@secfid said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
@kiwimurph Believe Jacomb is in the 44. Suggests RM might not be fit to play as Rennie was hoping for and so he needs 10 cover rather than 15 cover. Love and Jacomb as 10’s and DMac and BB as experienced 15’s
Source?
@zinnyzinzin said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
@canefan nah - LF has been good for the All Blacks - he is a level above Jim
He's done okay. Just commenting on the description
@secfid said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
@frankA NPC player recounting what his coach had told him. The player claims his coach knew on Thursday
Ah fuck.
Hope it isn't true
@southernmann said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
@upthelanders said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
Does Tavatavanawi go to SA?
Jim's problem is that he is a terrific rugby player. Whose skillset does not suit any one position. He csn jackel like a seven. Run in contact like an eight. Has nice touches like a 12. He used to have the acceleration to play on the wing.
It is just his unique skills can impact the flow of a team. He is also not as good at any one position as the specialists that play them.
Great footy player. No room for the nearly everything modern utility.
Reminds me of Levani Botia.
I’ve been rewatching the 2021 TRC matches between the Wallabies and the Springboks, and it does make me wonder about certain narratives that are currently floating around.
Many people seem to portray the upcoming Test matches as a clash of styles, with the AB possession game going up against the Springbok tactics of aerial bombardment and breakdown pressure. But while the Wallabies under Rennie played a possession-heavy game against the ABs in the first two rounds of the 2021 Rugby Championship, they strongly mixed it up against the Boks, letting SA have more of the ball while kicking more for territory.
Rennie’s Wallaby tactics in the 2021 TRC: a possession game against Foster’s ABs, a territory game against Nienaber’s Boks (stats: carries, passes, kicks, rucks won, percentage of possession, and possession of total tackles in the game)
Rennie’s Wallabies played against the ABs like the ABs played this July: ball in hand, lots of passes and lots of carries, while looking to attack from anywhere. But this doesn’t mean that these three July Tests signal a definitive playing style: Rennie approached the Boks very differently in the next two rounds, making sure not to overplay against the Bok blitz. We shouldn’t be surprised, in other words, if a very different AB game plan appears in South Africa.
And this brings me to a second point, selection. The key for the Wallabies’ wins against the Boks in 2021 was the Wallaby backline spine of Nic White, Quade Cooper and Reece Hodge, who all provided a unique aspect to the kicking game. White, at the time, was one of the best box kickers in the world, Hodge had a massive punt that could put the Springboks back into their 22, and Cooper had an educated boot which could find space behind the Springbok blitz.
If Rennie is going to play a similar kick pressure game against the Springboks in the upcoming tour, some changes would be expected in terms of squad selection. The key area of selection would be halfback: neither Roigard nor Ratima have a box kick as dependable as Nic White’s, while Preston has had more of an impact role at the Crusaders this year, being asked to speed up the game when coming on.
A player like Noah Hotham might come back into consideration from this perspective: while his pass and decision-making can be subpar at times, in terms of contestable kicking, the Crusaders are the only side who come close to the South African franchises.
The Kiwi and South African franchises kick about as much per game but the percentage of contestability is on a whole different level. Across the top club competitions, all of the South African teams are in the top 15, while only the Crusaders appear there as well (14th). The other teams – Blues (37th), Chiefs (t-43rd), Hurricanes (t-43rd), and Highlanders (48th) – rank near the bottom
The tour of South Africa should show whether Rennie is still the pragmatist he was earlier in his career or whether he will persist with the same tactics and style no matter the opponent. One of Robertson’s biggest problems during his tenure was the lack of flexibility in tactics, with a changeup in playing style being all too rare. My hope is that Rennie shows some more cunning in terms of strategy and selection. He will need it, coming up against that most cunning of foxes in the Republic.
@frank said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
no way Rennie's picking Hotham ahead of Roigard.
I'm open to being corrected but from memory part of the reason the Australians beat the Springboks over there was Libboks moronic run it from everywhere style of play
I'm not saying he's picking Hotham ahead of Roigard. I'm saying he could well be in the squad in order to have a box kick option (you can also tactically use a kicking option from the bench).
And you are definitely wrong about Libbok, he didn't even play in those games. You're thinking of last year's Ellis Park Test.
@mr-fish said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
do you think the Crusaders would have kicked fewer contestables if Roigard had been playing for them?
Let me answer your suggestive question with one of my own: why did the Chiefs kick exactly the same amount of total kicks and contestables as the Hurricanes, despite not having Roigard?
