Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind

Following in the vein of The Mouth of the South, I thought Id throw together a 15 as well.

This is the inaugural "All Black what ever happened to .... 15" (cue stirring, reflective type music). Recent All Blacks who never quite made it, and have since faded into some type of obscurity. Maybe they fell out of favour with a particular coach. Perhaps they were groomed to take the spot of a legend but when their time finally came, someone younger and better had caught them up and passed them by. Maybe they got injured, forgotten and left our fine shores to take the money overseas. It’s an interesting list.

15 - Fullback: Ben Blair (2002)

14 - Wing: Bruce Reihana (2000)

13 - Centre: Mark Robinson (2002)

12 - Second Five-eighth: Keith Lowen (2002)

11 - Wing: Norman Berryman (1998)

10 - First Five-eighth: David Hill (2006)

9 - Halfback: Danny Lee (2002)

8 - Number Eight: Ron Cribb (2001)

7 - Openside Flanker: Sam Harding (2002)

6 - Blindside Flanker: Sam Broomhall (2002)

5 - Lock: Royce Willis (2002)

4 - Lock: Simon Maling (2004)

3 - Prop: Clarke Dermody (2006)

2 - Hooker: Mark Hammett (2003)

1 - Prop: Campbell Johnston (2005)

Halfback was the real tough one, with names such as Mark "Sharky" Robinson and Steve Devine also baring consideration. Also I took some liberties with Broomhall, who primarily played number 8 for Canterbury. We haven’t gone through many blindsiders that aren’t still in the team. It appears it was a popular spot for the captain (Randall, Thorne, Blackadder).

Man, having a look back, it appears that 2002 was a bad year for All Black careers.

All-Unwanted First 15

Every time an All Black squad is announced (or any international team really) there is a rumbling about who was left out. This is the sign of great depth in your country’s rugby stock. However, it also leads to speculation.

What if…?

Below I have compiled below is the team of those “what ifs”. Players not chosen, for various reasons, who I think would still make a bloody good team.

15 - Sonsene Anesi - Christian Cullen misses out again
14 - Rico Gear - Rico may not have will to play for the province that’s paying him but is still good on the wing
13 - Tana Umaga Anthony Tuitavaki - that would’ve been nice but I’ll settle for the younger gent who is just hitting his straps
12 - Ma’a Nonu - at inside centre where he has less of a chance to drop the ball and his crashing momentum is a real asset
11 - Scott Hamilton - a big lanky white dude on the wing that we can call Scott-rod Hamiltron, choice!
10 - Glen Jackson - British Player of the Year who really deserved a shot at the All Blacks two years ago ahead of Stephen Donald
9 - Piri Weepu - it’d be fairly mean not to say Piri Weepu here (unless Waikato have got another halfback)
8 - Mose Tuiali’i - incumbent #8 a while ago and showed good form in the Super 14
7 - Marty Hollah - still bloody good
6 - Jonno Gibbes (C) - Has recovered from injury to be back to top form
5 - Ross Filipo - the recent internationals have shown that Filipo can hold his own against the big guys
4 - Troy Flavell - one of the people contentiously dropped from the All Blacks and even though I’m not fond of his penalty count, I’d still have him
3 - John Schwalger - owned by Hawkes Bay but only because he didn’t want to get punched
2 - Corey Flynn - a young man being groomed to take over from the old men after the World Cup
1 - John Afoa - a hungry prop is the best kind of prop and John Afoa is hungry like he accidentally skipped lunch

Feel free to disagree with me, discuss my sanity, in the comments.

Rico's New Gear - Reverse

We here at the Dropkicks have been defending Rico Gear for some time. We still rail against his omission from the All Blacks World Cup Squad. However, Rico’s latest move may have gone too far.

Gear has negotiated himself out of the province that allowed him to play for the Crusaders in the Super 12, Tasman. When Canterbury signed Kevin Senio from Bay of Plenty in 2005 they used up their quota of All Black transfers, so Gear moved to the Tasman Union (then Nelson Bays).

But since joining Tasman, Gear played only four matches for Nelson Bays in 2005 and three for Tasman last year. And now Tasman have “loaned” him to Canterbury for the rest of the Air New Zealand Cup.

Gear’s excuse for wanting to play for Canterbury is "first and foremost I wanted to stay with my young family; it just makes life a lot easier. We bought a home in Christchurch which is just 150m away from the Canterbury training ground. I was just keen to be near my home" Gear said.

