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Joined June 2023
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Jamie Wall is a senior sports writer for RNZ and author of five books on the All Blacks, including the best-seller Brothers In Black. He has covered the side full time since 2017, including the 2019 World Cup in Japan, and will be in France for this year's tournament. Jamie is somehow still an active player in Auckland club rugby.
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If there’s one thing New Zealand rugby fans aren’t good at, it’s paying attention to what other teams and countries are doing. While you…
Thirty-six names, a 24 hour fight and (hopefully) seven games. The first part of that equation has been entered for the All Blacks as…
Is there any hope for the Wallabies in Dunedin? Last week the idea was to target the All Black lineout close five metres out,…
As an official ‘fan with keyboard’, it’s now my duty to give the sort of preview Eddie Jones wants you to think the New…
Have we crossed the bridge into Believeland yet? Things certainly seem pointing that way after some seriously tough times, but there are a few…
Good news and ominous news for All Blacks fans. The good news is that Sunday morning’s 42-12 win over the Pumas in Mendoza was…
We’re now less than two months away from the All Blacks taking on France in perhaps the most anticipated World Cup opener of all…
If last Saturday night’s Super Rugby Pacific final was also a shadow trial for the All Black number 10 jersey, we had a winner.…
Super Rugby Pacific is almost in the can for its second year, well for New Zealanders anyway. The final between the Chiefs and Crusaders…
We’re less than a week out from the first All Black squad naming of the year. While most selections have been pretty well telegraphed,…
It might be bloated and much maligned, but we’re finally at the business end of Super Rugby Pacific for 2023. Foregone conclusions? Let’s have…
I’m not saying NZers don’t rate Ireland, France etc. or know that Scotland are posing a threat, I’m saying that the average fans doesn’t really know much beyond that, and that’s not entirely their fault. We get very little coverage of NH comps outside of the 6N, due to either the time difference or it simply not being on TV at all, and even then most Kiwis’ secondary sports attention is taken up by the NRL anyway.
Like seriously, the level of knowledge that say English fans have about the All Blacks and Super Rugby is really disproportionate to what it is the other way around.
Kiwi View: All Blacks fans finally tuning in to RWC threats - should they pay more attention to a dark horse in blue?
But the Boks were bad…that’s just a fact. They came in off a good win and it was set up to be an epic match of the biggest rivalry in rugby and it was over after 20 mins. So, ultimately, they were very disappointing.
Kiwi View: Beware Wallabies, the ABs have proven they're best in world at exposing half-cocked opposition
I did, and I guess this is my way of admitting that I got it wrong. Was certainly sceptical of taking the squad to Argy but it seems to have worked.
Kiwi View: Beware Wallabies, the ABs have proven they're best in world at exposing half-cocked opposition
Ah yes, how could I forget that iconic Auckland landmark. It very much is still there, definitely needs a coat of paint though.
Kiwi View: Let’s not get ahead of ourselves - Foster gamble could be exposed by smart Boks ploy
I think that’s always going to be subjective, and really you could make a pretty compelling case for Barrett to be 10 if you surrounded him with guys specifically suited to compliment him. The issue, in my opinion, is that the All Blacks just need to back one and confidently say: this is our guy. Then build a team around him.
Fozzie's Dan Carter moment: All Blacks face crunch call on Barrett ahead of RWC as ghosts of '19 remain
Well there was that pass from Goodhue that was so forward it was on its way to Taupo, for a start. The other one would be Jacobson’s card, that could have really gone either way? That came at a really crucial point and he’d been having a really good game on defence, Taylor scored directly off that.
Not at all suggesting the Crusaders weren’t stiffed either, ALB should have seen red.
Fozzie's Dan Carter moment: All Blacks face crunch call on Barrett ahead of RWC as ghosts of '19 remain
You could say the same re stifling about the Blues, Canes and Highlanders right now though, TBF. Case in point: Beauden Barrett.
Kiwi View: Opening up eligibility - the (not so) quick fix to Super Rugby’s inequity?
