The Rugby Championship, for these two, ends in Wellington, but ends with a win for who?! The packs unchanged, the backs mixed up though...lots to discuss.
Fainga'anuku coming back from france signed with Crusaders is good news. Hopefully Mounga next. Roigard in for TJ. Taukie'aho for Amua. Hopefully Laki devolps further as the future 7. Fabian Holland will become eligible in the 2nd row and i see great potential..
To be fair, i think fabian holland should play for netherlands. It would be a huge boost for dutch rugby in terms of performance and growth of the sport
I think Ratima and DMac are on bench to create impact -don’t think Robertson does sentiment. The real surprise for me is no Billy Proctor -he deserves a chance
Reason #3: Wellington is a tricky stadium with weird wind, plus the recent AB's hoodoo there. Perenara and Barrett are the most experienced in the game manager positions at the Cake Tin (and D Mac has started every game...)
100 caps , a great servant . The Nortern Hemisphere tour will be interesting. England will beat them …perhaps convincingly . 6. Blackadder 8. Sititti 7. Savea . Scooter off the bench at 50 mins for impact and give Captaincy to Taylor . This should be the last hurrah for all the old guard.
The NZ media will call this a "dead rubber" match because the Bledisloe Cup was secured last week, but given the difficulties the All Blacks have faced in the Rugby Championship, failing to score points beyond the 60th minute each time and thus losing three of their five games, this is an important test match for them. This is the game they need to get their ship back on course and put in a complete performance, especially given the fact they haven't won at Sky Stadium since 2018 against France. For Australia, they were woeful in the first half in Sydney and were let back into the game by a NZ team who went off the boil and lost their discipline. They have traditionally struggled in New Zealand having not beaten the All Blacks there since 2001, 23 years ago. The closest they came to breaking that streak was that 16-16 draw in 2020 that you highlighted, where Reece Hodge nearly converted a 55m penalty to win the game, only for his kick to strike the right-hand upright near the top of it. That game actually had a 50 minute second half where both teams tried and failed to produce the winning scoring play. Given the sentimentality of this being TJ Perenara and Sam Cane's last game on home soil, plus it being Cane's 100th test match, a remarkable achievement for a player who nearly ended his career in 2018 when he suffered a neck fracture, this All Blacks team should be too strong for their Australian opponents.
I agree there is some sentiment inolved in these selections. I think they have made a conscious effort to get Cane to 100 tests before he retires. Havili is an absolute head scratcher. His form this past season was HORRIBLE. He shouldn't even be in the squad let alone the bench. Wellington ... oh boy. Here we go...
I didn't (and don't) like the selection of Havilii. But listening to Razors presser, his reasoning made sense. Proctor isn't a 12, neither is Reiko, Havilii has 53 games in the black jersey in the 12 and 13 jersey and for the crusaders. I mean I would have loved to see Bryce Heem get a run, personally.
@@jeremyviall4168 Yeah for sure, I would love to see Heem get his chance. I think He would be an awesome AB. He's unlucky not to have ever seemingly even been considered.
I think if Jordan can cement himself at 15 then having Beauden start 10 with Dmac coming off the bench should be S.O.P. Dmac shines off the bench injecting that extra kick into the last quarter of the game and I think that's what's been missing recently. This coming test and the test against Japan will, in my opinion, determine whether Jordan can indeed handle himself at 15. If he can, and with the addition of Roigard, I think our 9, 10 and 15 positions are all looking really really strong both starting and on the bench. Clarke has cemented himself as a starter in the wings, I firmly believe had he been able to play in the second test against South Africa we would have won that game. I'm less convinced about Reece but he was immense for the Crusaders this season so im ok with his selection here. Lovely video as always Tim cant wait for the game!
@@joebradley7595 Clarke used to be poor on defence, I'd say that aspect of his game has improved to the extent where he is better than most of our wing options, particularly Reece who as you say is busy, but proven ineffective.and error prone.
