All Blacks squad & team to face the french,,,

my All Black 31 man squad for the june test series against the french,,,

props
ben afeaki, tony woodcock, owen franks, ben franks, wyat crockett

hookers
hika elliot, andrew hore, dane coles

locks
brodie retallick, luke romano, sam whitelock, ali williams

loose forwards
sam cane, liam messam, victor vito, kerean read, steven luatua

halfbacks
piri wepu, tarewa kerr barlow, aaron smith

flyhalves
dan carter, aaron cruden, gareth anscombe

centers
maa nonu, rene ranger, conrad smith,

wings
julian savea, hosea gear,

fullbacks
israel dagg, ben smith, charles piutau

IMO this a well balanced squad with the exepereince kept which will be needed, but with all the right form players plus x factor to help us get the job done.

from this squad, the top All Blacks team would be,,,

1 tony woodcock, 2 hika elliot, 3 owen franks, 4 luke romano, 5 sam whitelock, 6 steven luatua, 7 sam cane, 8 kerena read, 9 piri weepu, 10 dan carter, 11 julian savea, 12 maa nonu, 13 conrad smith, 14 rene ranger, 15 israel dagg
16 andrew hore, 17 ben franks, 18 brodie retallick, 19 liam messam, 20 tarewea kerr barlow, 21 aaron cruden, 22 ben smith

Sasuke, if Ma'a Nonu is the All Blacks' best 2nd 5 then you've got a major problem!

I know Richard Kahui is better known as a centre (or even a wing) but he's playing in the #12 jersey this weekend and if I was a Kiwi I'd be keeping my fingers crossed that he shines in that position because the only other options I can think of are Francis Saili or else Dan Carter at #12 with Aaron Cruden at #10. I reckon I'd even try Robbie Fruean at #12 before I picked the hopelessly overrated and out of form Ma'a Nonu.

Good squad otherwise.

Hore will be dropped before Mealamu, his form has been dire this year, there's already been whispers of Kahui being retained for the French series so that would see Ranger gone, and you've selected two left wingers? And Anscombe?  Seriously?  He's done well (enough) at fullback for the Chiefs but he's not had a single game at 1st 5 all SXV, so surely you'd be picking him on his flyhalf form from last year, to be honest I'd much rather a Tom Taylor or Baeuden Barrett...other than that I say the rest is pretty decent, I'd be happy if Ali Williams didn't make the squad this year for say a Dominc Bird...wish there was room for Brad Shields too but 32 doesn't go into 31 and Luatua has probably been the form player of the SXV.

Bit confused as to selecting Ranger as a centre but chucking him straight out on the right wing, might leave the midfield a bit exposed - but I spose Smith could cover centre if need be and or Cruden comes in a 1st 5 and Carter goes out one if Nonu drops but not sure I'd like to see that.

I'm also wondering if Steve Hansen might play Ben Smith on the right wing for the French series given his ability in the air...

 I really like Piutau. He had that one bad game a couple weeks ago but other than that he has been everywhere and everytime he gets the ball there is the chance something will break open. Dagg is pure class though - would be hard to justify not starting him.

@rooinek,
nonus definately not the best 2nd 5 at the moment, i would say francis saili is by a mile, but nonu never preforms at spXV level & always comes right when playing for the All Blacks. i have no doubt that will be the case with him this year.

i like the idea of kahui at 12 too, and when we were only a couple of weeks into the spXV, i read an article where it said kahuis return wasnt too far away and i started juggling the idea of of kahui at 12, a big center (albeit the smalles one ABs have in a while) to partner up with conrad, but hes going to japan and for me if ur not going to be in the All Blacks frame of mind for the next couple of years, then we dont really need u in the team period.

frueans not ready for the midfield duties at All Black level, i would rather see him on the wing. IMO he tends to go missing at differnt times which is a real pain in the ass, cos hes one of the best ball carriers in the game.

i dont like carter at 12, i think considering his injuries and age he needs to play 10 & 10 only, and be managed wisely there with cruden.
i like my 12s to be leaning towards the physical side of things which carter is also not.

nonu maybe out of form, but he was this time last year too and when he eventually donned the All Blacks jersey, he was his usual awesome self.

 what about Hokey Pokey from the Highlanders. He is their best player and deadly near the tryline.

