'They were all coming back just hating it, it was just an absolute slog but I get a feeling this is different now'

How many kids from SA that joined NH clubs straight out of school have gone on be first choice starters for their clubs and play for their adopted national teams?

The fact of the matter is that development of South African rugby players does not start & end at school level, that is only the first hurdle.

The real development comes from the proverbial “gladiatorial fight for their life” over the next 2 to 4 years in the SA university and provincial setups to rise above the rest of the players.

BTW I’m one who gives credit to Rieko for his defence at least, I’d be absolutely OK with him being used to switch into center late in games if they are using a 6-2 bench and only because the 23 is someone who can play in the backfield, like a Love. But I only really see a need to sub Proctor in his first season/half season, otherwise he should be a 80min with no need for Rieko other than to start there.

Would be interesting to see similar stats of the 6’s, and what roles those 8’s have, like kick returning etc. From where I sit I really don’t think you should have anyone other than bobby V at the pack, and I’ve liked what I’ve seen from a bunch of the 6 options to make that happen. None set though. Wilson gets one start for sure at the back but I’m not picking it’s first up/

Far too many occassions where he passed instead of running, and run instead of passing. His indecision/wrong option taking sees him getting lined up like Dre did on the weekend, very easily, or cover having plenty of time to shift wide if he passed. Yep, Rieko certainly learned to be a better defender.

Happy to keep Rieko as the center though, as long as Proctor or anyone else isn’t demanding the position, as primarily, the exact qualities he’s missing at center are what would be required on the wing. Maybe some time on the wing would allow him to regain those qualities though? I just hope others are given the chance to outplay him, and in terms of being a liability, it might actually matter if we had some wingers that need space. Currently Clarke and Tele’a don’t ask to be put away/into space by their insides, but players like Caleb Tangitau or .. Nawara.. play for speed.

Part of the issue is that defenses in Super Rugby aren’t quite as good and aggressive as the northern/Springbok style rush defenses. The pressure test isn’t the same. Players can flourish in Super Rugby, but get suffocated in internationals as they are not used to northern/Springbok style rush defenses.

The All Black backline hasn’t been consistently good since 2015. They’ve had some great games e.g. the RWC 2019 quarter final. But they’ve lacked the penetration and distribution to unlock the back three and/or getting the offloading game going consistently. As good as Sonny Bill Williams was, after he did his Achilles he didn’t have the explosive pace Nonu had.

The All Blacks need a Ma’a Nonu 2.0 player at 12. They need a 12 who can: break through defenses, is fast enough that they can beat the cover over 40-50 meters, and can offload. They also need a 13 that can pass.

The player who has that at 12, who is also eligible for the All Blacks, is Tavatavanawai. He has the aggression and pace of a Nonu 2.0 type player, but is a bit raw at 12 - worth a shot though.

I suggested that Fainga'anuku could be awesome at 12 as he was mentioned in the comment I was replying to.

But I’d give Tavatavanawai a shot at 12 and put J Barrett at 13. J Barrett has all the skills of a 13, and he can distribute - which the biggest missing piece in the All Blacks backline (R Ioane on the bench, covering 11, 13, and 14).

Instead with Jordie having played 7 straight ALB got another game I think against Aussie, which is also where you could have seen Proctor play instead (if Jordie was rested for that 2nd game). His relatively poor game against Fiji didn’t help him but the coach needs to show some foresight/good intuition too.