@@racketman2u aus first try was in his channel. being in the right place can as important making the tackle. letting in a try and getting carded doesent read well. but im not bashig him just pointing out theres more to it than being a handfull on attack. still i like him as our blind side wing
Beaudan also shines off the bench, for some reason they want to tire him(when he's 10 cover) out at 15 and never inject anything. Ruben Love(or Nanai-Seturo) should have been playing from the start instead of saving a selection spot for Will Jordan and selecting 1 dimensional attackers reece/telea/clarke at the same time when they should be competing for 1 single position.
I watch tests with a group of 7 at the start of the RC the four die hard D Mac fans were elated that he was finally getting his due, when the team announcement came out with Beaudie back at 10, every one of us cheered. I'm not dissing D Mac I'm just happy that most of my mates see the same thing I did, that he's not a starting 10 (at least in an AB Jersey).
@@clarke1319 He is to my mind the Carlos Spencer of this generation, up to a certain point no complaint his erratic brilliance is all to the good, but bring on the top tier opponents and either he's too conservative or too chaotic, or frankly ineffective. The great sides don't have any trouble keeping him quite, he has good skills yes, but honestly Barrett is just a step up in terms of rugby intelligence and ability to control both a game and his team.
Used to be best of three, but now we only play two tests, suspect it has to be win both to maintain connection and legacy of the old 3 game series. Or maybe just a Kiwi Aussie thing keeping stuff simple. If the Aussies are good enough to win both they can have it.
No difference to Rassie as well...he's flipped between 4 different scrumhalves starting at 9 during this Championship and started 3 different flyhalves as well. Argentina are the only stable and settled that doesn’t chop and change every week
Because all 3 the teams is on a different place of their development, pumas is just starting to settle nicely, boks is blooding in next generation and the allblacks are also development of new generation
What Erasmus is trying to do is create so much depth that even putting your 4th halfback in you still got your no.1 team! Erasmus has flipped the concept believing that the systems he has in place is greater than cohesion!
Joseph Sua'ali'i was a superstar rugby union player at junior level who was poached by the Sydney Roosters 3 years ago at 18 years old. Tomorrow he is playing for the Roosters against the Melbourne Storm in the NRL semi final which is a great effort for a 21 year old. I think his transition should be quick and effective but I hope he is not another Jordan Petiai who promised so much when young but didn’t deliver. Although league should have hardened him up.
I’m gonna put my hand up for honesty on being one of the Sam Cane dislikes but congratulations to him for the hundy. I wish him well but don’t think he is right for the ABs time to bleed new players move Sititi to 8 and have Dalton and Ardie or Blackadder and Ardie. Barret is definitely the answer for 10 but not sure if it will look good this Saturday with the centre pairing I do prefer the way Barret runs the ball as opposed to Dmacs weaving runs which are more suited at Fullback. Only concern for ABs is the wellington curse 🤣 The way Rugby is going can never predict these things who knows maybe it just clicks for Aus and they pull it off. As a rugby Union fan (coming from SA) I do watch rugby league and I can see how it draws more attention and support in Australia 🇦🇺 can also see why player would prefer to go to league unless you have the prop or lock anatomy
Well being a Chiefs fan, I think D. Mac won’t mind where he plays in ABs. So much hard criticism on him and others it’s almost cruel. It’s only a game, not life and death.
TJ's selection is definitely influenced by being at his home ground for probably the last time. And fair play too. Cheers TJ for your service to the team. 9🖤
I'm a WBs fan and say the team changes will make no effective difference. ABs will win by 20 points plus. I also don't see a point in increasing annual Bled Cup games to 3. There would just be 3 non competitive games rather than 2. And I'd rather see ABs play a much better team instead :)
TIM! good video mate, Wellington man here in Seedney. I agree with everything you said. Especially when you said: Bobby VEE, in your Aussie accent. Ho Ho. If Razor loses this match, the rugger scribes and public will be throwing daggers at him.
0:30-0:54 Tim remember your video about your concerns about the B&I tour down under where you made an imaginary white page and you say solve rugby? There's one of the answers there in your Bledisloe suggestion. It'll add more spice and jeopardy
I agree regarding the Bledisloe Cup and the 2 game format being daft. I think it should either be 1 game or 3 and mean far fewer dead rubbers and a fairer way of giving the challenger a chance.
