All Blacks 2026

@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2026:

@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:

Lakai is average at practically everything.

We all know he isn't a 6. He's clearly our most skillful loose forward so let's get him back to 8 where he belongs and where he can make his biggest influence. Based on the performance against Italy, Sititi should be dropped.

What do you think will change with him having an 8 on his jersey, when I we are basically playing positionless loose forward footy?

Where he places ot the scrum won’t change much in terms of what he does around d the park.

Unfortunately the official data they're releasing as part of the Nations Championship doesn't have extensive data sets available. Nothing interesting for rivet counters like "rucks attended", let alone "first to ruck", "effective cleans" etc.

Something other professional sports (looking at the USA mainly) has in abundance. Probably because there's no market for it here.

Either they counted Savea and Lakai together or Lakai was MIA at ruck time against the French.

@antipodean yeah they like to keep it all.secret.

I mean the data is there, why not make.it available?

a lot of rugby metrics are talking about would be based on judgement as well. American sports have huge benefit there in the very nature of their games. Imagine looking at a ruck and deciding who was doing something and who was leaning? Or if it was even really contested?

I do agree that rugby treats far too much information like state secrets though

@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2026:

@antipodean yeah they like to keep it all.secret.

I mean the data is there, why not make.it available?

More amateurism from WR

@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks 2026:

@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2026:

@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:

Lakai is average at practically everything.

We all know he isn't a 6. He's clearly our most skillful loose forward so let's get him back to 8 where he belongs and where he can make his biggest influence. Based on the performance against Italy, Sititi should be dropped.

What do you think will change with him having an 8 on his jersey, when I we are basically playing positionless loose forward footy?

Where he places ot the scrum won’t change much in terms of what he does around d the park.

He will be able to attack and carry from the back of the scrum, he has a proven combination at 8 with Roigard so automatically that scenerio becomes more of a threat.

Lakai is a very reliable player and goes about his work with no fuss, he gets us on the front foot, and he won't make anywhere near the amount of mistakes that Sititi did on Saturday being the main carrier.

6 is also still a different spot positionally no matter what way you spin it, and it takes time for players to get used to playing there, especially at international level.

@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2026:

@ACT-Crusader said in All Blacks 2026:

@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2026:

@antipodean said in All Blacks 2026:

Lakai is average at practically everything.

We all know he isn't a 6. He's clearly our most skillful loose forward so let's get him back to 8 where he belongs and where he can make his biggest influence. Based on the performance against Italy, Sititi should be dropped.

What do you think will change with him having an 8 on his jersey, when I we are basically playing positionless loose forward footy?

Where he places ot the scrum won’t change much in terms of what he does around d the park.

He will be able to attack and carry from the back of the scrum, he has a proven combination at 8 with Roigard so automatically that scenerio becomes more of a threat.

Lakai is a very reliable player and goes about his work with no fuss, he gets us on the front foot, and he won't make anywhere near the amount of mistakes that Sititi did on Saturday being the main carrier.

6 is also still a different spot positionally no matter what way you spin it, and it takes time for players to get used to playing there, especially at international level.

I'm not arguing with you and I don't think Lakai is a blindside either but moving him to number eight means Savea moves to openside, assuming the captain will be starting. They're then back to the same problem: finding a blindside flanker that balances the trio. Jacobson in the same mix as the France test but shuffled around or one of the other four options in the squad? It continues to be the most unsure area of the team.

Comparison of loose forwards after two Tests

Carries per minute:

1. Wallace Sititi

2. Ardie Savea

3. Anton Segner

Metres per carry:

1. Ardie Savea

2. Peter Lakai

3. Anton Segner

Tackles per minute:

1. Ardie Savea

2. Luke Jacobson/ Anton Segner

3. Wallace Sititi

Passes per minute:

1. Wallace Sititi

2. Peter Lakai

3. Ardie Savea

Each loose forward has played at least 40 minutes so far.

@Canes4life As long as Savea is captain and starting he has the 8 jersey locked down. For Lakai that means he has to adapt to 6 and make it work. Look at Valentini for Wallabies I think they are very similar players.

No doubt he his a better 8 than 6 but I’m sure he would rather play 6 then not at all. We just have to trust this group know how to get the best form their loose forwards.

If Lakai is going to be our 6 going forward then so be it, but let’s give the kid some time in that position to get comfortable. Too many people on here are quick to stats pull just to prove a point.

