Hard to fathom ain't it?
Let us know what you think!
'99 All Black Training Squad
OK, so we have taken our own sweet time to finish this article (we started it just after the squad was announced, honest!) but it has given us a chance to reflect on the relative merits of each of the selections for this summer training squad.
It is important to bear in mind what this squad is.
To quote Mr Potato Head :
"It's not a squad to play a match, but it is a group of players who we believe have the ability to play at the highest level."
Hart makes it plain that '99 S12 performance will be a key factor in the final make-up of the '99 World Cup squad. Of course we know how dubious his interpretation of "selecting on form" has been in the past, so we will reserve judgement on that!
Anyway, the way we have done this is to sort the squad in terms of the likely position that each player could play for the AB's, and sorted them in order of preference (based on '98 form), this was particularly hard to do in the midfield, where no one is a dead cert. We make a comment about the strengths and weaknesses of each player, and where we see them fitting in (or not as the case may be!).
So, on with the show!
The Backs
| Name | Province | Position | Comment |
| Mark Robinson | North Harbour | Halfback | Just holds out Duggan for the top spot. Should have been given a crack at the AB starting job |
| Rhys Duggan | Waikato | Halfback | Has serious wheels and read the game well in the '98 NPC. Showed up Marshall in the two Waikato vs Cant games. |
| Justin Marshall | Canterbury | Halfback | Rushed back to AB duty too soon. Played well, but didn't have the speed and power he had last year. Hopefully he will be back to his best in 99 |
| Tony Brown | Otago | First Five | Scintilating form in the NPC, admittedly behind the best pack in the country, but still took the right option 90% of the time. Best in the country at present. |
| Andrew Mehrtens | Canterbury | First Five | Had an average NPC by his standards, played well, but not up to the standard he set in the Super 12. Still the best tactical kicker in the country. |
| Carlos Spencer | Auckland | First Five/Second Five | 3rd best First five in the country. It could be time to look at playing Spencer in the troublesome 2nd five spot, cause he ain't going to get the starting first five jersey any time soon! |
| Mark Mayerhofler | Canterbury | Second Five/Center | Not the answer at AB level. A great player, but doesn't appear to be up to the task at the next level. His option taking leaves a lot to be desired. |
| Walter Little | North Harbour | Second Five/Center | Deserves another crack at the no. 12 jersey. Played well for NH but still has a tendancy to run away from his support too much. |
| Marc Ellis | North Harbour | Second Five/Center/WIng | Certainly has the potential to sneak back into the AB's but hardly deserves to make it on the form he showed in the NPC. Probably better suited to the no. 12 jersey, but has good utility value. |
| Alama Ieremia | Wellington | Second Five/Center | Perpetually injured in recent years. Has the potential to get back in the team, but a long shot. |
| Scott McLeod | Waikato | Center/Second Five | Probably Hart's first choice at Center, although he hasn't proved that he can make the step up to test match rugby, and like Marshall was brought back to the AB's too early in 98. (no doubt he still has nightmares about it!) |
| Eroni Clarke | Auckland | Center | Clarke is steady in the center spot but doesn't exactly set the world on fire. Better than Innes though (doesn't mean a lot we know!) |
| Daryl Gibson | Canterbury | Center/Second Five/Wing/Fullback | A very solid utility back, with a real chance of making the WC squad because of his versatility. Great to see him on the Maori tour. |
| Jeremy Stanley | Auckland | Center/Wing | Has good potential but the jury is still out on him. You have to ask yourself why he couldn't crack the Auckland team, surely he is a better bet at Center than Grandpa Innes. |
| Caleb Ralph | Auckland | Center/Second Five/Wing | Why is this guy in contention? Sure he has wheels and is a great 7's player but is there more to his selection than his connections with the Hart family? |
| Craig Innes | Auckland | Second Five/Center | A John Hart flashback. Innes was competent in the midfield for the hapless Auks, but he didn't exactly play his way into AB contention in our book. Likely position, left-right out. |
| Jeff Wilson | Otago | Wing/Fullback | The best winger and the best fullback in the country. Hart should try goldie at fullback just to wake Cully up! |
| Jonah Lomu | Counties Manukau | Wing/Loose Forward | If Hart can show some confidence in Jonah he could be the difference at the WC. Seems to have recovered from his illness. |
| Joeli Vidiri | Counties Manukau | Wing | Run Forrest, Run! Just give Joeli the ball and point him at the line, one of the best finishers in the game. |
| Bruce Reihana | Waikato | Wing/Fullback | Great 7's player, who had a good NPC campaign but surely Randle was more deserving of an AB callup? |