Definitely a chance if they play like they finished off last week. If they can keep the ABs from starting off like a raging rhino then they've got a shot for sure.
it used to be a 2 match series back 1990's early 2000's whilst australia held it. allblacks won both games to win it back in 2003. up til recently it has been a 3 match series. don't know why it is back to a 2 match contest.
About the NZ wingers, all four of the them are clearly world class (Tele'a, Clarke, Jordan, Reece) but there's hardly ever place for wingers on the bench so I think Razor, in order to give minutes to all of them, is constantly switching every game.
@@murraysmith595 Thanks but not sure what you’re talking about he’s signed to Australian Rugby for 5 million and he’s stated himself there’s no Super rugby so I will go on the spring tour bf Australian Rugby even announced it . He’s going and is not signed to Japanese rugby . He will be staying in Australia playing Super Rugby 100 % .
Dead right on everything,Tim.Have sent a comment to Mark (2c rugby) in regards to petioning ARU and NZRFU for ANZAC day test at neutral venue.Your thoughts and mention to your subscribers
Jordan and Talea are the two best wingers in the world and should be starting. Not gicing Proctor a game is madness. Robertson has been so disappointing.
TJ and Bauden used to play 9 and 10 in the Hurricanes in this stadium. so they were a well established pair that won a lot of games there. Wellington is a bit of a curse for the ABs so as they know the stadium and have played many many games together there i think thats why razor called it
I would have started McDermott at 9, and I would not have started Lolesio at 10 (L is just not up to it). And I hope Fllok gets injected early in the second half.
Love your work Tim! Watching from NZ. The northern tour is when we will really see where the abs are at but personally I'm really encouraged by what I've seen and when we can make things click, we will be unstoppable. Alot is said about SA not being in super rugby but in all honesty I don't think it has made much difference. I mean three titles in 23 years speaks volumes right?
Chay Fihaki should be on the bench instead of Havili. I get the selection but it isnt selecting on form. Fihaki is a future utility back in the same cut as jordie....i would assert that he would make a great choice to mould into ten
poor record in Wellington, poor record in second halves, side not settled, players positions not settled, huge competition between players in this generational change. I doubt any of the AB squad will think this is a dead rubber or a pie and coke before the match training run
If australia when they last held the bledisloe didnt get all underhanded and change the series rules in an attempt to hold onto it indefinitley it eould still be a 3 match series. While a three match series was better rugby australia got exactly what they deserved with that backfiring. Talk about a great legacy lol
Sorry Tim think you are missing by quite a bit. Bell is way better loosie the Ethan……as is Lalaki etter than Tuipolu. Based on the last half look for a WBs win.
I don't know if Suali'i can join the end of year tour but those who know reckon he has the potential to be an Israel Folau level of player, anywhere from 12 to 15. Think I would pick LSL over Tuipolotu but otherwise agree.
Sevu Reece? WTF... So many other better options. Would have liked to have seen Ratima working with Beauden, but hopefully in the 2nd half. I think you're spot on though, but the ABs still need a taller lock and a centre that can break tackles, kinda like Umaga or Nonu or Tuilagi for England
Aus could be a good bet, ABs changes are strange, Perenara and Lieberman-Brown are not dynamic. Still think Barrett is underpowered for a 2nd row, has B Barrett ever done it at fly half and Cane does nothing offensively. Bench again is weak for the ABs
Really enjoyed Ratima as starting 9, thought he's looked increasingly solid and the team looked a lot more stable with him on. I wonder if he's maybe too stable though, he gets easier for oppositions to read as the games progressed. Starting with him and switching to Roigard at 55mins for a bit of bait and switch could be a solid play. Love TJ as a player, but as a play maker seems like even his teammates dont know whats coming from him sometimes.
South Africa's self-imposed selection policies did a lot of damage to their rugby for almost two decades. Fortunately, Rassie took over and turned things around. Let's hope New Zealand realizes that the game has moved on and they need to select their best players before they do too much damage to the black jersey and the aura of the All Blacks. The game is more competitive than ever, and any of the top five teams, including Argentina, can beat any other team on any given day.
I remember when the bledisloe was in the hands of the aussies. It was hard to win back. Why does everybody want to make things easier? Participation medals anybody? Of course it is hard to win, that's how it should be.