@mauss said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
@mr-fish said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
do you think the Crusaders would have kicked fewer contestables if Roigard had been playing for them?
Let me answer your suggestive question with one of my own: why did the Chiefs kick exactly the same amount of total kicks and contestables as the Hurricanes, despite not having Roigard?
I'm assuming potentially because their team's tactics weren't dictated based on the box kicking abilities of their halfbacks.
My point being, Hotham might not be good at box kicks just because his team employed it as a tactic regularly. Roigard seems a much better box kicker than Ratima but as you say, that didn't affect how often the Hurricanes and Chiefs utilised it.
@mr-fish said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
I'm assuming potentially because their team's tactics weren't dictated based on the box kicking abilities of their halfbacks.
My point being, Hotham might not be good at box kicks just because his team employed it as a tactic regularly. Roigard seems a much better box kicker than Ratima but as you say, that didn't affect how often the Hurricanes and Chiefs utilised it.
I think you are confusing the % of contestability stat with number of box kicks kicked. The stat doesn't say how many times a team box kicked; it reflects how many of them were actually contestable. This is Opta's definition: "The percentage of kicks which resulted in an aerial contest between an attacking and defending player."
I looked at contestable kicking in the early rounds of SRP, and in their game against the Blues, the Chiefs attempted to kick contestables both from 9 and 10. But the quality of the kick wasn't good enough, meaning that these kicks wouldn't even appear in this stat.
So I don't think the Crusaders kicked that much more contestables than the Chiefs; they were simply better at it. And I think Hotham was an important part of that success. Furthermore, while Roigard's kicking is usually a strength of his, I think he was quite poor in this area in July. Both his contestable and his exit kicking will need to be a lot better in South Africa.
Hothams box kicking was much improved this year.
Some other areas of his game were pretty average though.
@mauss said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
@mr-fish said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
I'm assuming potentially because their team's tactics weren't dictated based on the box kicking abilities of their halfbacks.
My point being, Hotham might not be good at box kicks just because his team employed it as a tactic regularly. Roigard seems a much better box kicker than Ratima but as you say, that didn't affect how often the Hurricanes and Chiefs utilised it.
I think you are confusing the % of contestability stat with number of box kicks kicked. The stat doesn't say how many times a team box kicked; it reflects how many of them were actually contestable. This is Opta's definition: "The percentage of kicks which resulted in an aerial contest between an attacking and defending player."
I looked at contestable kicking in the early rounds of SRP, and in their game against the Blues, the Chiefs attempted to kick contestables both from 9 and 10. But the quality of the kick wasn't good enough, meaning that these kicks wouldn't even appear in this stat.
So I don't think the Crusaders kicked that much more contestables than the Chiefs; they were simply better at it. And I think Hotham was an important part of that success. Furthermore, while Roigard's kicking is usually a strength of his, I think he was quite poor in this area in July. Both his contestable and his exit kicking will need to be a lot better in South Africa.
My ignorance here, does the % of contestibility stat only look at kicks that are intended to be contestable, or all kicks? Because the former would be an accurate measure of execution, whereas the latter would be significantly impacted by strategy.
@mr-fish said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
My ignorance here, does the % of contestibility stat only look at kicks that are intended to be contestable, or all kicks? Because the former would be an accurate measure of execution, whereas the latter would be significantly impacted by strategy.
The stat is really just what it says it is, i.e. the number of kicks that led to a contest between a defender and attacker. Intention would be something that is very hard to measure: imagine that a team has a ruck just inside their 22, and the halfback is supposed to kick for touch around the 40. But he undercooks it and it drifts into the field of play, with the chaser ending up in an aerial contest with the defence. Not intended as a contestable but obviously still measured as such. It is very hard to make that objective distinction.
The stat for me represents a combination of strategy and execution: obviously, the Crusaders intended to kick contestably. But so did a lot of other teams. The fact that they feature close to the South African franchises – who are top of the pile in terms of contestable kicking, both in terms of intention and execution – shows that a player like Hotham can deliver a kind of kicking game which might be of interest to Rennie (we’ll know soon enough, if that’s the case).
So again, my point was really simple: I think the kicking game was a very important part of Rennie’s wins against the Boks in 2021 and I’m not completely sure he has all bases covered with the current group. Personally, I’d also like to see a player like Zarn Sullivan involved for similar reasons: he can kick with distance and accuracy, which is an important asset if the ABs want to play more of a territory game.
