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Joined October 2016
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Young tight five players. Newell, de Groot, Williams all 22 on their All Black debuts, and many good years ahead of them.
'Didn't want to leave': The Aussie-raised star in World Cup final - and the 'vision' that led him to the All Blacks
And he wouldn’t exactly have been ‘sitting at home’ he’d have been playing for Canterbury – 2022 he played ten NPC matches for them, could have had almost that many this season but they were knocked out in the semifinal by Taranaki who won the 2023 title on Saturday.
And nothing wrong with old props! Michael Bent played on Saturday – what a career – Taranaki, Ireland, Leinster and back home to Taranaki.
'Didn't want to leave': The Aussie-raised star in World Cup final - and the 'vision' that led him to the All Blacks
Easier to think about now we know the outcomes of pool play and qfs.
Considering how many stated NZ wouldn’t make it out of pool play, and how Australia had an easy run to the semifinals, I’m not in favour of any retrospective tinkering to try to get ‘better’ semifinals – an even bigger mess possibly.
Ireland and France would have played semifinals if they’d won last week, that’s how it is.
Fozzie was one Test away from being sacked - now he's 80 minutes away from World Cup glory as ABs smash Pumas
Josh Lord for one lock, 2.02m but needs to bulk up, still young at 22 – four All Black tests already, and in great form for Taranaki in NPC – pity he missed several games as remained on standby in UK I presume in case a replacement for Retallick required. Stephen Perofeta as 10/15 (3 tests last year) has mainly been at 15 this season with Josh Jacomb (22) at 10. Plenty of promise for next year across the NPC squads who’ll progress to Super and beyond.
SPIRO ZAVOS: The moment I knew Irish curse would continue, and why Southern giants still rule the Cup
Strange way to manipulate facts to suit your intended narrative, saying “their disciplinary record is by far the worst of the four teams remaining” yet if you include the teams already gone, ie didn’t play as many matches, four teams have five, one has four, and before they beat the Irish, NZ had one.
NZ may end up with another yellow card, they have the opportunity to as they will play at least two more matches than most teams, and of course one more match than eg Ireland. 😁
But carry on if it makes you feel better.
SPIRO ZAVOS: The moment I knew Irish curse would continue, and why Southern giants still rule the Cup
Just as interesting (for some!) Danny is the winner of tomorrow’s NPC final! Taranaki at home to Hawke’s Bay. Pita Gus Sowakula (T) and Brad Weber (HB) both their final games before heading to play in France.
COMPLETE RWC SF teams: Poms make three changes as Boks name most capped XV, ABs' QF hero starts for Cheika's Pumas
Ireland lost because they gave the opposition a 13 point lead
Gave it? That was generous of them. Chasing the whole match, there’ll always be ifs from both sides, but they lost, due to having scored fewer points; their qf famine continues
SPIRO ZAVOS: The moment I knew Irish curse would continue, and why Southern giants still rule the Cup
Poor boys – exhausted. Didn’t they have subs bench and 33-man squad, seems unfair that other teams had both.
Ireland had two weeks off 24 September (SA) – 8 October (Scotland). If it’s poor management you’re suggesting – surely they could have rested a few for v Tonga 59-16 or Romania 82-8?
SPIRO ZAVOS: The moment I knew Irish curse would continue, and why Southern giants still rule the Cup
Irish saints
Fortunately he didn’t channel a Peter O’Mahony moment and tell Sexton “You’re a s*** Dan Carter, pal”.
I’m sure there’s been worse said on the field.
Good, the Bad, the Eddie: Bok hails AB for 'best display I've ever seen', Kolbe confounds, 'classless' Rieko claim
Hold? I think you meant ‘held’ the Ranfurly Shield until they apparently dropped it! 😁
Either winner this weekend, happy to see a couple of provinces contesting the final (and not Canterbury etc).
The Wrap: Why that was the All Blacks' greatest ever RWC win - but the road to fourth title is still a rough one
France will undoubtedly feel aggrieved?
Antoine Dupont on referee Ben O’Keeffe:
“I don’t want to sound like a bitter person who complains about the refereeing, but I’m not sure the refereeing was at the highest level tonight.”
'Heartbroken': Springboks knock France out of RWC in dramatic, controversial QF as 'key moment' highlighted
English expert Stuart Barnes has a history of attacking Sam Cane from the safety of his keyboard.
Barnes stated that All Blacks’ captain Sam Cane wouldn’t make the starting XV of most top test teams. Not even Italy. Said Cane weakened the team and didn’t deserve selection for the 2023 RWC squad. “The All Blacks’ best back row has no room for the 31-year-old Cane”.
Believe it or not.
Guess it sells newspapers?
Not so s--t now, Peter: All Blacks skipper's sweet revenge after Irish great's brutal sledge backfires
Hawke’s Bay the only team to beat Wellington this year: 20-18 in the last round pool game, then 25-24 in the semifinal.
