Finally-All Blacks team to play France

1. Tony Woodcock (78)
2. Keven Mealamu (87)
3. Owen Franks (26)
4. Brad Thorn (54)
5. Sam Whitelock (20)
6. Jerome Kaino (43)
7. Richie McCaw – captain (99)
8. Adam Thomson (23)
9. Piri Weepu (51)
10. Daniel Carter (84)
11. Richard Kahui (14)
12. Ma’a Nonu (62)
13. Conrad Smith (50)
14. Cory Jane (28)
15. Israel Dagg (8)

Reserves:

16. Andrew Hore (57)
17. Ben Franks (12)
18. Ali Williams (68)
19. Anthony Boric (22)
20. Andy Ellis (22)
21. Colin Slade (7)
22. Sonny Bill Williams (9)

So Read for Thomson and I'd say this is the top starting XV. Bench can be tweaked though. Thoughts? I like the XV and the room for SBW. Whitelock must cover the loosies then.

Dagg the talking point. Feel for Mils but Issy is the form 15. Well done Henry on making that call.

Weepu at 9, Cowan out altogether. Jane and Kahui on the wings, Whitelock in ahead of Ali and Dagg at fullback.
Probably the top team other than Read.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby-world-cup-2011/news/article.cfm?c_id=522&objectid=10753438

Starting XV:

1. Tony Woodcock (78)
2. Keven Mealamu (87)
3. Owen Franks (26)
4. Brad Thorn (54)
5. Sam Whitelock (20)
6. Jerome Kaino (43)
7. Richie McCaw - captain (99)
8. Adam Thomson (23)
9. Piri Weepu (51)
10. Daniel Carter (84)
11. Richard Kahui (14)
12. Ma'a Nonu (62)
13. Conrad Smith (50)
14. Cory Jane (28)
15. Israel Dagg (8)

Reserves:

16. Andrew Hore (57)
17. Ben Franks (12)
18. Ali Williams (68)
19. Anthony Boric (22)
20. Andy Ellis (22)
21. Colin Slade (7)
22. Sonny Bill Williams (9)

Ha ha...beat me by one minute Disney...oooh look...here come the mergers puttin' the squeeze on... better run...

You mean Williams must cover the loosies?

Like the back 3 a lot , got Kahui the out and out finisher given half a chance on one wing , Cory Jane the more creative winger who just looks tooo balanced for my liking( as a Bok fan) and Dagg well the Rangitikei Express ...Nuff said

Yes have to admit seeing it on paper looks fairly good.
The midfield combination, Daggs pace, solid wingers, Carter, the loosies and front 5 and Weepu's sniping and cheekiness at 9.

Plus a very strong bench for the second half. Boris to get some time and we're spoilt there already. SBW's injection after half time for Jane or Kahui could be part of the stable diet for the rest of the tournament.

If any team can beat this at Eden park, they'll have done very well.

To be honest, SBW on the wing excites me. Not from a classical wing play point of view, but jeepers-scrum moves involving Smith and Nonu decoys and him charging up the middle with support off his shoulder running at tired Frogs-that is a weapon and a half.

Expect Whitelock to slot into 6 and one of Williams or Boric to jump into 5.

I hope Kahui plays as well on the left as he does the right, if he can then I'll be one happy chappy. Jane doesn't make mistakes and deserves to be there. That back three has all sorts of weapons.

Definitely the most anticipated fixture of the group stages.

It matters not what NZ team is fielded.

This is France. A team of madmen led by a lunatic.

Anything could happen.

vintage NZ - so many great backs that dont even make the bench.

I like the idea of SBW as an impact player - could unlock any game (if needed be).

will take France a lot of god knows what to contain that sort of firepower... the idea of Ma'a Nonu and SBW running into our defense does not fill me confindence

disneychilly wrote:To be honest, SBW on the wing excites me. Not from a classical wing play point of view, but jeepers-scrum moves involving Smith and Nonu decoys and him charging up the middle with support off his shoulder running at tired Frogs-that is a weapon and a half.

I agree disney. As I've said that period of nothing happening after half time is where SBW's intro has to happen to spark things if scores are still close. French forward tiredness at the 50 minute mark might allow him to crash some valuable yards off the breakdowns as well.

And from wing he has more range and doesn't have to focus so much on defence in a structured way.

Seeing Smith and Nonu on the list gives you that warm feeling!

Observations,a very strong All Black squad given injury situation,much as expected.Disappointed Ellis is`nt starting he has a faster distribution than Weepu or Cowan.Also his understanding with Carter/Slade significant is who is not there.Toeva,Afoa,Vito,Guildford the last probably won`t even get a game.Expect SBW at centre not wing maybe Nonu moving inside,Slade
coming in at full back and Dagg moving to the wing.
All three goal kickers on the park,also option if Dagg stuffs up at full back he can switch with Cory Jane.
Significant both Ali Williams and Boric on the bench,thinking maybe Brad Thorn can`t go full 80 any more.
Forget the running at a tiring French defence bit,there BENCH is stronger than the starting lineup
There game plan will be to take you on up front,maybe get a few penalties.
THEN up there game in the second half when the All Blacks tire,thats the template from 1999 and 2007.
Take it from me thats no French B side the big guns are on the bench !!!!!