This naturally begs the question: why didn’t you buy a house closer to your home ground rather than a hefty commute away? The answer is of course that Gear never had any intention to play for the province that was investing time, money coaching experience and salary cap-space in him.

Moreover at the end of this year Gear is heading to England to play for Worcester. How much closer is England to his house in Christchurch?

And what does Tasman get in return? A dirty great big kick in the bollocks that’s what! Tasman will receive nothing in return for, what is in every other professional sport, called a “trade”. Trade implies both parties get something, in this case Canterbury get an All Black quality player with the versatility to play wing and centre-cover, while Tasman got the aforementioned kick in the dolallies and a bit of salary cap space (that they will spend on…?).

Quite frankly this is the most selfish thing I have seen a player do in recent years. Gear packed a sad when he wanted to leave North Harbour, he grumbled for two seasons in Tasman/Nelson Bays and now he has held his breath and stamped his feet to worm his way out of a contract (a freaking contract!) to play for the team he likes best.

Rico you have just nominated yourself for Dick of the Week.

Stats-porn

Some stats from this weekend's match between the All Blacks and the Wallabies.

New Zealand gave up 5 penalties to Australia's 13!

NZ’s penalty offences:

Tackle (going off feet) = 1 (Robinson/McCaw)

Ruck (offside entry) = 2 (Woodcock/Oliver, McAlister)

Scrum (binding) = 1 (McCaw)

Obstruction/taking out player = 1 (Robinson/McCaw)

Australia's penalty offences:

Tackle = 4

Ruck (offside) = 2

Ruck (hands) = 1

Offside (general) = 2

Lineout (offside) = 1

Scrum (binding) = 2

Throwing ball away = 1

And now the all important First Three to the Breakdown
(* means they were a sub)

First 3 to Breakdown
McCaw	33 (15+18)
Hayman	30 (18+12)
Robinson	28 (16+12)
Jack	28 (13+15)
Woodcock	24 (12+12)
So'oialo	20 (7+13)
Collins	11 (4+7)
Mealamu*	9
Howlett	9 (5+4)
Oliver	7 (5+2)
Muliaina	7 (2+5)
Carter	6 (1+5)
Kelleher	5 (4+1)
McAlister	4 (1+3)
Toeava	4 (1+3)
Rokocoko	4 (1+3)
Evans*	1

For the complete stats go to Tracey Nelson's column on Haka.co.nz

The Dropkicks Discuss: Luke McAlister

Get ready for another brain-expanding installment of the Dropkicks' email conversation...

Che: Anyone believe this? McAllister Ready for Mortlock

Dom: Setting himself up for a big fall. I like the odds on Aussie. They are payin' four bucks!!! Could be worth a lazy $10.

Che: I keep thinking of the photo with him looking just plain scared.

Hadyn: I like it!

The All Blacks press commentary so far has been: "no we're ok" "I'm not a cheat" "ho ho we can still beat them ha ha"

What they need to be saying are things like:
"If the Aussies think they are so good why don't they stop cheating in the scrum?" and
"I am gonna fck up Mortlock so badly his family will need dental records to identify him"

Che: Spoken like someone who’s never been the little guy getting his ar$e handed to him by an evil wizard. [Hadyn has definitely been that person - ED]

Dom: Hey I thought Rocokoco wanted to be called Josevata from now on? Or has the lazy NZ media already decided that it cant be bothered.

Hadyn: I say the NZ Media couldn't think any puns or rhyming nicknames for Josevata ad went back to Joe.

and if McAlister made those claims then all he'd have to do is hit Mortlock once with a big frickin shoulder charge (Jacked. Up.) and it wouldn't matter what else he did (rather like Monsieur Chabal)

Che: Except for the consequent lack of a centre.

I can see you saying that the ABs need a bit more mongrel in them, but have you seen that ad with all the multi-coloured balls rolling down that hill?

One of them was McAlister bouncing off the evil wizard Mortlock.

Hadyn: Have you seen Mortlock?
He's not exactly Carl Hayman. And he's old, a quick shoulder to the jaw will keep him quiet.
As to McAlister's subsequent binning, well he's not really present at centre anyway (boom boom)

Che:I still think McAlister will trip over Mortlock’s zimmer frame before he gets anywhere near the guy.

The Dropkicks - 2007 - Episode 23

The Dropkicks review the penultimate game of the 2007 Tri-Nations (All Blacks v. South Africa at Christchurch), and discuss: a World Cup revamp; MLB's All-Stars game; F1 secret stealing; competitive eating (Kobayashi loses!); a javelin getting stuck in a long jumper; MLF v. MILF; and ... other stuff.