If NZ struggle in the last 20-30 again, I expect it to finish with a tight scoreline. If NZ can open like they normally do AND score at least 1 try in the last 20 or so minutes, it can turn into a route. But I expect the Aussies to be up for this and keep it...relatively...close
The notion that Super Rugby doesn't prepare players for test footy... ... the thing is Razor isn't picking many form Super Rugby players And the ones he has picked are translating their Super Rugby form to test rugby - Ratima, Sititi, Vaai, Clarke are 4 that stand out as players with tremendous 2024 Super Rugby form that had translated to test level. As a Blues fan it's rather frustrating as a number of the form Blues players simply haven't been given a chance in black; Harry Plummer, AJ Lam, Sotutu stand out. Throw in similar players for other teams, Billy Proctor, Ruben Love etc.
I’m not even a Blues fan but I agree, some baffling selections, Havili I just can’t understand. This year should have seen so much more game time from new talent in a black jersey.
@@joedennehy386 I respectfully disagree. He’s never been part of a consistent Australia pack. I think it’s massively short sighted to put him in the myth bracket. Look at his La Rochelle form. He’s been one of the most dominant players in the Champions Cup over the past few years, even going back to his Saracens days.
Love the show matey from New Zealand a small heads up ; the feeling in New Zealand is turning very very stormy and angsty to say the least . To many fault lines that are cracking wide open now under these coaches . NZ rugby public is incredibly clued up and these current selections are completely perplexing .
Kinda the story of NZ rugby at the moment. The team, on paper, has experience, skill, and "should" be dominant. The question remains, will they put in an 80min performance?
The Ranfurly Shield is a challenge based thing - to possess it, you must go to the other guys hometown and win it. Draws don't count. Same with the Bledisloe. Makes winning it hard, and doing so all the better. Roigard, Ratima and Hotham are the future at halfback for NZ. To make sense of NZ this year you have to realise every All Black with 100+ caps (except for Mils Muliana) has retired since 2015. The All Blacks did nothing to develop the next generation of players sticking to the basically the same squad as almost a closed shop for 10-15 years. NZ failed to see the writing on the wall with it's squad and systems after the 2017 Lions tour and after the disaster of 2019 RWC, Covid isolation, and the bizarre decision to dump South Africa from Super Rugby combined with the usual post 2023 RWC exits mean Cane, Perenara and Barrett are vital experience in a team that is exposed in depth and is now picked from a second rate professional competition and has to learn on the job - the brittleness and vulnerability of NZ especially early in the season is reflective of this. Starting next year will see a number of key overseas based players returning to NZ so they can have another crack at the RWC - as I have said before, this is the weakest NZ team for a very long time and blaming the coach for poor performances is simply a deflection that at the moment our best are not that good in some positions. So 2024 is the year to knock off the All Blacks if you can - more experienced new blood and some old hands returning means NZ will be a LOT stronger from 2025 on....
Just a question….If the international covid pandemic hadn’t happened, do you think NZRU and Australian union would have changed the Super Rugby format? It’s very easy to look back (after the horse has bolted), but nobody has a crystal ball. Super Rugby changed as nobody could foresee when the travel restrictions or quarantining would end. Regarding our team selection criteria, there are pros and cons to that as well. NZ do punch above their weight in so many things. We are not going to win every time. We also won’t be perfect every time.
@@HeeniKeke Who knows? NZR's governance has been incompetent for years. Chronic short-termism plagues governance in NZ - If it was a choice between $50 a year for the next five years or $20 this year, then doubling every year after that for five years NZR will aways take the $50. Super-rugby is a study in incompetence, it was tinkered with and tinkered with and treated as completely subordinate to the All Blacks, but then NZR never asserted its authority to use it that way. Greed means they locked rugby away behind a paywall for a generation arrogantly assuming the audience was forever happy to be milked and bilked and now basketball and soccer and league are all eating their lunch suddenly all the smug and self-important SkyTV pundits and cheerleaders have woken up to the fact they've killed fan engagement and tribalism and participation, but it's probably too late - most NZers under 40 now don't care for rugby and think it's a game for rich boomers in out-of-date stadiums. Speaking of stadiums - the debacle of the empty seats at the Argentina test in Wellington sums up the shambling slackamateur "professionalism" of NZR. If NZR was truly a professional, hard nosed business every test would by default now be played at a brand new 40-50k seat dedicated stadium in Auckland. If Wellington or Christchurch wants a test it should need to sell a business case to NZR based on a long term business plan. Instead, its kind of muggins turn on location, allocated by horse trading with sclerotic and enfeebled legacy unions and based on a population distribution last relevant in 1985. BAH! HUMBUG!