| Tana Umaga | Wellington | Wing | Tana is a very strong winger, but probably will miss out on the squad due to the strong competition for wing spots, and the fact that he doesn't really cover any other spots. |
| Christian Cullen | Wellington | Fullback | On NPC form he is only the 2nd best fullback in the country but if he can get the fire burning again he is a game breaker. Could Cully be the ultimate impact player? (in the backline at least) |
| Adrian Cashmore | Auckland | Fullback | Cashmore is a classy player (for an Auk!), and a very good goal kicker. Not likely to crack the test squad though. |
The Forwards
| Name | Province | Position | Comment |
| Carl Hoeft | Otago | Prop | A beast, 1/2 of the engine room of the AB scrum. |
| Kees Meeuws | Otago | Prop | The other 1/2. A barnstorming season saw the Otago front row come of age. Awesome. |
| Olo Brown | Auckland | Prop | In the squad for sentimental value only. Has a lot of experience to pass on to the new boys, but unlikely to get his starting job back. |
| Craig Dowd | Auckland | Prop | Looked past it in '98. in the squad to keep Brown company. |
| Anton Oliver | Otago | Hooker | Solidified his place as starting hooker with a awesome NPC. The chemistry between the Otago front row cannot be under-estimated. |
| Mark Hammett | Canterbury | Hooker | A great man to back up Oliver, but we can't see him taking the starting job any time soon. |
| Royce Willis | Waikato | Lock | A dead cert for '99. Has the size and power to take on the South Africans at their own game. |
| Norm Maxwell | Canterbury | Lock | The future no 4. Has the lineout ability of Ian Jones with the tenacity and workrate of Josh Kronfeld. Just don't ask him to make too many after match speeches! |
| Robin Brooke | Auckland | Lock | When it comes down to it Brooke is a thug. He had a very forgettable 98, and should be on the way out in 99. |
| Ian Jones | North Harbour | Lock | Still has what it takes, just needs to be motivated to play to his potential. |
| Reuben Thorne | Canterbury | Lock/Loosie | Versatile loosie with the size to play lock. Probably will miss out on the final squad, but great exposure for the young man. Had a strong NPC. |
| Charles Riechelmann | Auckland | Lock/Loosie | Poddle-haired Auck who hasn't played a full game in 2 seasons. Why the hell is he in the squad!?! |
| Josh Kronfeld | Otago | Loosie | GOD (the father) |
| Isitolo Maka | Otago | Loosie | Jesus (the son) (as long as that thug Brooke is on the bench!) |
| Taine Randell | Otago | Loosie | The holy ghost (on the side of the scrum of course, he's not a no. 8!) |
| Scott Robertson | Canterbury | Loosie | A great impact player, which is just as well as barring injury he's not likely to crack the starting lineup. |
| Aaron Hopa | Waikato | Loosie | Had a great NPC season, and as much as it pains us to say it, deserves to be in the squad ahead of Blackadder. <sniff, sniff!> |
| Filo Tiatia | Wellington | Loosie | In the same mold as Isi, a devastating player in the open and a great guy to bring off the bench. |
| Xavier Rush | Auckland | Loosie | We think his sister deserves to play for the AB's ahead of Xavier. He had a forgetable NPC, and proved nothing in the test he played apart from the fact that we missed Isi. Blackadder or Deon Muir deserved this slot ahead of Rush. |
OK, that's the lot then. Of course we can't end this article without mentioning the unlucky players who didn't make the squad. Obviously there are many potential players who were left out, but these are the few that we (and obviously a few other's in the know) feel are hard done by.
Roger Randle - Had an awesome season, his scintalating form in the Commonwealth Games 7's team carried on through to the NPC, where he was one of the form wingers in the competition. we feel he should be in the squad ahead of Reihana or Umaga (as far as wingers go).
Todd Blackadder - In reality (and this is hard to admit) we don't feel Sir Toddy can make the step up to AB level. He has more heart (and a higher workrate) than the entire Auckland team put together, but he lacks the pace to really make an impact at the top level. Having said that his exclusion is likely to have something to do with a clash of personalities more than anything, and he certainly deserves a spot ahead of Rush.
Norm Berryman - On NPC form it is easy to see why he missed out, but surely the AB selectors saw something in him to call him into the squad for the Tri-nations! The way they have treated Norm sucks, while he may not crack the starting lineup he is definitely a better prospect than some of the other mid-field options that made the training squad.
Brendan Laney - Sure he may not have the pace or power of a Lomu or Vindiri but he has the same sort of class and inventiveness that Goldie has, and who can argue with his form? Who else scored 15 tries in the '98 NPC?
JC, DH & AT
| Am I the only one who finds it strange that the hapless Auks of '98 managed to
get as many players in the squad as the top two teams combined? Hard to fathom ain't it?
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Let us know what you think! |
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