All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026

@booboo said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:

@landers92 said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:

@booboo well yeah, no Kirifi clearly is a talking point lol

I'll rephrase.

Should it be?

certainly is a massive talking point on SM...plenty telling him he should bail and go play for Samoa. Makes you wonder how much people really watch rugby these days?

Always recal a British player saying 20+ years back they got stopped in the street by some old lady telling him about the ABs and why they were better and why they'd win, in the past I think by and large Kiwi fans were onto it, nowadays, all the tik-tok fans!

@taniwharugby said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:

@booboo said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:

@landers92 said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:

@booboo well yeah, no Kirifi clearly is a talking point lol

I'll rephrase.

Should it be?

certainly is a massive talking point on SM...plenty telling him he should bail and go play for Samoa. Makes you wonder how much people really watch rugby these days?

Always recal a British player saying 20+ years back they got stopped in the street by some old lady telling him about the ABs and why they were better and why they'd win, in the past I think by and large Kiwi fans were onto it, nowadays, all the tik-tok fans!

I'm convinced the vast majority of people commenting on social media only consume the game through highlight reels and clips of player interviews and gym sessions.

I think there's a good enough mix of size, power, smarts, speed and experience to really push the Springboks on this tour. If we don't win the tour then so be it, as long as we continue to show positive progress. Under Razor the ABs were so up and down in performance, and it was difficult to understand where the hell we were heading. I'm more optimistic with Rennie.

We've got to back the players that have been selected and hopefully they'll respond by getting on the same page and playing a style of rugby we can all get onboard with. We've already seen so much improvement in three tests, let's hope this squad will continue to take strides.

From those newbies that have been selected I'm really excited to see how those big guys go, Tupou Ta'eiloa and Lauaki in particular.

@taniwharugby said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:

@booboo said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:

@landers92 said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:

@booboo well yeah, no Kirifi clearly is a talking point lol

I'll rephrase.

Should it be?

certainly is a massive talking point on SM...plenty telling him he should bail and go play for Samoa. Makes you wonder how much people really watch rugby these days?

Always recal a British player saying 20+ years back they got stopped in the street by some old lady telling him about the ABs and why they were better and why they'd win, in the past I think by and large Kiwi fans were onto it, nowadays, all the tik-tok fans!

Bunch of rumours on SM there's off field reasons for his omission.

With Rennie keeping a tight ship we may never know.

Sorry @act-crusader you're on the wind up with the BB captain thing right?

So many good options and other captains and they pick a non captain that possibly won't even get past this year? I can't see it eh.

So good going to SA with a decent set of props and locks.

It's not like we are relying on the Roigard - Love combo or anything...

@berniescorner said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:

It's not like we are relying on the Roigard - Love combo or anything...

Yeah - that 9-10 axis is a real concern in the squad. The options in either position are a real step down.

Injury aside, this tour gives a number of players the opportunity to really make thier mark and press for a spot in the 23, maybe even to start.

I reckon, Hooker, at least 1 prop, a lock, 6, 7, 13 and 11 in the starting 15 are all there to be claimed, while we have starters, I dont think thier form has been such that they cannot be dropped.

@canes4life at 29 years if i were DPK i woūld be using any sort of out clause right now

Time to head off an earn big money

Just on Harkin i believe he will be 28 around April next year

Just wondering why he was never picked up at a younger age through the Wellington system or just case of a late bloomer ?

RIght, I'm going out on a limb here and predicting Beaudy will start the first game against the Stormers.

@antipodean said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:

RIght, I'm going out on a limb here and predicting Beaudy will start the first game against the Stormers.

I've heard he's really impressed Rennie. He's training superbly. His contribution has been excellent, very professional. He's been incredibly supportive of Ruben. You know and it's tough for him because he's probably trained well enough to get an opportunity but they just felt Ruben needed time in the seat and he's done a really good job there. It's exciting he'll get an opportunity against the Stormers. I bet he's keen to rip in.

@antipodean said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:

RIght, I'm going out on a limb here and predicting Beaudy will start the first game against the Stormers.

Can’t tell if sarcasm but if not, Rennie has said as much

@fale009 said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:

Hurricanes having four props in the All Blacks - I prayed for days like this.

Back around the days of Big Bill Cavubati, even God would have told you to be realistic in what you prayed for. Miracles he was up for - four Hurricanes props in the ABs....!

@shaquilleoatmeal said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:

@antipodean said in All Blacks Tour of South Africa 2026:

RIght, I'm going out on a limb here and predicting Beaudy will start the first game against the Stormers.

I've heard he's really impressed Rennie. He's training superbly. His contribution has been excellent, very professional. He's been incredibly supportive of Ruben. You know and it's tough for him because he's probably trained well enough to get an opportunity but they just felt Ruben needed time in the seat and he's done a really good job there. It's exciting he'll get an opportunity against the Stormers. I bet he's keen to rip in.

My source said exactly the same thing. With that level of confirmation, we can take it as gospel.

Just playing devil’s advocate here. Razor and the Canterbury mafia copped plenty of heat for a perceived bias towards Canterbury players.

STT a bit of a Captain’s/Assistant Coach pick? I don’t think anyone was picking him ahead of CLW or even Casey after Super Rugby.

Well technically he wasn’t eligible - as he was under contract to Moana.

I don't care how well Beauden trains, we've seen him play and he better be nowhere near #10. You just know he will revert to cross-kicks under pressure rather than retain the ball.

Fullback I can just stomach, but even then it better not be the test team.

Hmmm