A bit of a blow to the ABs.
Who will play in their place. They could move Scott Barrett to 6 (Retallick will probably start at lock) and bring Hoskins Sotutu in at 8. I really want to see him play. Other key players are A. Ioane and Dalton Papalii. My guess is he will only use Sotutu off the bench and start one of the more experienced players such as Ioane at 8.
What do you guys think?
Ha ha Saffex, I'm sure we will keep this in mind
This is an extremely close RC, anyone could win it so fans will be glued to their TV sets, good for rugby but perhaps not good for our marriages
A poster on Roar has:
"Luke J is who’d I have as player 20. Dalton-Cane-Sotutu."
but I can't see Like J b eing on the bench when he hasn't been in the AB camp.
Saffex, I read the reason given for the game being scheduled on Thursday is:
"... to avoid a clash with the AFL and NRL over venue availability for their finals series."
Savea is the best loosie in the competition, quite a loss….but then again Oz is playing without the Qualude.
Savea is a major loss. He has developed into a very good player over time. Type of player that makes it difficult to have a plan of defence.
He's a big loss for sure but we need to develop others before the RWC so someone else will have a shot. Hopefully we will see some of Sotutu. Boks have some key players but they have also developed others and building depth. That's the way to go.
By the way JW, your chaps poured it on a little thick yesterday. The Boks would have settled for a 25 point win.
A rush of blood Moz, it must have felt so good to have the game flow the way it did. But admittedly the ABs have a history of not taking their foot off the throat. I'm sure the Boks would pile on the points if they were capable
We tend to be a little kind to those we defeat. It goes all the way back to the Boer war when, having pummeled the Poms, the commanding general pulled back the troops admonishing “when god gives you a finger don’t try to take the whole hand’.
An admirable but ultimately losing philosophy.
Jw, Luke Jacobson has been added to the squad .............. be interesting to see the ABs without the inspirational Savea, & hopefully, the Wobblies don't roll over giving your fullas two bonus point victories.
Nah ... Ioane has been poor for a while now.
I would go with Sotutu at 8 and Barrett is a capable blindside flank.
Good luck.
I will be cheering for you.
While we all wait for the announcement of the AB team to play OZ there is plenty of speculation in the press. Here's what former AB James Parsons thinks:
Chiefs loose forward Luke Jacobson has been called up to the squad as cover for Savea. However, Parsons, speaking on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod, believes that the right player to start for the All Blacks would be Sotutu.
“It’s a really exciting opportunity for Hoskins, he obviously performed really well on Sunday for Counties (Manukau), I think he had 13 tackles and 13 carries. He was into his work.
“He’s energetic, he’s wanting to play some footy so it’ll be exciting to see him get some extended minutes.”
"Sotutu, who is the only specialist number eight, is match fit and ready after being sent back to the NPC where he played for Counties Manukau."
My two pennies worth:
I think it makes sense to play him, we will see if he gets selected to start at 8. He hasn't played for the ABs for a long while and only the coaches will know if what he is showing in practice gives confidence he will do well starting.
JW
I rarely comment on rugby issues nowadays because of the number of people writing tripe on site - and therefore I am glad to see you being back on site.
In generaal there seems to be problems in the AB team. I think that some player performances - like that of Savea has gone a bit back and he is not the player he was by 2019 anymore. He will be 29 years old soon and should be in his prime age for selection and I doubt not he is still a top class player - but age is a factor in performances and one will have to watch how he performs from now onwards.
However, the fact is that I always was and still is an admirer of both Savea and Fritz and of they are not available it could become a problem for the team. However, it is also an opportunity to phase players in to replace them in future.
The player that really bothers me in the A B team is Sam Whitelock - does NZ have no player who can replace him - because he is indeed down the drain when it comes to the lock position. He needs urgent replacement.
New Zealand always had a much-admired replacement program for players in place - is it still the case?
