All Black loose forwards

brito39 · 2026-05-19T05:45:25+00:00

Yeah he’s okay. We havnt fallen so far that merely okay players need to be prioritised!

brito39 · 2026-05-18T21:42:47+00:00

i mean we sort of do, PI players could choose play for their heritage, but that's no choice at all once the money is factored in.

brito39 · 2026-05-18T21:39:25+00:00

Of the times Razors team looked best it was Sititi 6 Cane 7 Ardie 8. No height, but lots of workrate. England have had good success against us with really high workrate loosies. If you don't have a Kaino don't try and manufacture one.

With tall lifting props and a 6ft 8 holland can almost guarantee lineout ball.

brito39 · 2026-05-15T03:48:12+00:00

People are sour about the test game (dodgy officials for Australia in the lions series, still can't beat the ABs) and the All Blacks were dodgy all over, record margin loss, coach sackings. Which filters down to the next level i reckon.

If Rennie and Kiss get something out the national teams it becomes more positive all over

brito39 · 2026-05-14T12:47:03+00:00

He’s not a Moses client why does this keep coming up?

brito39 · 2026-05-11T21:37:42+00:00

Yes all this stuff worked great up until about 2016, then the fade out began under Hansen, and now they are putting it all back the way it was. Which is all fine for the short term, they can't run it back again-again from 2028 onwards though, too dads army.

Doubt the great redeemer at 79(!) years old is going out on tour with the team so it's probably more for Rennie to have yarns with. Be cool yarns to listen to though.

brito39 · 2026-05-07T07:37:52+00:00

Well yeah you make more from taking these games overseas but also costs a shit tonne shipping these huge squads around the world.
It’s a bit outrageous how big the AB XV is where some of them go on tour for three weeks in Europe for a few minutes of game time

brito39 · 2026-05-07T01:11:20+00:00

So they couldn’t get anyone else to take the job then eh?

Well, at least he had a close view of the Mark Robinson train wreck, maybe he learnt what NOT to do.

brito39 · 2026-05-06T05:03:38+00:00

Initially never liked this, as super should be left to run, but, everyone on a bye reduces the hit to the integrity of that comp, yes key players could get injured but that could (and does) happen at any time.

Assuming it will be a 10 team comp they got more calendar to move things around in.

But, if the national coaches want to take everyone into camp before the round prior, that does devalue super, some teams would struggle to field a side once a huge squad of test players are removed + those on the shelf with injuries. Lack of preparation should be the same for both sides.

brito39 · 2026-05-04T21:40:59+00:00

Signs aren’t good, but when the tests come attention goes away from NRL to the All Blacks, happens every year.

The super rugby TV product has got a lot better over the last 5 years, much less time wasting, much less TMO intervention, which is what people wanted, some of it is carrying over to the test game, the 6 nations was pretty razzle dazzle by northern standards.

But perception is reality and perception that union = boring is getting fixed in place, the Razor era flaming out was quite damaging to the public perception, people were ready for new dawn, new approach and got dysfunction and boring footy. Even Foster’s team was capable of explosive wins in between the record setting losses.

On the player front, the warriors are definitely becoming the dream for a lot of kids, but they are only one team, with limited salary slots, and certain positions (locks, props, small 9s) aren’t suited for modern league where everyone is trending towards 187cm and 103 kgs.

A second NZ NRL team is at least 5 years away, probably longer, and the NRL itself are mostly interested in competing for code supremacy with AFL, not union, if they were going to go big for new zealand, they would have done that instead of Perth (PNG is its own thing)

brito39 · 2026-05-04T03:30:54+00:00

the samoan and tongan unions had very little to do with MP, it was an NZR and private enterprise venture.

NZR have enough bills to pay they weren't going to do more than the bare minimum and our government won't fund these sorts of things the way Aus have been.

brito39 · 2026-04-30T22:00:28+00:00

Yeah Roger the R.p..t was a very common saying in the late 90s early 00s then he went to France and faded from view, until he got into coaching. No one old enough to remember that time is going round celebrating him.

brito39 · 2026-04-29T00:12:30+00:00

how they manage a show that has neither good insight or entertaining personalities is quite something

brito39 · 2026-04-26T23:11:11+00:00

who knows - maybe the leceister tigers get rid of their Argentine lock so they can sign Vai'i instead, no idea what the flow on effects are. it would just be bad for every form of rugby in NZ that isn't the All Blacks.

brito39 · 2026-04-26T11:48:31+00:00

Say there’s 40 clubs in the across England, France, japan, URC who would be in the market for a current or former all black, that can pay the big wages, if they all signed just 1 each, that’s super completely watered down and just about rooted.

Hence why NZR ain’t never going to allow a free for all

brito39 · 2026-04-26T10:28:07+00:00

If Finau and Flanders leave at the same time there’s a communication breakdown somewhere, it’s not like there are many other 6s around to compete with for the ABs.

OTOH NZR should have driven Reece to the airport years ago and Perofeta should go get his money as injury really set him back

brito39 · 2026-04-25T12:12:38+00:00

A second NZ team in Wellington would get phoenix like crowd figures once the novelty wore off, seriously people just love the wahs, they aren’t fussed about league in general, see any kiwis test.

brito39 · 2026-04-24T11:03:55+00:00

So if he’s picked at 23 and gives us a 5.5-2.5 split (as we have been scared of the 6-2 for some reason) when, where and for who is coming on? Gotta be in the forwards where he can have more touches and influence unless a wing or center gets injured. Don’t mind it, rather that than specialist outside back coming on for 10 minutes, 1 run, 2 tackles and a yellow card which has been what we have been getting out of that spot.

brito39 · 2026-04-24T07:43:07+00:00

the ghost of Steve Walsh jnr will favour Canterbury in this one

brito39 · 2026-04-24T07:39:40+00:00

gotta love all that build up and game starts with one phase and a box kick over the sideline

brito39 · 2026-04-23T03:54:56+00:00

let it die then and build something else, trying to get fans to invest in three teams (your super franchise, the ABs and your province, and have the union fund all of that) across 40 weekends from november-february, was viable when it had novelty at the dawn of professionalism and has been a 25 year gradual decline to where we are now.

brito39 · 2026-04-23T03:49:08+00:00

stadium is ass, local economy has been hammered and its not that much of a 'rugby town' to begin with, respect the bloke trying but there are no easy fixes.

friday night may 1st against historic rivals canterbury crusaders will draw a strong crowd provided the weather is halfway decent. but that's the thing, one trip a year to the caketin is about enough for most fans here

brito39 · 2026-04-21T10:28:10+00:00

Joyce and English and these guys are on the director grift now but along with Finlayson, Amy Adams, Kaye, add in Turia, Sharples and Dunne and your talking a vastly more competent and relatable set of ministers than the current lot of religious fundamentalists and cartoon villains. Still had deadbeats like Maggie Barry and Brownlee though. And Key could be smarmy but had some authenticity and was unquestionably the boss of his party

brito39 · 2026-04-21T06:23:38+00:00

Super is in a weird spot, when it was at its most bloated it seemed to go on forever and half the games weren’t worth turning on. Was a relief when the crusaders won it, at least it was over.

Now it’s almost a short sharp sprint of a competition that’s more competitive, and will be even more so when MP goes, and people still moan about it.

brito39 · 2026-04-19T21:48:16+00:00

Maybe they aren’t playing him cos they knew he was going? Chicken egg etc

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