If you want a player that has played 1% of his career at 6, then we need to be patient and let him find his feet in that jersey.

@Canes4life one thing that I expect Rennie likes, is Lakai's big motor. Watching the France game he seemed more effective than the numbers suggest

@toddy said in All Blacks 2026:

Either they counted Savea and Lakai together or Lakai was MIA at ruck time against the French.

View embedded content

View image

Here's Lakai's ruck numbers

@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:

@Canes4life one thing that I expect Rennie likes, is Lakai's big motor. Watching the France game he seemed more effective than the numbers suggest

That’s my point, stats don’t paint a full picture and often they are very misleading. Lakai was solid, carried strong, scored a try and had more positive impacts on the game than his captain that night.

@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2026:

@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:

@Canes4life one thing that I expect Rennie likes, is Lakai's big motor. Watching the France game he seemed more effective than the numbers suggest

That’s my point, stats don’t paint a full picture and often they are very misleading. Lakai was solid, carried strong, scored a try and had more positive impacts on the game than his captain that night.

We are in agreement there

@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:

@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2026:

@antipodean yeah they like to keep it all.secret.

I mean the data is there, why not make.it available?

More amateurism from WR

Nothing to do with WR... Not even their tournament.

@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks 2026:

@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:

@taniwharugby said in All Blacks 2026:

@antipodean yeah they like to keep it all.secret.

I mean the data is there, why not make.it available?

More amateurism from WR

Nothing to do with WR... Not even their tournament.

WR as in global rugby as a sport. Or do the NH comps offer up this information?

Liam Napier's team:

Possible All Blacks team:

Ethan de Groot, Codie Taylor, Fletcher Newell, Patrick Tuipulotu, Josh Lord, Tupou Vaa’i, Luke Jacobson, Ardie Savea (c), Cam Roigard, Ruben Love, Caleb Clarke, Jordie Barrett, Quinn Tupaea, Will Jordan, Damian McKenzie

Reserves: Asafo Aumua, Xavier Numia, Tyrel Lomax, Anton Segner/Wallace Sititi, Peter Lakai, Kyle Preston, Anton Lienert-Brown, Josh Moorby

Can't see Darry not starting. I would like to see Moorby get a go at fullback. ALB on the bench is pointless.

@Tim said in All Blacks 2026:

View embedded content

Liam Napier's team:

Possible All Blacks team:

Ethan de Groot, Codie Taylor, Fletcher Newell, Patrick Tuipulotu, Josh Lord, Tupou Vaa’i, Luke Jacobson, Ardie Savea (c), Cam Roigard, Ruben Love, Caleb Clarke, Jordie Barrett, Quinn Tupaea, Will Jordan, Damian McKenzie

Reserves: Asafo Aumua, Xavier Numia, Tyrel Lomax, Anton Segner/Wallace Sititi, Peter Lakai, Kyle Preston, Anton Lienert-Brown, Josh Moorby

Can't see Darry not starting. I would like to see Moorby get a go at fullback. ALB on the bench is pointless.

For a team that wants to play at pace, that forward pack looks like a bunch of slow pokes.

Seems like Napier might have lost his ABs source now that Rennie is coach.

@Canes4life Rubbish team by Napier. How can he leave Darry out? That team looks pretty cumbersome and lacking some carrying power. Glad he is not picking the team.

Out of curiosity does anyone listen to Sports Radio in New Zealand? Sport Nation, DSPN, ZB?

@Rugbyman said in All Blacks 2026:

@Canes4life Rubbish team by Napier. How can he leave Darry out? That team looks pretty cumbersome and lacking some carrying power. Glad he is not picking the team.

Lord has played well methinks but so far for me Darry has been the best lock...

I don’t want to sound too controversial but let’s try and pick a 6 and 6 rather than a lock or an 8? Va’ai before his injury was the form lock. Let’s give him a chance to get back into it. He has a point of difference that the rest of our locks don’t so why fuck around with him at 6?

What’s the point of having Parker in the squad if you don’t at least give him a chance in the first three matches?

@jimmyb agreed and Vaai has said he doesn't want to play 6 so why force the guy to play where he doesn't feel comfortable. He has been a very good lock over the last 3 years standing up to the mighty Boks and I want him there come later on in the year.

@bigguy56 listen to ZB quite a lot.

@nostrildamus Darry probably our best player over both games

@jimmyb said in All Blacks 2026:

I don’t want to sound too controversial but let’s try and pick a 6 and 6 rather than a lock or an 8? Va’ai before his injury was the form lock. Let’s give him a chance to get back into it. He has a point of difference that the rest of our locks don’t so why fuck around with him at 6?

