Geekzone Rugby (Union) Discussion Thread

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#3463051 19-Feb-2026 14:04

JPNZ:

Jacomb vs Miller should be a great battle

Yep, definitely. There'll be a few interesting match ups or comparisons (as most Kiwi derbies do). Tavatavanawai and Tupaea in the midfield. On the wings, ABs Narawa and Carter and potential ABs Tangitau and Taumoefolau. Pity we don't get to see Pledger v Ratima and Holland v Vaa'i.

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#3463075 19-Feb-2026 15:23

I think some positions lend themselves to direct comparison than others. Locks are a hard one, but 10's are a bit easier, though the single biggest factor to a 10's performance tends to be whether he is in front of a good forward pack who is getting at least parity.

Very very few 10's could turn a game off the back of forward back being dominated. Mo'uncga was the most recent and less so at test level, and Carter obviously, who admittedly spent the majority of his time behind the All Blacks/Crusaders premium packs, but his ability to read a game and off the back of his incredibly educated and accurate boot, could release some pressure. DM could do it for the Chiefs, in fact without him on the field they looked positively lost the last few seasons, but he wasn't able to do the same at test level.

I remain convinced that Razors tenure would have benefited massively from having had a decent 10. He spent a year trying to do something that 2 other coaches had tried to do, which was a waste of time (getting DM to be a test level 10). He would have been given a lot of leeway if he had said he was going to develop depth at 10 and some of the other key positions. WHen he was so conservative, I think it reduced the tolerance people had for losses perhaps.

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#3463174 19-Feb-2026 19:55

networkn:

I remain convinced that Razors tenure would have benefited massively from having had a decent 10. He spent a year trying to do something that 2 other coaches had tried to do, which was a waste of time (getting DM to be a test level 10). He would have been given a lot of leeway if he had said he was going to develop depth at 10 and some of the other key positions. WHen he was so conservative, I think it reduced the tolerance people had for losses perhaps.

Razor spent so much time talking about "four deep in every position" except he showed his bias at 10 by having no interest in trying to build depth here while he waited for the return of Mounga. One hundred percent his own fault he didn't have a decent 10. He had the mandate from day one to bring some new 10's into the mix. When he did, he didn't give them any game time.

An article discussing the two options of Joseph and Rennie for ABs coach:

https://www.espn.com.au/rugby/story/_/id/47968916/all-blacks-coach-jamie-joseph-dave-rennie-next-new-zealand?fbclid=IwY2xjawQDkgFleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETJVdVR5MFh2bXVpaUg4QUk4c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHjaC4Ohzq5PxK9JgWelWK9spaDeD9xMvRKcQmWyDiRO7iT97zovklsF8IvMy_aem_4kAVfDCiODQjCoclDYhHjg

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#3463176 19-Feb-2026 20:09

tukapa1:

Razor spent so much time talking about "four deep in every position" except he showed his bias at 10 by having no interest in trying to build depth here while he waited for the return of Mounga. One hundred percent his own fault he didn't have a decent 10. He had the mandate from day one to bring some new 10's into the mix. When he did, he didn't give them any game time.

An article discussing the two options of Joseph and Rennie for ABs coach:

https://www.espn.com.au/rugby/story/_/id/47968916/all-blacks-coach-jamie-joseph-dave-rennie-next-new-zealand?fbclid=IwY2xjawQDkgFleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETJVdVR5MFh2bXVpaUg4QUk4c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHjaC4Ohzq5PxK9JgWelWK9spaDeD9xMvRKcQmWyDiRO7iT97zovklsF8IvMy_aem_4kAVfDCiODQjCoclDYhHjg

I am not saying he was blameless in the situation, but every AB's coach has a decent to amazing 10 already available. Razor had unpredictable uncontrollable MacKenzie and Barrett, who was amazing in some games and looked tired the rest of the time. I had expectations for Razor to be less conservative than he was, but I can understand the reluctance given the publics incredibly low tolerance to losing AND the other changes that were being made.

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#3463179 19-Feb-2026 20:18

tukapa1:

https://www.espn.com.au/rugby/story/_/id/47968916/all-blacks-coach-jamie-joseph-dave-rennie-next-new-zealand?fbclid=IwY2xjawQDkgFleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETJVdVR5MFh2bXVpaUg4QUk4c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHjaC4Ohzq5PxK9JgWelWK9spaDeD9xMvRKcQmWyDiRO7iT97zovklsF8IvMy_aem_4kAVfDCiODQjCoclDYhHjg

This paints an interesting picture. As uncomfortable as I would be with a Rennie appointment, so long as the AB's play disciplined non thugby rugby, and show improvement and development, I ultimately want the AB's to be the best they can be.

LookingUp

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#3463238 20-Feb-2026 08:31

tukapa1:

Razor spent so much time talking about "four deep in every position" except he showed his bias at 10 by having no interest in trying to build depth here while he waited for the return of Mounga. One hundred percent his own fault he didn't have a decent 10. He had the mandate from day one to bring some new 10's into the mix. When he did, he didn't give them any game time.

A question is - did he? Both BB and DMac would be on expensive contracts, and it would not be unreasonable to suspect there might have been some pressure on Razor to play them. On the other hand, Razor was under a lot of pressure to win, and both BB and DMac have rabid fanclubs, so maybe he did consider them his safest options from a PR perspective. Whatever the case, either the game plan was wrong or the players weren't playing to it, as something was off.