Download Episode 2007/23.

All Black Test Winning Streaks By City

These lists were taken from the Stuff website today.

All Blacks game streaks at test rugby cities:

Longest unbeaten streaks:

17: Auckland (1994-present)

14: Dunedin (1971-2001)

13: Christchurch (1977-94), Edinburgh (1905-present)

12: Brisbane (1929-92)

11: Sydney (1934-74), Auckland (1986-93)


Longest losing streaks:

4: Johannesburg (1949-76)

3: Cardiff (1905-1953), Durban (1928- 76), Sydney (1979-80)


Unbeaten streak at Auckland:

1994: drew with South Africa 18-18

1995: bt Canada 73-7, bt Australia 28-16

1996: bt Scotland 36-12

1997: bt South Africa 55-35

1998: bt England 40-10

1999: bt Australia 34-15

2000: bt Scotland 48-14

2001: bt South Africa 26-15

2002: bt Ireland 40-8

2003: bt Australia 21-17

2004: bt England 36-12

2005: bt British and Irish Lions 38-19, bt Australia 34-24

2006: bt Ireland 27-17, bt Australia 34-27

2007: bt France 42-11.

Wow, this means that the All Blacks have outscored their opponents in Auckland 630-277. And we have outscored or tri-nations rivals 44-33 (Sth Africa) and 151-99 (Aussie).

Note also that our winning streaks in Auckland and Edinburgh can get larger but none of losing streaks can. Sweet.

Media Scrum Replaces Actual Scrum

Jake White and John "Knuckles" Connelly have played the entire Tri-Nations so far in the press room firing salvos at the All Blacks (in what I believe is an attempt to have us on the backfoot come the World Cup).

Every day the sports news is just the latest Wallaby or Springbok press conference:

• Richie McCaw is a bad captain because he’s penalised too often
• Richie McCaw cheats too much and never gets penalised*
• The All Blacks worry too much about attacking and should concentrate on defence
• The All Blacks are too focussed on the winning the World Cup to win the World Cup
• The rotation policy is [insert adjective]

As you can see from my (grossly oversimplified and biased) list, the statements tend towards the ridiculous. The real problem seems to be that the press, both local and foreign, are running with these stories like they are fact. So much so that they have begun to predict the future.

Perhaps the worst thing is the local media running with these stories (like they are fact and not opinion) and putting unneeded and undeserved pressure on our team.

Before the Super 14 semi-finals the Crusaders were blasé about comments from the Bulls and were joking around confidently. The All Blacks have been the same before both the Wallaby and Springbok tests and have played very poorly.

Here is what I hope happens. We get angry.

We play the next few games (and all the World Cup games) like we did against England after the last Cup. We smash them. We play fast and angry. We hit them right up the middle and punch them in the lineout and ruck them and hurt them. But what we shouldn’t do is respond to them in the press room.

*Note: in the last test the penalty count was nine against NZ and nine against SA with McCaw being the cause of two of them.

The Dropkicks - 2007 - Episode 21

Man, don't you hate it when you post the podcast after the weekend, thereby making your picks look all the more foolish. Yeah, me too.

Anyway, the Dropkicks look back at the South Africa v. All Blacks test match from the weekend before last, look forward to the Australia v. All Blacks game that has just happened (you'll never guess who we picked to win!), the Netball final between the Sting and Force, some player movements (phnarr!), and dick and athletes of the week.

Download Episode 2007/21.

Dom: Prediction Genius? You decide.

The following is an email (allegedly) from Dom about the All Blacks versus South Africa last weekend. Note that in gambling lingo putting in a forward slash (/) symbolizes halftime, (i.e. X/Y means team X leads at the half but team Y wins).

-----Original Message-----
From: Dom Gibbs
Sent: Friday, 22 June 2007 10:23 am
Subject: Tri-Nations

I had a dream the abs won 70-7. might venture a private bet.

In my opinion the boks 12 and under is the hedging bet. NZ have had the goods on SA over the last couple of years. Despite that 22-21 loss last year which was an anomaly. I mean we gave them a lesson in the other games. Apart from the locks its the same team.

We havent gotten any worse. We have played down at the level of France C and Canada so I think a top team will bring out a top performance.

But at home and full of confidence the boks will come out strong. Thats why I like the boks/blacks as the best bet.

They will be weaker without Smit and Dan can do dropgoals just as good as them.