What’s the point of having Parker in the squad if you don’t at least give him a chance in the first three matches?

I think the calls for Vaa'i at blindside are purely down to searching for the right loose forward combination, with the other options not quite solving the problem so far despite generally solid performances (Lakai, though probably not Sititi). There might have been reluctance to try other players if they're new to the environment, seen as better suited to other roles, or perhaps aren't yet meeting the standards Rennie wants. Giving Vaa'i a go is simply working through the options in the hope that something clicks.

6 Parker
7 Savea
8 Vaa'i

20 Jacobson

@Victor-Meldrew said in All Blacks 2026:

@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks 2026:

I don't mind Ioane in the midfield at all - just think he's behind Proctor and potentially Tupaea and Lienert-Brown

Look, I'm a huge fan of ALB. He's been fucked about by the last 2-3 coaches but still gave his all. Had he been handled properly he could have been a true AB great and if any player deserves 100 caps it's him.

But his time has passed. Take him for the mid-week games in SA possibly, but he shouldn't be blocking others in Tests

I have a lot of sympathy for your view.

That said, from a scientific perspective it would be informative to see the effect of ALB having 40 outside Cam, Love and Jordie. That way there would be a proper comparison at 13 against Tupaea and Proctor.

@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks 2026:

6 Parker
7 Savea
8 Vaa'i

20 Jacobson

Pair that up with our best props and keep leaving tuipulotu out, and that's our zero ball running XV.

@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:

@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks 2026:

6 Parker
7 Savea
8 Vaa'i

20 Jacobson

Pair that up with our best props and keep leaving tuipulotu out, and that's our zero ball running XV.

Are we talking about 2025 Tuipulotu or every other year Tuipulotu?

@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks 2026:

@reprobate said in All Blacks 2026:

@Mr-Fish said in All Blacks 2026:

6 Parker
7 Savea
8 Vaa'i

20 Jacobson

Pair that up with our best props and keep leaving tuipulotu out, and that's our zero ball running XV.

Are we talking about 2025 Tuipulotu or every other year Tuipulotu?

Does it matter which one if we're leaving him out?

@MiketheSnow said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

@Bones said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

Rattle JGP, get him off his game and they're a bit of a nothing side now.

Same could be said for Roigard

He's easily our most important player and with a strike rate like the below he's going to break plenty of records.

@Canes4life said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

@MiketheSnow said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

@Bones said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

Rattle JGP, get him off his game and they're a bit of a nothing side now.

Same could be said for Roigard

He's easily our most important player and with a strike rate like the below he's going to break plenty of records.

I think he is our most important player, but only due to the lack of similar (in style and quality) options behind him.

@reprobate said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

@Canes4life said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

@MiketheSnow said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

@Bones said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

Rattle JGP, get him off his game and they're a bit of a nothing side now.

Same could be said for Roigard

He's easily our most important player and with a strike rate like the below he's going to break plenty of records.

I think he is our most important player, but only due to the lack of similar (in style and quality) options behind him.

Yeah but that’s also purely down to how dominant of a player he is. It’s pretty obvious that Roigard has become the dominant decision maker for the ABs.

Historically it’s been the 10 making most of the big decisions, but in recent years that has shifted to the 9, we’ve seen it with JGP at Ireland and Du Pont at France. 9s are having a lot more say on the game than they used to.

@Canes4life said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

@reprobate said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

@Canes4life said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

@MiketheSnow said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

@Bones said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:

Rattle JGP, get him off his game and they're a bit of a nothing side now.

Same could be said for Roigard

He's easily our most important player and with a strike rate like the below he's going to break plenty of records.

I think he is our most important player, but only due to the lack of similar (in style and quality) options behind him.

Yeah but that’s also purely down to how dominant of a player he is. It’s pretty obvious that Roigard has become the dominant decision maker for the ABs.

Historically it’s been the 10 making most of the big decisions, but in recent years that has shifted to the 9, we’ve seen it with JGP at Ireland and Du Pont at France. 9s are having a lot more say on the game than they used to.

The point is France have the world class Lucu as the other halfback option to Dupont.

ABs other 9s i'm not even sure are test quality let alone world class

@KiwiMurph I guess the hope would be that Pledger is as good as we all think he is, and there's your one-two punch.