Chiefs and probably the Crusaders would beat Italy at home.

Do you also think those teams would beat England and Scotland?

An extremely average Blues side beat the B&I Lions in 2017.

Our teams are very hard to beat at home when in top form and when there is a scalp so I back them.

Having said that England and Scotland are ranked 5th and 6th while Italy is ranked 10th so I expect the games to be tougher.

Japan whipped this Italian team 27 - 10 ten days ago. Italy are clearly a different prospect at home but they struggle to win away.

@brodean said in All Blacks 2026:

An extremely average Blues side beat the B&I Lions in 2017.

So an extremely average blues team from nearly ten years ago could have beaten the ABs and is relevant nine years later?

Ok.

Sometimes the logic gets confusing.

@Bones said in All Blacks 2026:

@brodean said in All Blacks 2026:

An extremely average Blues side beat the B&I Lions in 2017.

So an extremely average blues team from nearly ten years ago could have beaten the ABs and is relevant nine years later?

Ok.

Sometimes the logic gets confusing.

I never claimed to be logical.

@His-Bobness

Watching those clips...

He's holding the ball in both hands a lot more and trying to put people in space...big plus

He seems to have lost a fair bit of pace. A Reiko of 2-3 years ago would have pinned his ears back and burned the opposition. Maybe that's a Leinster coaching thing though.

I don't mind Ioane in the midfield at all - just think he's behind Proctor and potentially Tupaea and Lienert-Brown. Don't think he has the pace to be on the wing though.

But also that highlights package wasn't exactly stellar given it's for a full season. A few good moments and a few very normal moments you would find for probably any midfielder in the world at almost any level.

@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks 2026:

Lienert-Brown

Oh come on. 2024 vs Argentina, ALB missed several tackles and was horribly bad.

He has done nothing at test level other than give away cards for several years.

2023 World Cup was at least relevant and had Schmidt coaching.

@brodean yet Italy beat England and Scotland, Ireland (essentially Leinster) only beat them 20-13 ( a game that Italy really should have won) at home. Their last game against the Springbok was 32-14 so put up more of a fight than the ABs did at Wellington.

Thinking this Italian team isn’t good and can’t beat anyone (with the exception of the ABs and Springbok) on their day is a pretty silly statement

@Bones I think any 6N team aside from France in late June/July on tour in NZ could conceivably lose against the top 3 NZ teams at full strength. Not exactly out of the realm of possibility given their potential to be very ordinary.