98 replies to this topic

[Donsteppa]

Interesting...

http://www.stuff.co....i-Nations-squad

Quote

All Blacks name Tri Nations squad



Stuff Last updated 10:14 27/06/2010


LAWRENCE SMITH
CRUNCH: New Zealand Maori captain Liam Messam runs into the Irish defence during their match at Rotorua International Stadium on Friday night.


New Zealand Maori captain Liam Messam has fought his way back into the All Blacks squad for the 2010 Tri Nations. Messam led the Maori side to a superb three-match clean-sweep in the recent Maori Centenary Series.His Maori team-mate and Canterbury and Crusaders hooker Corey Flynn, also returns to the front row alongside returning Auckland and Blues prop John Afoa.


All Blacks Coach Graham Henry said the selection of Flynn was subject to him passing a medical and fitness test which would take place this week.


In the backs, 46-Test centre Ma'a Nonu returns to the All Blacks following his recovery from a posterior cruciate ligament injury, suffered in the Hurricanes final Super 14 match last month. Nonu returned to rugby yesterday, playing for his Oriental-Rongotai club side in Wellington.


Canterbury and Crusaders lock Sam Whitelock and Northland and Blues wing Rene Ranger, who have provided injury cover for the All Blacks during the Steinlager Series, have also been officially selected in the All Blacks squad. Players from the Steinlager Series squad missing out on selection for the Tri Nations are Aled de Malmanche, Neemia Tialata, Adam Thomson and Zac Guildford.


Players not considered for selection due to injury include: Mike Delany (shoulder), Stephen Donald (shoulder), Jason Eaton (knee), Andrew Hore (shoulder), Sitiveni Sivivatu (shoulder), Isaia Toeava (hip) and Ali Williams (Achilles). Graham Henry said: "We are really pleased with the way the squad has developed during the Steinlager Series and the players are really looking forward to the Investec Tri Nations. It's the toughest international rugby competition in the world and will be another fantastic Series against two old foes."


The All Blacks squad will begin preparations with a two-day camp in Auckland next week (Friday and Saturday).


Forwards:
John Afoa Auckland (23)
Anthony Boric North Harbour (15)
Tom Donnelly Otago (7)
Corey Flynn Canterbury (7)
Ben Franks Tasman (2)
Owen Franks Canterbury (12)
Jerome Kaino Auckland (27)
Richie McCaw (capt) Canterbury (83)
Keven Mealamu Auckland (74)
Liam Messam Waikato (3)
Kieran Read Canterbury (19)
Brad Thorn Canterbury (40)
Victor Vito Wellington (2)
Samuel Whitelock Canterbury (3)
Tony Woodcock North Harbour (63)

Backs:
Dan Carter
Jimmy Cowan Southland (36)
Aaron Cruden Manawatu (3)
Israel Dagg Hawke's Bay (2)
Cory Jane Wellington (15)
Richard Kahui Waikato (10)
Mils Muliaina Waikato (83)
Ma'a Nonu Wellington (46)
Rene Ranger Northland (1)
Josevata Rokocoko Auckland (62)
Conrad Smith Wellington (35)
Benson Stanley Auckland (3)
Piri Weepu Wellington (38)
Number of Test caps in brackets

Edited by Duluth, 27 June 2010 - 12:04 PM.
Squad was missing Dan Carter

[Stockcar86]

3 fullbacks, 3 centres and only 1 specialist winger?

Really surprised about Messam ahead of Thompson

[MiketheSnow]

Definitely.

Thomson is streets ahead of Messam for me.

[cricketman]

I simply cannot understand how the selecters continue to overlook Hosea Gear. What must he do to get back in an ABs jersey?

[DMX]

cricketman said:

I simply cannot understand how the selecters continue to overlook Hosea Gear. What must he do to get back in an ABs jersey?

Some surprises there. Aled Demalmanche was an easy one though, seriously what is the point of having a hooker who is
cannot even throw straught to the front. Thomson is a real tough one to understand especially that he does the best openside impression of anyone in the squad. I guess they reckon Kahui and Ranger have more utulity value than Guilford, Gear, Smith or Wulf but it is harsh on all of them. They are still persisting with Cruden, I still don't see it.

Edit: Still no room for Luke even as a back-up 10?

Edited by DMX, 27 June 2010 - 11:33 AM.

[Virgil]

What did Thompson do wrong to get dropped?
Strange

Great to see Ranger retained.

Zac will be moaning alot more now!

[Voltron]

As a Waikato fan i'm shocked and embarrassed that Messam has been included in this squad.

Its become my opinion over the last few months that this guy is a liability, possible even as low as NPC level.

[Razbra]

In a week where Gear was gang busters and Guildford wasn't far behind.

As much as I enjoyed the demolition job from Gear he did on the English I thought Zac showed himself to exactly the type of industrious winger you'd like waiting in the wings should Rok go down injured.