Taylorman wrote:Yes have to admit seeing it on paper looks fairly good.

I can see you are not one for understatements!

roddersm wrote:

Taylorman wrote:Yes have to admit seeing it on paper looks fairly good.

I can see you are not one for understatements!

Yeah i know. Not a lot you can say looking at it. Just glad they can finally get onto the field (bar read)

Gosh Eden park will be pumping Saturday night!

emack2 wrote:Observations,a very strong All Black squad given injury situation,much as expected.Disappointed Ellis is`nt starting he has a faster distribution than Weepu or Cowan.Also his understanding with Carter/Slade significant is who is not there.Toeva,Afoa,Vito,Guildford the last probably won`t even get a game.Expect SBW at centre not wing maybe Nonu moving inside,Slade
coming in at full back and Dagg moving to the wing.
All three goal kickers on the park,also option if Dagg stuffs up at full back he can switch with Cory Jane.
Significant both Ali Williams and Boric on the bench,thinking maybe Brad Thorn can`t go full 80 any more.
Forget the running at a tiring French defence bit,there BENCH is stronger than the starting lineup
There game plan will be to take you on up front,maybe get a few penalties.
THEN up there game in the second half when the All Blacks tire,thats the template from 1999 and 2007.
Take it from me thats no French B side the big guns are on the bench !!!!!

Alan theres no loosie on the bench thats why Ali and Boric are there.
And its a grave mistake to leave the best players on the bench. I'm not familiar enough to know which are their best but if its a tactic then it's sure to backfire as its not the sort of starting AB side you really want to afford that luxury.

Not much point when your 20-25 points down at half time because of it, also something the AB's will have talked about after watching the 2007 match this week.

feel a bit sorry for vito, thought he did well when he was playing obviously not the same class as read but still...

I think this is an excellent AB's team and kudos to Henry for making the tough call of dropping Mils.

I think as soon as Read is fit and playing then one of Boric or Williams will drop out of the 22 and Thomson will be on the bench. I was in Hamilton at the weekend and Thomson for me was the best player on the paddock and was literally everywhere. Expect Whitelock to move to blindside at some stage in this game when Boric and Williams get on.

In respect of SBW, I have serious doubts about his ability on the wing - this comes from witnessing what happened in Hamilton when he came on against Japan. It wasn't shown on the TV, however the entire time SBW was on the paddock Ellis (and then Cowan) had to direct him where to stand and what lines to run etc. Come a big game, especially against Aus of SA, I'm not sure I want my halfback distracted with babysitting SBW or SBW getting himself in terrible defensive positions. In saying that he can cause chaos on attack and it might be all worth it.

AB's by a few this weekend as they want it more.

Don`t take anything for granted,the All Blacks were the lot of points up at
half -time in 1999.They took the foot of the throat and lost,THAT was a very good side too.NO All Black side should go in 20 points up and lose,but from time to time in the past they have.
I`m as big an All Black as any here,maybe bigger but I am not one eyed.
Just picking your best team,playing your best game for 80 minutes does`nt
GUARANTEE a win.
Why just because you field it do you assume you will be 20 odd points up at half hime.
How often against the Wallabies for example have you been behind at half time in the last dozen matches and had to come back to win.
Or as in Hong Kong and Brisbane teams with better goal kickers would have had the game way out of sight.Instead of the odd few points,Yach villi and Parra are the sort that seldom miss.
You have a referee who is hot on scrum infringements especially,and the All Blacks have given a lot of those away to.
Why do you think they will oblige you by playing to your strengths,why not try to shut down your backs.Defend and take points in 3 `s especially drops the french are experts at them.
Nor that just because players are on the bench,there is no rule says they have to stay there.
If anything so far this RWC has shown that dogged defence can drag the better team down to the leser teams level.
Yes,I expect an All Black win but not like some here expect it to be a stroll in the park.
No loosie cover,are you expecting injuries?or a lack of the ability to go the full 80.
Two locks on the bench to cover the best loosie in the RWC so far Kaino?or
an extra line out option instead of Thomson?
This is a brave team,they have`nt gone safety first with defensively sound Muliana,and Cowan instead of the more attack minded players.
IF they face the Boks at some point then expect those two to start.
It has always been assumed,IF the All Blacks were to win this RWC,at somepoint they would have to beat.
France,Australia,SouthAfrica,and England and that is still a very real scenario.

I think Sonny Bill's been getting directed all his life...

Alan in 1999 it was a 14 point lead and it was a freak one off occurrence that happened then. . Logic says you put your best players on the field to start not play them half a game. Its been tried before with mixed success and I wouldnt use this game to experiment with it.