Taranaki had been beaten 28-29 by Canterbury in pool play, but won Friday 23-16.
Hope Taranaki can win (8.05am for me, 2.05pm NZ ) it’s the final NZ match for Pita Gus Sowakula (looks 20 years younger without the beard!) before he joins Clermont, and expect prop Michael Bent’s final match too.
Lock Josh Lord and 10/15 Stephen Perofeta we may see more of in black next year with retirements and overseas contracts.
Been a good year for NPC rugby.
The Wrap: Why that was the All Blacks' greatest ever RWC win - but the road to fourth title is still a rough one
Bill Beaumont 24 July 2023 (but doesn’t say just how ‘late’ in the four year RWC cycle):
Beaumont explained why they did it but understood the complaints and insisted that going forward they would be holding it “as late as possible.”
“What we will be doing is looking to have the pool draw as late as possible so that you get more consistency around the balance in a pool”.
The Wrap: Why that was the All Blacks' greatest ever RWC win - but the road to fourth title is still a rough one
Dan Cole. Prop in the English RWC squad. What’s he got to do with it?
Not so s--t now, Peter: All Blacks skipper's sweet revenge after Irish great's brutal sledge backfires
17 of this Irish squad are 30+.
With the residency law now at 5yrs there won’t be any further imports unless they’re already playing in Ireland since last year.
As with many other teams, including NZ, the 2027 RWC squads won’t contain many from 2023.
WORLD VIEW: ABs pluck 'astonishing win from depth of their souls' while Irish face 'four more years of choking jokes'
Unsure on the fatigue.
Two intro matches scored 141 points. Then SA followed by a two week break. Scotland then this match.
If they chose not to rotate players, up to them, but that’s the nature of a tournament.
37 phases and OUT! Whitelock the hero as All Blacks win epic RWC QF to break Ireland's hearts again
I’ve been watching Irish post-match reviews with expert opinions from the panellists.
Understand now that the loss was ‘unfair’, that Ireland ‘deserved a semifinal, deserved a final’.
One began his statement with ‘I’m not whining, but … ‘ then proceeded to whine
Apparently the pace was too fast and Irish players were tired from 55-60 minutes into the match. Unfair!
37 phases and OUT! Whitelock the hero as All Blacks win epic RWC QF to break Ireland's hearts again
And Hawke’s Bay too, winning 25-24 v Wellington; this semifinal win from their position as 4th qualifier means Taranaki (rather than Wellington) host the final next week.
Just hope the three Barretts and Tupou Vaa’i aren’t back home and watching from the stand!
'Burdens that everyone carries': All Blacks star stood down for World Cup QF, Foster turns up heat on Ireland
In another surprise move, Erasmus is now delaying the announcement of the SA 23 until after their match with France, possibly as late as next Tuesday 😂
“Players will wear un-numbered jerseys and rotate through different positions as the match progresses ” said Erasmus “we’ll keep these Frenchmen guessing”.
Reports of a 0-8 bench comprising all backs have not yet been confirmed.
COMPLETE RWC QF teams: Dupont returns, Boks make HUGE halves call, Borthwick picks his No.10, Semi back for Fiji
Difficult to select a provincial team when club rugby ended ten months previously.
This year (using Taranaki as an example) club rugby ran 1 April to 15 July, representative squad selected based on club performances, then two pre-season matches 22 and 29 July, and NPC commenced the next weekend 4 August, through to the NPC final 22 October – same month as Super squad announcements are made.
There’s also the matter of playing fields – where does all the cricket and summer sport get played?, so many in NZ are multi-purpose summer/winter.
'Is there any light on the horizon?' - what the Super Rugby franchises are up to in the off season
Catch is – NPC is a direct follow-on from NZ’s club rugby season which serves as a selection process for provincial representation.
But to see the ABs all playing for their provinces- yes to that!
For tomorrow’s NPC first semifinal Taranaki would gain four, Canterbury five ABs. In the second, Wellington (2) and Hawke’s Bay (1).
'Is there any light on the horizon?' - what the Super Rugby franchises are up to in the off season
NZ’s general election is held Saturday with results late that night, from news I’ve seen about prediction polls seems a change of government will occur, expect the outcome may overshadow the rugby result as massive changes ahead of that happens (and soften media coverage if Ireland continue their winning streak).
'How much does Australian rugby want to learn from the world?': Why you've got to stay tuned into World Cup
Agree with you there Hugh, it’s an improved setup this year financially; and I like the idea of players having jobs – maybe stay in touch with the ‘real world’
A broken record: Ongoing challenges for the Wallaroos after another Trans-Tasman trouncing
Congrats both teams; and for the ABs well done especially considering how expert opinion saw them not making it out of the quarters.
Not the perfect finish for those ABs at the end of the careers, but that’s sport, especially one involving an oddly-shaped ball.
Such is life. 👍
THE GREATEST! Boks beat All Blacks in instant classic to claim record FOURTH RWC in controversial, dramatic final