A little bit of information I was passed this morning.
If Richie Mounga and Shannon Frizell signed 2 year deals they would have been selected for this South African tour. They signed 1 year deals so they weren’t.
NZR stood their ground.
It was mentioned that Mo'unga only signed an 18 month contract, and he knew the consequences of that decision.
@landers92 said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
A little bit of information I was passed this morning.
If Richie Mounga and Shannon Frizell signed 2 year deals they would have been selected for this South African tour. They signed 1 year deals so they weren’t.
NZR stood their ground.
Good, neither are needed. You make exceptions for the Carters, McCaws, even the Ardies, not for players that didn't push on in the next level.
I also think picking them would be disruptive to the current squad, smelling of special treatment.
@bovidae said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
It was mentioned that Mo'unga only signed an 18 month contract, and he knew the consequences of that decision.
Exactly. It was on NZR’s term and I actually applaud that. Nobody is bigger than the jersey.
I mentioned this in another thread the other day but that’s all well and good until you pick Fehi who was uncapped, leaving the country etc (as it stands). I’m not saying one is right or wrong but it does feel weird to have players who have committed to NZ Rugby (at least in short term) eligible but someone leaving and with no previous record behind them, able to be selected.
@mr-fish said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
Confirming that Jacomb is in and just three halfbacks have been selected.
I don't mind Jacomb over Harkin. He hasn't played very well this year, but he has played quite a bit more at 10 than Harkin has, and I think that's the position they are selecting, not 15.
Only 3 halfbacks is very interesting, I wouldn't have believed it but maybe they actually are getting some reps into Carter as emergency cover. That's a lot of eggs we are putting in young Pledger's injured and yet-to-debut basket, but he does look the part as much as anyone can at the lower level.
@kirwan said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
@landers92 said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
A little bit of information I was passed this morning.
If Richie Mounga and Shannon Frizell signed 2 year deals they would have been selected for this South African tour. They signed 1 year deals so they weren’t.
NZR stood their ground.
Good, neither are needed. You make exceptions for the Carters, McCaws, even the Ardies, not for players that didn't push on in the next level.
I also think picking them would be disruptive to the current squad, smelling of special treatment.
Even if there were gaps these players could fill, which might have been the case at first five before this year. But with Love looking promising and the move away from Barrett, Mo'unga is now nothing more than another squad member. Frizell was never all that good.
@mr-fish said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
Confirming that Jacomb is in and just three halfbacks have been selected.
Ratima to get three test caps in South Africa with a total of nine minutes on the field.
@upthelanders said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
@mr-fish The whole squad or just the extra 10?
Haven't heard but would imagine the whole squad.
@shaquilleoatmeal said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
@mr-fish said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
Confirming that Jacomb is in and just three halfbacks have been selected.
Ratima to get three test caps in South Africa with a total of nine minutes on the field.
It does make me laugh how many single digit minute caps the guy gets. He'll get to 50 soon without us realising.
@african-monkey said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
@shaquilleoatmeal said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
@mr-fish said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
Confirming that Jacomb is in and just three halfbacks have been selected.
Ratima to get three test caps in South Africa with a total of nine minutes on the field.
It does make me laugh how many single digit minute caps the guy gets. He'll get to 50 soon without us realising.
Only five of his 25 to date, to be fair.
@mr-fish said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
@upthelanders said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
@mr-fish The whole squad or just the extra 10?
Haven't heard but would imagine the whole squad.
Lauaki, STT, Jacomb.
@secfid said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
@kiwimurph Believe Jacomb is in the 44. Suggests RM might not be fit to play as Rennie was hoping for and so he needs 10 cover rather than 15 cover. Love and Jacomb as 10’s and DMac and BB as experienced 15’s
It's been made clear RM is only eligible if injuries hit the initial 44.
@shaquilleoatmeal said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
@mr-fish said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
Confirming that Jacomb is in and just three halfbacks have been selected.
Ratima to get three test caps in South Africa with a total of nine minutes on the field.
The Chiefs bias is pretty blatant and disgusting….
@pakman said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
@mr-fish said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
@upthelanders said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:
@mr-fish The whole squad or just the extra 10?
Haven't heard but would imagine the whole squad.
Lauaki, STT, Jacomb.
plus - Ollie Norris, George Bell, Fabian Holland, Ethan Blackadder, Timoci Tavatavanawai, Rieko Ioane and Emoni Narawa.
There's your 10. Peston is the 3rd halfback.