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I am deeply underwhelmed. He was just swanning around Japan but is returning next season. By all rights he should be banished to the stands of Eden Park though. Hopefully Cotter does what's best for the Blues and ignores any (likely) requests to start him at 10 (or anywhere, tbh). The...

Problem is that Robertson is trying to play the same game he does/did with Mo'unga and Plummer will not fit that razzmatazz style. If there's a change it will probably just be Beauden to 10. Even worse, Robertson may insist that he play there for the Blues.

Feel like shit. Just want the killdozer back. With Fihaki's addition, by my count there's now 11 Crusaders, 9 Chiefs, 8 Hurricanes, 8 Blues, and 1 Highlander. Which is, quite frankly, complete bullshit. I accepted that there would be teething issues embedding new systems and all that but I...

The consequences of not playing a world class rush defence. Sam Cane is on the field so you are wrong by definition. - NZ rugby ""pundits""

I am McKenzie-cus.

The Plumber to come off the bench in the final 10, put in the best performance by an All Blacks 10 for a decade, then get banished back to the Blues for the next four years. EDIT: "Do we finally get to see the rEaL DaMiAn McKeNzIe?" God how I loathe the NZ rugby ""pundits"". Running around...

Now, tbf, it would be quite funny if this is all an elaborate scheme to blue balls Cane like he did Wyatt Crockett in 2018. If anyone needs reminding/doesn't know, this was when 202 Cantab Crusader Crockett wasn't selected for the Super Rugby final, which also happened to be his final game before...

I'm no scrum expert but, based on Eden Park - where the Pumas had to actually scrummage - and the two South African tests, the All Black scrum would be ahead of the Pumas and level with the Boks. Ryan has also intimated that they'll be attacking the scrum this weekend. The front-rowers still...

Thank you for your service.

"The first weekend will see three qualifying finals - 1 v 6, 2 v 5 and 3 v 4 - but with only three winners, a fourth team to fill out the semi-finals has to be found. That spot will be claimed by a “lucky loser” - the highest-seeded team to lose in the qualifying finals. How a finals weekend...

The killdzoer cares not how many opponents it crushes, only that the wins flow.

Stern Vern will bully them up to standard. Dude is probably the single most important guy in NZ rugby atm.

Telea was quiet in Super Rugby and seems to have carried that into the test season. iirc Reece was one of the few standout Crusaders but his form dipped towards the end of the season and has nosedived in black. Would retain Telea in the squad but he's not performing well enough to warrant selection. Not...

Assume you have McKenzie at 10. I'd prefer Proctor at centre and look at Ioane at RW; neither Telea nor Reece have impressed so far. If de Groot is available then start him and shift Williams to the bench for impact. Personally wouldn't want to have both starting locks coming back from injury...

I'm still hoping that this season will follow a 2004 trajectory where the EOYT will see more of a cleanout and shakeup of the squad. As for the Blues, hopefully Cotter ignores any potential requests from Robertson and does what's best for the Blues, which would entail having Barrett competing...

I have no idea what the actual fuck was going on with the bench. From what I can tell, the the tight-five replacements had ~25 minutes of game time between them. 10 of those during Taylor's HIA. This is one of the dumbest tactical plays I've seen in pro rugby. Especially when the opposition has...

Will be interesting to see what happens on the field. iirc Robertson said after the Puma loss that the plan and what was executed were quite different, and that everything was much clearer for Eden Park. Hopefully this is part of the reason behind the positive change. Still, at least they...

The Plumber gonna come on at wing as Lomu reborn or something?

Jordan certainly does seem better suited to roving wing rather than fullback. Hopefully we'll see the likes of Ruben Love and Zarn Sullivan at fullback for the EOYT (realistically next season for Sullivan) as they're more suited to the second playmaker role. With Roigard's return, and Proctor...

Seems some PR punisher has got in Robertson's ear. That post-match interview was just as pointless as all other coach interviews and a sad effort compared to his England series interviews.