[kiwiinmelb]

Messam , Who can honestly say they saw that coming ?

Ranger , thats an interesting one, Im not convinced yet , but lets see how he goes I guess .

I can see how they think he has more upside than Gear and ZAc though,but I'm not convinced he is ready yet,

Always going to be some dissapointed outside backs , and we still have Sivi and Toeava to come back yet.

[JK]

Only 28 man squad? Thought they were going for a 30?

[Duluth]

Afoa replaces Tialata
Flynn replaces ADM
Messam replaces Thomson
Ranger replaces Guildford

A few surprises in this squad.

I'm shocked Benson is still there.. he's a goodish player but I wouldn't even consider him an automatic starter at the Blues. Luke must have come very close esp considering he can cover flyhalf too

With four midfielders and not much wing cover does thins mean Ranger is being looked at as a winger?

[junior]

I can only assume that the cartel did not see either the first or second Maori matches. That is the only explanation for Messam's selection. What the fuck are they thinking?

A number of selections here indicate their focus is firmly dveloping talent for 2011 rather than winning against the Boks and Wobblers. I get the feeling the Cartel don't believe we can win the RWC or the Boks without something "special".

[JK]

And when they watched the 3rd match junior I dont think they knew that Gear and McAlister playing

[Baron Silas Greenback]

So who replaces McCaw in case of injury close to game day or on tour in SA?
I can only think that they dont believe specialist 7's are needed with the new rule inerpretations.

[Razbra]

junior said:

I can only assume that the cartel did not see either the first or second Maori matches. That is the only explanation for Messam's selection. What the fuck are they thinking?

A number of selections here indicate their focus is firmly dveloping talent for 2011 rather than winning against the Boks and Wobblers. I get the feeling the Cartel don't believe we can win the RWC or the Boks without something "special".

Read had one of his shitter games last night and I can only think they made a last minute call on a specialist 8. But on his shittest day Read is still head and shoulders ahead of Messam.

Strange selection.

[kiwiinmelb]

Ranger is a wild card selection, and the more I think about it, the more I admire their courage for having a go,

They probably see him as the guy who can bust a good defence open , probably more than any other player we have in NZ, Gear included IMO,

And the sooner they can get him into the AB environment, the sooner they can attempt to iron out his rough edges in time for the WC,

If it doesnt seem to work , drop him and move on , we have plenty of depth.

[Paekakboyz]

Maybe Messam/Vito as the 7 cover!? (shudder!) I'm fine with Flynn and Ranger but eyebrows def lifted over Messam, Benson and Afoa.

Bensen over Luke? well they'll have Nonu back and Kahui has the ability to cover 2nd 5 (plus the option to move DC to 2nd and have Cruden/Piri at 1st). I thought Tialata would have done enough to see off Ben Franks and Afoa but apparently not.

I am happy to see Ranger in the mix but a squad size of 28 is making for some tough decisions. I think Thomson will be esp gutted, he hasn't had as much game time as other 6's and little chance to show his wares.

[Scorz]

Messam, FFS, that's ridiculous, I can only hope the Cartel have decided they can sort his shit out. Weird. I would have thought they would take Thomo and leave the so far underwhelming Vito out.

Stanley is more use than Luke, so far he hasn't thrown an intercept and has played 3 games, much more use than unLucky.

Cruden... I'm worried about him getting killed by the Bokke.

Flynn won't be in the squad long, he'll break something. An arm, a toe, a finger... Be about 2 weeks. Routledge to get the surprise call up.

Oh and good riddance Guildford. Too small mate, go grow a foot taller.

[Duluth]

Baron Silas Greenback said:

So who replaces McCaw in case of injury close to game day or on tour in SA?
I can only think that they dont believe specialist 7's are needed with the new rule inerpretations.

Yet they chased Braid to come back to NZ..

The first five games are in NZ or on the east coast of Australia. Unless an injury occurs on game day a replacement can be brought in easily.

This is an unusually small squad for the 3Ns I wonder if a couple of players will get added for the South Africa trip?
The first game over there is on August 21st and a guy like Latimer could have 3 weeks playing for BOP before getting on a plane to SA. Maybe that's more useful than holding tackles bags at training?

Or maybe they just don't rate him

[Paekakboyz]

Scorz said:

Messam, FFS, that's ridiculous, I can only hope the Cartel have decided they can sort his shit out. Weird. I would have thought they would take Thomo and leave the so far underwhelming Vito out.

Stanley is more use than Luke, so far he hasn't thrown an intercept and has played 3 games, much more use than unLucky.

Cruden... I'm worried about him getting killed by the Bokke.

Flynn won't be in the squad long, he'll break something. An arm, a toe, a finger... Be about 2 weeks. Routledge to get the surprise call up.

Oh and good riddance Guildford. Too small mate, go grow a foot taller.

