Wallace Sititi
Ardie Savea
Anton Segner
Ardie Savea
Peter Lakai
Anton Segner
Ardie Savea
Luke Jacobson/ Anton Segner
Wallace Sititi
Wallace Sititi
Peter Lakai
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.
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:
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.
@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.
@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?
@Canes4life said in All Blacks 2026:
New All Blacks jersey coming for the upcoming tour.
Better.
Collar not as obvious. But could still ditch it.
@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.
@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'i20 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'i20 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'i20 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.
@KiwiMurph said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:
@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
That’s a fair point.
@frugby said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:
@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.
Pledger looks like the perfect impact halfback as he’s a whippet.
@Canes4life See, I think if Pledger was able to translate what he could do at NPC level to test level, then he'd be the more obvious starter as that is a more polished player than Roigard, who would thrive in the chaos of a tiring defence.
But that is negligible, and we are a longgggg way away from being able to consider this. First things first he needs to get himself fit, and then prove he can do it at Super level.
@KiwiMurph said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:
@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
And Le Garrec is excellent too. Their 9s are like our hookers.
@frugby said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:
@Canes4life See, I think if Pledger was able to translate what he could do at NPC level to test level, then he'd be the more obvious starter as that is a more polished player than Roigard, who would thrive in the chaos of a tiring defence.
But that is negligible, and we are a longgggg way away from being able to consider this. First things first he needs to get himself fit, and then prove he can do it at Super level.
Me too bro, but as you say all very hypothetical at this point.
Pledger's acceleration and pace is exciting, but it's the fact that he gets to every ruck so quick and distributes fast both ways off the deck which is the key marker for me.
@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.
That's not some sort of historical trend mate, it's Sexton retiring and France playing a different style. There have always been some 9s who play that way (Weepu, Going, Bachop to an extent) and 10s who range from very dominant game controllers to just a link in the chain.
Roigard is dominant, and does a lot of the kicking, particularly exits. I would be mildly concerned with how that would go if Roigard gets injured.
@reprobate said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:
@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.
That's not some sort of historical trend mate, it's Sexton retiring and France playing a different style. There have always been some 9s who play that way (Weepu, Going, Bachop to an extent) and 10s who range from very dominant game controllers to just a link in the chain.
Roigard is dominant, and does a lot of the kicking, particularly exits. I would be mildly concerned with how that would go if Roigard gets injured.
The historical consensus in rugby has always been that the No. 10 is the primary game driver - the quarterback, so to speak, while the No. 9's role has largely been to link the forwards with the first five. What we're seeing now, though, is halfbacks taking control of matches more than ever before. One of the major benefits of that shift is that it allows you to blood a young No. 10 like Love much more comfortably, as the bulk of the decision-making no longer rests solely on his shoulders like it traditionally has.
As for Pledger, I can't really see him overtaking Roigard as the All Blacks' first-choice halfback anytime soon. He hasn't even played Super Rugby yet, so there's still plenty of water to go under the bridge before we're seriously having that conversation. Jordie even mentioned in an interview after returning from his stint with Leinster that, of any player in New Zealand, he believes Roigard has the highest ceiling. That's a pretty sound endorsement, and it's exciting to think how much better Roigard could become with another few years of Test rugby under his belt. He's not going to surrender the All Blacks' No. 9 jersey without a fight, but that's only good news for the All Blacks. Genuine competition should push him to raise his game even further, and the All Blacks will ultimately be the biggest beneficiaries if young Pledger can grab the starting jersey, as it will suggest he's one hell of a player.
@Canes4life said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:
@reprobate said in NC: All Blacks v Ireland:
@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.
That's not some sort of historical trend mate, it's Sexton retiring and France playing a different style. There have always been some 9s who play that way (Weepu, Going, Bachop to an extent) and 10s who range from very dominant game controllers to just a link in the chain.
Roigard is dominant, and does a lot of the kicking, particularly exits. I would be mildly concerned with how that would go if Roigard gets injured.
The historical consensus in rugby has always been that the No. 10 is the primary game driver - the quarterback, so to speak, while the No. 9's role has largely been to link the forwards with the first five. What we're seeing now, though, is halfbacks taking control of matches more than ever before. One of the major benefits of that shift is that it allows you to blood a young No. 10 like Love much more comfortably, as the bulk of the decision-making no longer rests solely on his shoulders like it traditionally has.
Disagree with you on that one mate, I think it still is the consensus, and all we're seeing is 2 or 3 exceptional players causing a blip on the graph. For me it is kind of just as simple as you get a better view from 10, you're better placed to see things which trigger decisions - and that hasn't changed.
