Eight players that didn't make the All Blacks World Cup cut
The All Blacks 2023 Rugby World Cup squad announcement for has left rugby fans with a mix of excitement and a mabe a dash of disappointment on behalf of a few players.
While the chosen 33 players gear up for the tournament in France, let's delve into the players who narrowly missed the selection:
Shaun Stevenson
Maybe the hardest done by on the list. Relatively recent All Black debutant Shaun Stevenson's omission is a little puzzling, given his strong form. His exclusion may have come as a result of bolter Emoni Narawa making the plane.
Samipeni Finau
Despite his remarkable rise, the flanker was an outside bet to make the cut for the World Cup squad. The selectors' decisions were undoubtedly tough, with Finau losing out to more experienced counterparts in what is a pretty settled All Blacks back row department.
Dallas McLeod
Another recent debutant, McLeod's showcased promise was always going to struggle to crack a heavily stacked outside backs department.
Brad Weber
Having been on All Blacks XV duty of late, it was no great surprise that Weber couldn't displace the trio of Aaron Smith, Finlay Christie, and Cam Roigard in the scrum-half competition, despite having done very little wrong in black over the years.
Folau Fakatava
As with Weber, Faktatava was an outside bet. The competition in the scrum-half position was simply too fierce.
Braydon Ennor (Injury)
Injury appears to have struck Braydon Ennor at a crucial juncture.
Joe Moody (Injury)
Unable to recover in time, the experienced prop's absence due to injury is an expected blow to the All Blacks' front row.
Ethan Blackadder (Injury)
Fan-favourite flanker Ethan Blackadder has been struck down by another cruel injury blow in the leadup to today's All Blacks’ Rugby World Cup squad naming. Blackadder was a standout during his maiden Test campaign in black a couple of years ago, but the backrower has struggled with injuries ever since.
NEW ZEALAND 2023 RUGBY WORLD CUP SQUAD
HOOKERS: Dane Coles, Samisoni Taukei'aho, Codie Taylor
PROPS: Ethan de Groot, Tyrel Lomax, Nepo Laulala, Fletcher Newell, Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Tamaiti Williams
LOCKS: Scott Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Tupou Vaa'i, Samuel Whitelock
LOOSE FORWARDS: Sam Cane (c), Shannon Frizell, Luke Jacobson, Dalton Pap ali'i, Ardie Savea,
HALFBACKS: Finlay Christie, Cam Roigard, Aaron Smith
FLYHALFS: Beauden Barrett, Damian McKenzie, Richie Mo'unga
MIDFIELD: Jordie Barrett, David Havili, Rieko Ioane, Anton Lienert-Brown
OUTSIDE BACKS: Caleb Clarke, Leicester Fainga'anuku, Will Jordan, Emoni Narawa, Mark Telea
Latest Comments
I’m all for speeding up the game. But can we be certain that the slowness of the game contributed to fans walking out? I’m not so sure. Super rugby largely suffered from most fans only being able to, really, follow the games played in their own time zone. So at least a third of the fan base wasn’t engaged at any point in time. As a Saffer following SA teams in the URC - I now watch virtually every European game played on the weekend. In SR, I wouldn’t be bothered to follow the games being played on the other side of the world, at weird hours, if my team wasn’t playing. I now follow the whole tournament and not just the games in my time zone. Second, with New Zealand teams always winning. It’s like formula one. When one team dominates, people lose interest. After COVID, with SA leaving and Australia dipping in form, SR became an even greater one horse race. Thats why I think Japan’s league needs to get in the mix. The international flavor of those teams could make for a great spectacle. But surely if we believe that shaving seconds off lost time events in rugby is going to draw fans back, we should be shown some figures that supports this idea before we draw any major conclusions. Where are the stats that shows these changes have made that sort of impact? We’ve measured down to the average no. Of seconds per game. Where the measurement of the impact on the fanbase? Does a rugby “fan” who lost interest because of ball in play time suddenly have a revived interest because we’ve saved or brought back into play a matter of seconds or a few minutes each game? I doubt it. I don’t thinks it’s even a noticeable difference to be impactful. The 20 min red card idea. Agreed. Let’s give it a go. But I think it’s fairer that the player sent off is substituted and plays no further part in the game as a consequence.
Go to commentsThose are pretty good draws for the two top Aussie teams. I certainly wouldn't want my Chiefs to have a quarter final in Brisbane. None of the top teams will want the Crusaders.
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