@@tomsemmens6275 Perception is different for all. I believe South Africa would have left on their own to join Northern hemisphere comps as they had tossed this idea around well before covid happened…but one would never know. It is unfair to blame NZRU for everything, although most look to them as scapegoats. Professionalism is what has over the course changed rugby. Professionalism means money. All will chase money. Players move around the international globe since rugby is a short career - and this is understandable. I’m 62 and was around in the days of packed out stadiums. Live broadcasts weren’t on tv. However, nowadays, broadcasters will pay for the rights and pass this on to the fans. You seem happy to blast just the NZ broadcasters, however this happens in every country. They ALL make fans pay to watch since many either can’t or won’t go to the stadiums. Every nation faces hurdles and problems…some of which they place on themselves, and some that have to be worked around or dealt with. However, it is World Rugby who has “tinkered” so much that the game is losing appeal to fans. Too costly to go to tests, too confusing to watch with all the rules are just two factors easily identified. Add to this the social media and various content creators who many pose as rugby experts, more friction is created that simply drives many off even following things. But go ahead and blame NZRU for all of this if this makes you feel better. I won’t say NZRU are perfect, however no nations union is perfect. It just seems you are anti NZ and prepared to fault and criticise every decision and action they take.
It was the Aussies who changed it to the format were you have to beat the current holder twice. Back when they last won the trophy. But agree at least have it you can win by aggregate. But even then they wouldn't have won it back yet.
Fun fact: Australia when they went thru their dominate bedisloe era bloody aussies deciced that playing 3 tests was too much and not wanting to give NZ any chance changed the set up from 3 to 2, and this was also around the time NZ lost joint hosting with australia RWC03 so aussie thought they were set hoping it was going to lock it away in aussie but yea rest is history and on that note nah if you cant win it with the set up you brought in then well tough ti**y really
Changed my allegiance from NZ after 47 years supporting them and as a Kiwi, to England. I like the England squad, they also do not censor and blacklist you if you say something that they do not like, which the ABs youtube page does, a lot, and this annoys me. I merely stated the facts the other day on ABs youtube, and censored, removed and every comment I make is removed by them. I think that is immature and a really good way to lose supporters. As for NZ, Robertson is a domestic coach, not an International coach and he is conservative with a side that has huge talent, but under Roberston, that talent is left in the background, not getting minutes and it is showing quite badly. I would like to see England stomp NZ later this year, because I know they can and should. Ireland and France will also dispatch NZ. We will be looking at the worst performance from any ABs squad in the history of ABs I believe, if they lose to England, Ireland and France, that would be 6 losses. But of course, they could also lose to Australia on Saturday, which would bring this years loss total to 7. Unheard of for ABs, but I think this is where it could be heading under the domestic coaches management, purely because the guy is a flake and is not utilizing the talent in NZ properly. As for ABs youtube and their flake GMs, you really need to be careful with all the censoring and hiding the facts and the truth, because I have switched to support England, and that is not going to change. ENGLAND, like them, dont think much of their country, but I like the England team a lot. My prediction is for NZ to win on Saturday, then beat Japan, but lose against England, Ireland and France. It will have been Robertsons fault, because the guy is a domestic coach and it is showing. Cheers.
Regarding AB channel doing censoring, it’s about time and I support them doing this. As a kiwi, am heartily sick of South Africans trolling every video they release. Constructive criticism is fine, however when trolls are permitted, the channel loses decent regular rugby viewers. NZ is permitted to analyse our games and provide feedback to their fans.
Come on he’s the best strategist on RU-vid and I’m a diehard Kiwi fan. It’s typical there are people in this country who know better because we all played rugby growing up but he coaches a team & has a rugby brain hence the amount of subscribers! Stop the nonsense mate