@poie,
i dont think either hore or mealamu will be dropped by hansen. ur right about hores form though, but i selected him over kev cos of gametime at present & experience factor.
were going to need at least a veteran of either hores and kevs level going in against the french, which coupled with hikas form would be a nice touch. hika needs to make the most of his opportunity though, if he is useless against in his first test, then i would drop him for coles in the 2nd test straight away. hikas building up a rep for making zero impression in the All Blacks jersey & the last thing we need is for oppoisition to start targeting him like gallen did in the ring, shame out.

i posted my views on kahui to rooinek, but if hansen loses ranger, then that will be the biggest mistake hes made since the england test when he left romano on the bench.
we need to retain ranger as an insurance policy for the All Blacks, could u imagine if those linebreaking and tackle breaking skills of his were given the All Blacks polish o_O??? the world wouldnt know what hit it.

anscombe is baed only on form, i think hes a huge improvement with loads of potential. tom taylor is my preferred option, but hes just returning to rugby this weekend after a lengthy injury layover.
barret needs to learn how to tackle at a consistent high level, ive seen waaaaaaaay too many attackers go through him this year.

ranger being on the wing is cos the All Blacks just need to cash in on his x factor at the moment which is at an all time high, IMO rnager has got to have a higlight reel right now which could match the lomu & cullen, yet hes only got the one All Black test cap to his name.
i know in the past the quality of All Blacks and shortcomeings in his game has been a very valid reason for keeping him at bay, but hes worked on those shortcomings & is now one of the premiere players in the comp, he is a must have for the All Blacks starting XV.

i picked two left wings, but remember hosea gear has played on the right win for the All Blacks before. against italy on the EOYT, All Blacks had 11 j savea and 14 h gear.
IMO this is one of my favourite wing combinations, i love the idea of two super fast 100kg+ wingers.

Bro, you do know that Ranger has signed on to go to France right?  I'll find it hard to believe that invest in Rene when he'll be out the door in a few months, with Kahui like SBW it looks like they're ready to make an exception to fill a gap short term.

ou maaaikie I hope you are now feeling a lot easier about the 4 nations?

tony woodcock, 2 hika elliot, 3 owen franked, 4 luke romano, 5 sam whitelock, 6 steven luatua, 7 sam cane, 8 karin read, 9 piri weepu, 10 dan carter, 11 julian savea, 12 maa nonu, 13 conrad carthorse smith, 14 rene ranger, 15 israel dagg
16 andrew hore, 17 ben franks, 18 brodie retardlick, 19 liam messam, 20 tarewea kerr barlow, 21 aaron crude, 22 ben smith

@poie,
are u sure about that bro??? cos last month rene ranger came out and said that it wasnt a done deal after chatting with hansen. i cannot find anything substanial saying that ranger has signed with the french either. what club is he going to be playing for???

if ranger is heading off to france, then hansen is a schmuck & i would then prob move ben smith straight into 14 for my starting team, while i would then call in francis saili into the squad as center cover and prob put him on the bench..

i dont think we need kahui, even if for the short term. i reckon use that spot to buid up our wares for the future by investing in players such as ranger if hes not going, and the likes of f saili and fruean.

More Beeno kiwi criticism disguised as Bok panic, the proof is on the paddock and in the record books.

poooeie I have to confess we do have a few Bok fans running for cover and blaming the coach already for the terrible season the Boks will have dispite a game not having been played and the composition of the side not having been announced etc etc.

    bwahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Only a Beeno could pull that off! Too funny beans!