The 'second-string' Boks

So, Jake White is taking the chance to do his own spot of reconditioning, and resting and recuperating his top 20 players from the Tri-Nations squad headed to Australia and New Zealand.

Now, of course, we all know Graham Henry was successful in getting 22 NZ players out of their respective Super 14 squads for the first half of that competition earlier this year for a spot of 'reconditioning'. Despite the wailing and gnashing of teeth, this still didn't stop the Crusaders and Blues from making the semis (where they lost, with their full contingent of All Blacks at hand), and Waikato likewise went close to to the top 4. In other words, the NZ teams were still competitive.

This South African side won't be. While they might push the Aussies, they are going to get thumped by the All Blacks.

One of the arguments for the move is that "the All Blacks have been doing it for years!" Witness this statement from Gerard O'Neill on the NZ Herald "Your Views" page...

This is all a bit rich isn't it? Didn't John Mitchell take a NZ C team to Britain a few seasons ago?

Did he? A "C" team? In the last overseas tour to Europe before the 2003 World Cup, the squad included the likes of Jonah Lomu, Christian Cullen, Andrew Mehrtens, Doug Howlett, Keith Robinson, Kees Meeuws and Ali Williams. We were, admittedly, a little lighter in the forwards than usual, but it was hardly 'C' squad - hardly even a 'B' squad really - and didn't stop the team from being competitive. We only lost by three points to the eventual World Cup champions England, drew with France (despite the ABs being shown three yellow cards), and thumped Wales. I don't think anyone really expects the South African team headed our way now to be a challenge to the All Blacks, who just beat the 'A' squad (minus several top players, admittedly), at Durban. Australia, maybe, but not the All Blacks. (We could, of course, be proven horribly wrong, which, if anything, would throw Jake White into more of a quandary - if his 'B' team can beat the ABs, why would he change a winning formula going into the World Cup?)

There is a difference between resting players but still sending a competitive squad (as per the 2002 All Blacks to Europe), and pulling your entire top squad and sending a 'B' team to the slaughter (as per the current SA squad headed to the Antipodes).

And it's probably going to be counter-productive anyway. The 'reconditioned' All Blacks only seem to be hitting their straps now, after half a season of Super 14 and a handful of test matches. How are the top South African players going to fare after no competitive games for a couple of months, the usual soft World Cup pool matches, and then the do-or-die intensity of the knock-out stages.

We shall see, I suppose. In the meantime, let's just enjoy watching the All Blacks dent some South African pride by giving the Bokke new boys and recalled old hands a rugby lesson on July 14.

South Africa v. All Blacks, Tri-Nations 2007: video highlights

Final Score: South Africa 21 - 26 New Zealand



Date: 23rd June, 2007
Location: Absa Stadium, Durban, South Africa
Crowd size: 51,861

SOUTH AFRICA: Montgomery; Willemse (Olivier 66), Fourie, De Villiers, Pietersen; James (Steyn 52), Pienaar; Du Randt (Van der Linde53), G Botha, BJ Botha (Muller 66), B Botha, Matfield (capt), Burger, Rossouw, Skinstad (Wannenburg 52)

Tries: Burger, James
Conversion: Montgomery
Penalties: Montgomery 2, Pienaar

NEW ZEALAND: Muliaina (MacDonald 70); Rokocoko, Toeava (McAlister 67), Mauger, Sivivatu; Carter, Kelleher (Weepu 69); Woodcock, Oliver (Mealamu 51), Hayman, Flavell, Rawlinson (Filipo 45), Collins, McCaw (capt), So'oialo

Tries: McCaw, Rokocoko
Converions: Carter 2
Penalties: Carter 3
Drop goal: Mauger

The Dropkicks - 2007 - Episode 20

The Dropkicks look back on the brave Canadian showing against the All Blacks, the thrilling encounter between Australia and South Africa, look ahead to the NZ Netball Championship final, reminisce on the NBA Finals, the US Open and various other sporting events.

Download Episode 2007/20.

The Dropkicks - 2007 - Episode 19

The Dropkicks review the second test of the All Black's 2007 international programme against the French (a record drubbing), other international rugby tests, England v. Estonia football, the French Tennis Open, Athlete and Dick of the Week...

Download Episode 2007/19.

All Blacks v. France, 9th June 2007, video highlights

Final Score: All Blacks 61, France 10.



Chabal highlights: a broken jaw for Ali Williams...

All Blacks v. France, 2nd June 2007, video highlights

Final score: All Blacks 42, France 11.