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tukapa1

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#3463432 21-Feb-2026 08:39

LookingUp:

tukapa1:

Razor spent so much time talking about "four deep in every position" except he showed his bias at 10 by having no interest in trying to build depth here while he waited for the return of Mounga. One hundred percent his own fault he didn't have a decent 10. He had the mandate from day one to bring some new 10's into the mix. When he did, he didn't give them any game time.

A question is - did he? Both BB and DMac would be on expensive contracts, and it would not be unreasonable to suspect there might have been some pressure on Razor to play them. On the other hand, Razor was under a lot of pressure to win, and both BB and DMac have rabid fanclubs, so maybe he did consider them his safest options from a PR perspective. Whatever the case, either the game plan was wrong or the players weren't playing to it, as something was off.

Yesh he did, but he needed to do it straight away and he left it far too long.

Interesting article here

https://archive.ph/2jncY

Some truth in that NZR should know enough about both these guys to make a decision, in fact should already have had a preferred candidate before sacking Roberston.

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#3463436 21-Feb-2026 09:42

tukapa1:

Some truth in that NZR should know enough about both these guys to make a decision, in fact should already have had a preferred candidate before sacking Roberston.

It seems almost insane to have handled it the way they have. They are sending two panelists (reported in some places to be Coles and Mealaumu, and others Mealamu and Lancaster) to the environments where the coaches operate to sit in on team meetings, and watch trainings. Really?!

Both these coaches are very experienced, if they couldn't run trainings and team meetings they wouldn't have made it as far as they have, plus with outsiders in your meetings you won't handle them exactly the same way.

With the commercial responsibilities of the role (which are significant), the logistics of managing your assistant coaches, setting the vision, and other things, the AB Coach is doing far less hands on coaching than even leading a Super Rugby team etc.

It's going to largely be about the vision of the coach, his ability to communicate and hold people accountable, his plan for development, and who he is picking as assistants, why, and how he intends to package that all together.

There are reports that Joseph is miffed, and I am not surprised, this feels like a really weird process.

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#3463440 21-Feb-2026 09:56

That article is really pretty frightening.

Apparently, the Blues are faced with having approached both Foster and Holland and both have declined the roles.

The chances are better than average that the seeming lack of preparation by the high performance department of NZ Rugby is likely to have long reaching and long term negative impacts on the top team.

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#3463707 22-Feb-2026 22:36

Ouch, well that hurt, getting rolled hard at home.

Congrats to Slipper on his 200th, the first win in 25 years at home against the Crusaders, and a meat pie to go with it.

Discipline and execution were big factors. Crusaders were playing some lovely rugby at times, just not for long enough.

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#3463719 23-Feb-2026 08:34

The Crusaders probably had 2 games they were expected to win and now head away to the Chiefs. That's a tough assignment for any team.

Blues away could also be a tough assignment.

I felt the end of the match reminded me a little of the end of the AB's SA game in Wellington, where the team just felt off, and didn't have anything left in the last 20 minutes.

I wonder if it's over-training?

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#3463723 23-Feb-2026 08:49

The Hurricanes looked good against a weak Moana Pacific team. I was impressed with their fluidity in the backline. Dearns looks like a good pick-up and will help solidify that forwared pack. Gutted for Brett Cameron with what looks like another season ending injury. This will really test the #10 depths for the Canes, with Love still out, which leaves Cashmore and Harkin (and possibly Godfrey if he's back from injury) the only fit options.

Earbanean

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#3463729 23-Feb-2026 09:33

Man there's been a lot of rubbish rugby being played by some of the NZ Super teams. I guess it's still Feb and there's a long way to go, but you'd expect professional players to be better out of the gate. The Saders and Chiefies were TAB favourites going into the season, but both are playing rubbish footy. Yes, the Chiefs have 2 wins, but really both those games could have gone either way and they did benefit from a bit of luck with the ref calls.

Why do our teams kick so much ball away when in attacking situations? The Chiefs were the worst. I haven't looked at the stats, but there was loads of aimless kicking by Jacomb and a few others. With a back 3 like the Landers, why kick the ball to them in open play? Tangitau's try was a classic example of a gift kick followed by a run in for an easy try (with the speed and skill he has). The Saders weren't much better. Reece absolutely opened up the Brumbies defence and had an unmarked player (Kemara?) outside him - but chose to kick and give an easy mark to the Brumbies.

With the backlines that the Chiefs and Saders have, they really should back them with ball in hand way more. The Chiefs aren't the same team without DMac. Not sure when he's back. The Canes looked good, but it's hard to judge given they were playing a clearly tired Moana side. Time will tell whether they use the attacking riches they have.

On a good note, a number of ABs are already looking good. Jordan, Tavatavanawai, Vaa'i, Tupaea and a few others are stepping up.

JPNZ

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#3463731 23-Feb-2026 09:48

Earbanean:

Man there's been a lot of rubbish rugby being played by some of the NZ Super teams. I guess it's still Feb and there's a long way to go, but you'd expect professional players to be better out of the gate.

I'm so glad NRL season starts this weekend, SRP has been woeful to watch. The skill level across NZ teams has indeed been so sloppy, I struggle to think what they spent all preseason doing..

Highlanders v Crusaders was horrible with so many errors, Blues v Cheifs last week was worse somehow. Did anyone see the Blues v Force as boring as watching paint dry..

Yet at the same time the six nations is serving up great games.

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#3465757 1-Mar-2026 08:23

Just tried watching highlights of last night's Crusaders and Chiefs match but had to give up as I couldn't tell the teams apart.

Who was the idiot that designed the matching jerseys for the two teams?

Are all the teams now wearing matching colours or is it just these two teams?

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