Mils and Cowan arent in because theyre playing badly when others are playing better. I wouldnt expect them to come on against the Boks after not playing beforehand.I mean would you honestly pick 2 players based on the fact that they used to be defensively sound but arent at the moment?

I agree nothing guarantees a win, and certainly hoping to repeat a freak episode of 12 years ago falls into that category.

Nothing wrong with this team and I expect a comfortable win, at Eden park in front of a packed house. Comfortable.

No Mils on the bench, whos cover at Full Back - SBW....?

Agreed TM. As big a fan as I am of Cowan (he is underated as to his defensive abilities and sniping runs especially against physical teams like SA and Eng) he isn't playing well. I actually would have liked to see Ellis start with his quick clearance and then Weepu come on and make the runs from the base of the scrum and the ruck in the second half.

As regards loosie cover, the 3 Wise Men obviously rate Whitelock to backup at 6 and he did a pretty good job there against the Aussies in Brisbane so not worried about that.

As regards Mils v Dagg my belief is if you're good enough you're old enough and he is a very good defender, great kicker defensively and explosive offensively. He may go on to be better than Cullen as Cullen's boot wasn't the best. People also forget that we went into the 1995 semi with a number of very young and inexperienced players including Kronfeld, Mehrtens and Glenn Osborne who all played there first tests the year of the World Cup and did not let us down in any way. "Experience" can be overrated at times especially when you look at who Dagg has in the backline to help him (especially Smith who is head and shoulders above any other centre in world rugby when it comes to organising a backline defensively).

I think it will be comfortable by the end of 80 mins (although not necessarily throughout) - in saying that the Frenchie's don't often like it "up 'em Mr Mannering" and might fold early if the heat comes on from the AB's. I think "wanting it more" is a big factor in test matches now days - just look at Ireland v Aus as a case in point (Wales v SA scuppers that theory, however had they landed the penalty of the drop-kick they would have won and proved me right).

Slade,Cory Jane,take your pick.SBW to 12,Nonu to wing no problem.

Slade covers fullback - played there a lot when at Canterbury while Carter was at 10 and he played there last weekend against Japan when Weepu played 10. Slade also covers wing hence why he is on the bench as he is an excellent utility.

Also Jane covers fullback.

And finally Kahui has played some games at fullback if it gets to that.

Yeah we can get carried away with this multi cover thing. That's what brings on fullbacks at centre in the first place. So and so comes on, plays a blinder, fans are demanding hes on the field so they fit him in somewhere at short notice next match and he plays rubbish, lost in the headlights when expectations are huge and delivery is zip.

Not a fan of this sliding across stuff, jack of all trades, master of none.

SBW I would use as a one or two off battering ram for 10-15 minutes just after half time to loosen up the defence and create holes.

There has always been some flexibility in NZ Rugby,but now this utility thing
is THE big issue.Scenario i`m a great player but only play,loosehead prop,Wing,Openside flank.
Sorry there`s no room for you we`d rather have someone versatile but inferior.Vito or Messam over Matt Todd,or the Braid Brothers,Afoa over Wyatt Crockett,Toeva over Hosea Gear or Sivivatu.
NZ have produced a whole range of loose forwards comfortable any where
without specializing.
Lauki,Messam,Vito,Thomson,Masoe,Read,O`Siaolo to name a few.
Currently you are picking centres and full backs to cover wings,the last time 4 out and out wingers were picked.
Was probably 2006,Howlett,Sivivatu,Rokococo,and Rico Gear,specialist second 5/8 Luke mcalister and Aron Mauger 2007.
That was when a left/right kicking option was felt essential at 10/12 times change.
Which Full back are we going to play at centre this year.like 1999.2003,2007?

Oh look, theres another one...Nz are this...BUT (then the lesson commences)

And big congratulations to Richie McCaw on making his 100th test this Saturday. A true legend of the game. First AB to reach 100 and couldnt have gone to a better person or player.

Well done Capitan...

Taylorman wrote:And big congratulations to Richie McCaw on making his 100th test this Saturday. A true legend of the game. First AB to reach 100 and couldnt have gone to a better person or player.

Well done Capitan...

will there be some kind of ceremony or official thing for McCaw 100th cap? (didnt realise he was the 1st to reach that)

Taylorman wrote:And big congratulations to Richie McCaw on making his 100th test this Saturday. A true legend of the game. First AB to reach 100 and couldnt have gone to a better person or player.

Well done Capitan...

+1 McCaw is one of the great players of the modern (and any) era and to win 100 caps for the AB's is an absolutely incredible achievement. Legend is an understatement. I would say that if anyone deserves to lift the Web Ellis trophy it's McCaw, except I can't because that's O'Driscoll , but hey congratulations anyway

What's the story with all the tall people? 4 2nd rows. 2 back rows of similar height and SBW there or thereabouts. Tall persons game?

Strong side, that should beat France.