...and Sebastian Chabal: such good viewing he deserves his own highlights package...

Another All Black team

Keith Robinson has replaced Chris Jack as Ali Williams' locking partner for the All Blacks' second test against France. This possibly just so we've got someone on our team as mad-crazy as the French #8, Sebastien Chabal.




Before the weekend's match Chabal could be seen staring at the Kapa O Pango Haka* like a hungry caveman. He then coughed the ball up three times before laying out Chris Masoe on the turf (best play by a Frenchman on the night).

*Note this is not the one from the weekend

Forwards: Tony Woodcock, Anton Oliver, Carl Hayman, Keith Robinson, Ali Williams, Jerry Collins, Richie McCaw, Rodney So'oialo
Backs: Byron Kelleher, Dan Carter, Luke McAlister, Isaia Toeava, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Josevata Rokococko, Leon MacDonald
Reserves: Keven Mealamu, Neemia Tialata, Chris Jack, Chris Masoe, Brendon Leonard, Conrad Smith, Nick Evans

Masoe had a terrible game this week and deserves the bench. Anything else you want to discuss?

All Blacks Named/Shamed

All Blacks squad to tour France and Canada and to contest the 2007 Philips Tri-Nations:

Forwards: Jerry Collins (Wellington), Troy Flavell (Blues), Carl Hayman (Otago), Andrew Hore (Taranaki), Chris Jack (Tasman), Richie McCaw (Canterbury), Chris Masoe (Wellington), Keven Mealamu (Auckland), Anton Oliver (Otago), Keith Robinson (Chiefs), John Schwalger (Hurricanes), Rodney So'oialo (Wellington), Neemia Tialata (Hurricanes), Reuben Thorne (Canterbury), Ali Williams (Auckland), Tony Woodcock (North Harbour).

Backs: Dan Carter (Canterbury), Nick Evans (Highlanders), Doug Howlett (Blues), Byron Kelleher (Waikato), Brendon Leonard (Chiefs), Leon MacDonald (Canterbury), Aaron Mauger (Canterbury), Luke McAlister (Blues), Malili Muliaina (Waikato), Josevata Rokocoko (Auckland), Conrad Smith (Huricanes), Sitiveni Sivivatu (Waikato), Isaia Toeava (Blues), Piri Weepu (Wellington).

Discuss in the comments

All Blacks in action...sort of

The Chiefs’ three conditioning All Blacks are included in the Chiefs Wider Training Group team to take on the Blues Wider Training Group team in Auckland next week.

Sitiveni Sivivatu, Byron Kelleher and Mils Muliaina will take part in their first rugby match of the year when they join fellow Chiefs Wider Training Group, Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Counties players for the fixture to be held on Tuesday 13 March.

The 80 minute match will kick off at 1.00pm at UNITEC, Carrington Rd in Auckland. The Blues’ conditioning All Blacks will also be playing in this fixture.

The Chiefs Wider Training Group team will be coached by Kevin Putt, with Paul Hodder as team manager.

The Chiefs Wider Training Group squad is:

Forwards: Sekope Kepu (Wider Training Group), Vern Kamo (Wider Training Group), Ted Tauroa (Waikato), Mark Burman (Waikato), Andrew van der Heidjen (Wider Training Group), Warren Smith (Bay of Plenty), James Maher (Counties Manukau), Steven Setephano (Wider Training Group), John Paeranga (Wider Training Group), Matt Wallis (Bay of Plenty), Romana Graham (Waikato), Aaron Rameka (Bay of Plenty), Jono Armstrong (Waikato).

Backs: Byron Kelleher (Chiefs), Sitiveni Sivivatu (Chiefs), Cory Aporo (Wider Training Group), Malu Sa’u (Counties Manukau), Mils Muliaina (Chiefs), David Bason (Wider Training Group), Mike Delaney (Wider Training Group), Roimata Hansell-Pune (Waikato), Jared Payne (Waikato).

The Dropkicks - Episode 34

The latest podcast is now up!

This week the Dropkicks come to you without preparation, without the internet, but with the usual unusual mix of aplomb and stupidity. Despite these handicaps, we manage to review another week of top-notch sports action and news: International rugby, including the All Blacks v. Wales game and enusing haka controversy; South Africa v. England; Ashes Test Cricket. Dick and Athlete of the Week. Corrections and Clarifications. The Tri-Nations League Final Kiwis v. Australia. And the Beleagured New Zealand Knights.

Episode 34 (right click, save target as...)