Again, while Piutau leaving gave him a fantastic career overseas, it made really no difference at all to the All Blacks at the time as they won another RWC after discarding him.
You could definitely make a case for him being an 80-test All Black if he’d stayed, but logically it would have been Ben Smith’s spot that he would have taken?
Kiwi View: Opening up eligibility - the (not so) quick fix to Super Rugby’s inequity?
The way I’ve always looked at it is: who is overseas right now that is worth bringing back? Is there anyone that would make that big a difference right now?
The only time when a solid case was made I think was when Hayman and Evans had gone in the lead up to the 2011 RWC, because the All Blacks’ form over the previous seasons was very patchy. But then they ended up winning it anyway!
Kiwi View: Opening up eligibility - the (not so) quick fix to Super Rugby’s inequity?
Carter’s deal was specifically tailored for him, with every intention of him coming back.
Todd was far more of a spur of the moment thing, he was included in the team when they were in Japan because he was at Panasonic and the All Blacks needed an extra loosie at the time. No one really cared because it was a crazy All Black team anyway, with eight debutants and the all the top players having already flown to London.
Kiwi View: Opening up eligibility - the (not so) quick fix to Super Rugby’s inequity?
I never said it’d help them win anything.
Kiwi View: Opening up eligibility - the (not so) quick fix to Super Rugby’s inequity?
Fair call.
All Blacks power rankings: Questions over super star after DMac surge, injury fears hit lock stocks, Cane shows who's boss
The second reference originally said ‘shit’ but they changed it.
All Blacks power rankings: Questions over super star after DMac surge, injury fears hit lock stocks, Cane shows who's boss
Sure, I never said he hasn’t. It’s just a lot more straightforward to make a lot of tackles when your team never has the ball.
All Blacks power rankings: Questions over super star after DMac surge, injury fears hit lock stocks, Cane shows who's boss
“It’s just puzzling how far we’ve fallen behind?” Think Covid-19 might have had something to do with it…we had to completely rearrange our season and therefore pathways etc. while the NH simply had to play with no crowds for a while. That then lead on to Super Rugby getting blown up and South Africa leaving, then that directly leading to the friction with Rugby Australia that’s sucked up so much oxygen since.
All Blacks power rankings: Questions over super star after DMac surge, injury fears hit lock stocks, Cane shows who's boss
Definitely agree that the Wallaby centre selections will be easier and those two blokes are a very dangerous combination.
I feel like Rieko is a bit of a lightning rod for criticism over here. He breaks the line, scores tries, has shown loyalty to the Blues and All Blacks. Yeah there’s been a few missed tackles but he’s hardly alone over the last few years in that department.
All Blacks power rankings: Questions over super star after DMac surge, injury fears hit lock stocks, Cane shows who's boss
Yes, it has!
All Blacks power rankings: Questions over super star after DMac surge, injury fears hit lock stocks, Cane shows who's boss
Join the #HeemHive, the official hashtag of The Dream Bryce Heem
All Blacks power rankings: Questions over super star after DMac surge, injury fears hit lock stocks, Cane shows who's boss
That’s a fair point regarding Fainga’anuku’s situation compared to the others, but between them they’ve played something like 400 tests to his two. It’s somewhat reminiscent of Charles Piutau in 2015, when he got told to get lost as soon as he even floated the idea of playing overseas – this time it’s unlikely Foster has the luxury of being able to do that (which I doubt he wants to anyway).
That was a little tongue in cheek about Harmon, but Sergio Parisse basically made a career out of being in that situation.
All Blacks power rankings: Questions over super star after DMac surge, injury fears hit lock stocks, Cane shows who's boss
Mate I’m from Wellington – I’m even more of an expert than you could imagine.
Kiwi View: Bleak reality facing Tahs, Reds have the 'consistency of a slightly blocked toilet,' Brumbies' big burden
Hard disagree. NZers don’t know jack about foreign comps because no one watches them…and why would they, it’s all on in the middle of the night.
Kiwi View: All Blacks fans finally tuning in to RWC threats - should they pay more attention to a dark horse in blue?