Listed as 1.82cm and 93kg on the crusaders site... Can't see him being that much shorter or lighter than Joe or other wing options. However I'm not gutted that he's been dropped.

[Chris B.]

Hope Henry didn't walk into a door earlier in the year - maybe they should give him a psychometric test just in case.

Got to hope they have a plan - and a good one - but, it's a little bit obscure. Will be interesting to see who they pick as their back three against the boks. I'm inclined to think that either Dagg or Kahui will join Jane and Mils - look for something really consistent under the high ball.

But, the selection of Messam and Ranger suggests that they're also looking at people who can run with the ball in hand. I'm guessing they're going to try to play a lot like the Crusaders did in the final few games of S14, just trying to be better under the high ball compared with the effort in Soweto.

[Kirwan]

I'm gobsmacked. Stanley and Messam should go buy lotto tickets immediately.

Guidlford had a very good defensive game was average to poor on attack, and looking at this squad I get the horrible feeling we're going to be running it from everywhere. Rok has changed his game to match Sivi's playmaker role and his doing that well, as well as improving his high ball work.

I thought it was a thirty man squad, no Mathewson?

[taniwharugby]

Didnt see the Ranger one coming!! Would have thought Gear was a notch higher up the chain??

Messam even less so, WTF?

Surprised Stanley has been retained, lets hope he repays the faith!

[Duluth]

Kirwan said:

I thought it was a thirty man squad, no Mathewson?

I reckon it's because the SA tour is so late this year (5 Tests before travelling to SA)

Normally we have 5 props, 3 hookers, 3 halfbacks and sometimes 3 10's

This squad has 4 Props, 2 hookers, 2 halfbacks, 2 10's and no specialist openside backup

I'm guessing more cover will come in when we fly to SA as replacements can't fly in as quickly. Meanwhile fringe players will get three weeks of NPC before the squad would leave to SA

[Kirwan]

taniwharugby said:

Didnt see the Ranger one coming!! Would have thought Gear was a notch higher up the chain??

Messam even less so, WTF?

Surprised Stanley has been retained, lets hope he repays the faith!

Well Smith and Henry will get him up to speed pretty fast, and he'll be surrounded by good players too which will help him learn fast. Looking at that squad you'd have to think he's been selected as a winger that can cover centre in a pinch?

He'll be a good option off the nech to wreck havoc for the last 20.

[Duluth]

taniwharugby said:

Didnt see the Ranger one coming!!

..and taking the place of a specialist winger

[Nepia]

Well that is an interesting squad.

The anti Guildford brigade will be happy, I thought he did enough last night but I guess they wanted more with the ball in hand. Ranger being in is a surprise, I think I would rather Gear at this stage but I'm a Ranger fan so not too bothered.

I wonder why Thomson got the shaft for Messam. I've been a big fan of Messam in the past, but, he's had a shit season bar one game this year. Thomson is hard done by. Are the cartel following Michael Jones advice and going to run Messam as a 7?

Probably the most surprised about Benson still being there and Luke not. I thought that pulling him during the week was a clear pointer to his coming back. He definitely displayed better form than Messam over three games. Wayne Smith must have decided Benson provides the Warwick Taylor solidity from his heyday. I think we lose too much in attack with Benson there, but hopefully he proves me wrong.

Tialata can feel a bit hard done by as well, I thought the Franks weren't too good last week and Woody and Tialata not too good this week and that they would cancel each other out.

I'm happy to see Flynn in over ADM - everyone could see that one coming.

All in all, not too many complaints. I would probably of swapped back Messam for Thomson, Luke for Benson, Gear or Guildford in for Ranger, and added a 7.

The cartel do like to throw us curve balls though, don't they?

[Emerican AB]

Stockcar86 said:

3 fullbacks, 3 centres and only 1 specialist winger?

Really surprised about Messam ahead of Thompson

really? while watching the final 20 minutes today vs. wales i was thinking Thomson looks like he's drunk.

[Kirwan]

Duluth said:

I reckon it's because the SA tour is so late this year (5 Tests before travelling to SA)

Normally we have 5 props, 3 hookers, 3 halfbacks and sometimes 3 10's

This squad has 4 Props, 2 hookers, 2 halfbacks, 2 10's and no specialist openside backup

I'm guessing more cover will come in when we fly to SA as replacements can't fly in as quickly. Meanwhile fringe players will get three weeks of NPC before the squad would leave to SA

Smacks of penny pinching though doesn't it. I'm oscillating been excited and terrified about this squad.

If the fans can't pick how we are going to play or select, I guess the opposition have no idea either.

[Nepia]

Kirwan said:

Smacks of penny pinching though doesn't it. I'm oscillating been excited and terrified about this squad.

If the fans can't pick how we are going to play or select, I guess the opposition have no idea either.

That line is brilliant!
Although hopefully the Cartel have an idea and it doesn't include Ranger and co running it from the our end of the field all game - like last year (well except for Ranger).