New NZ super rugby jersey's have been released and the most noticeable thing is that the Canes have no front of the jersey sponsor. Have they lost their sponsors? If they have they're going to struggle financially

Now put your hands down you lying bastards

Watch Taniwha Unleashed: Inside The Chiefs Rugby Club S1E1 | TVNZ+

I recommend you go and watch this if you haven't already - really well produced and you really get to connect with the passion and care they put into the jersey and team.

What are your learnings for this international season? These are mine:

• The team is slowly building an identity

  • Anyone who says we play "bash up the middle" and "we kick too much" hasn't been watching the games or doesn't know what they're talking about. The France game is evidence enough. That was classic All Black rugby, at least the intent, just not executed well enough.

  • If anything we don't kick enough at times. This is rugby union, not league. You need to be able to play and win in different ways, sometimes in the same game. You've got to adapt and execute (key learning).

  • To that end, Ireland was an obvious turning point in the season. We adapted to the conditions and the opposition. We ground them down and forced them into as many mistakes as they made unforced.

• Our players are good natural talents but, as a group, not good enough (yet)

  • People have been moaning about selections all year. The truth is, in 90% of cases it didn't matter. Ratima is good but full of mistakes under pressure. Finau looks average. Will Jordan is an athletic freak but has limitations at 15. Rieko is not a starting wing anymore but can cover there as emergency. Get over it.

  • Proctor is one case where a player was truly hard done by. He should have started one Bledisloe test at least.

  • We've got depth issues at wing. Sevu Reece has been mediocre but he's third in the pecking order? That's a problem.

• Youth has to be given a chance, but not all at once

  • It's important to remember, the coaches see the players in training every day. Sometimes we see a bolter and think he has to start a specific test but we don't know what's happening behind closed doors. The incumbent could be outperforming him in training.

  • That said, the team selected to face Italy was selfish, and probably alienated some fringe players in the squad. That was more disappointing than the performance. Hopefully youth and bolters get more chances in 2025.

• Some All Black fans have unrealistic expectations

  • No one has the right to be the best. You have to earn it.

  • It's good to have high standards but they have to be based in reality. The rest of the world caught us a while ago already and the Boks/France surpassed us big time in the Foster era (even Ireland were better and more consistent than us, we just happened to show up for the QF). Now we're the ones playing catch up.

• NZ media is a hype circus

  • The obsession with win rate is ridiculous short termism

  • It's the 1st year of a 4 year cycle. Peaking early would be proper dumb. Have we learnt nothing from the past? How many times did we look unstoppable inbetween World Cups only to choke at the final hurdle?

• Razor is human

  • He has made mistakes. He hasn't set the international rugby world on fire as many of us had hoped. There are plenty of reasons for this.

  • The players haven't been good enough. European club rugby is a step up from Super and international rugby is a huge step up, perhaps more than he and his team had anticipated.

  • Ultimately as head coach he has to shoulder most of the blame and find solutions. I believe he will. Serial winners find a way.

• Razor respects the old boy's club a little too much

  • Most All Black traditions are good, but a few key things are keeping us in the dark ages.

  • His selection policy is very much in line with the old boy's club and needs to change. Why hasn't he torn up the script like he did with the Crusaders? Why hasn't he been a risk taking maverick? Why does he have so many selectors?

  • Everything points to the NZRU. (My personal take: Razor changed his proposal in his second interview for the job. The first time he went in with his usual innovative mindset but he saw that wasn't going to work. You need to tell the Old Boys what they want to hear.)

• The bureaucracy of the NZRU is one of the biggest things holding us back

  • Their internal politics and backwards logic is what got Ian Foster selected as head coach in the first place, wasting an entire World Cup cycle. Who in their right mind hires the assistant of the guy who lost a semi-final when there were at least 4 better alternatives?

  • Accountability and transparency is minimal to zero: all the important things they do are clandestine, like some kind of secret society. In the press they give long winded answers while saying absolutely nothing. Perfect politicians.

  • They claim to be the good guys but their actions prove otherwise: without perhaps being completely negligent, they put their own interests ahead of the game of rugby in NZ.

Robertson, who completed his first year in charge as All Blacks coach with a 29-11 win over Italy on Saturday, will propose a change to the New Zealand Rugby board soon after returning home. “We don’t want to be a cycle behind or a couple of years behind,” Robertson told New Zealand media in a Zoom call.

“Professional rugby is always evolving. Let’s keep an open mind and see what’s next. I’ll definitely be presenting. Using South Africa as an example, they get the opportunity to use a lot of experienced players who are looked after and managed well into their 30s so they’ve got a great balance.

“And they’ve got big squads, they can have two really quality fifteens.” Robertson said he was wary of preserving the strength of New Zealand’s Super Rugby and national provincial competitions, indicating he would push for a targeted eligibility rule.

It would mean the likes of Japan-based fly-half Richie Mo’unga could become available because of his 56 Test caps, but not other less-proven players.

Rugby Australia allows a maximum of three players to be selected from overseas for the Wallabies, but only if they have played at least 30 Tests or committed to playing for an Australian-based franchise for the following year.

Robertson said New Zealand’s regulations would need to be thrashed out with stakeholders.

“What’s right for all of our game? How do we create it so we still get the best players, we’ve still got the best competitions and we’ve still got the best All Black group?

“You might look at the guys that have shown a lot of loyalty to us, so there’s an avenue for them.”

Former Crusaders coach Robertson said he was satisfied with his record of 10 wins and four defeats across the year.

He pointed out the losses were all tight affairs, including the two Rugby Championship Tests in South Africa.

“We had a chance to win all of those. You learn about game management, your roles and how you set a team up to win a Test match,” he said.

“We’ve played some incredible halves, 45, 50, 60 minutes. We just haven’t always finished.” https://rugby365.com/countries/italy/video-razor-to-rally-for-all-blacks-to-copy-boks-selection-policy/

Hope you don’t mind an Irish fan dropping by. Kudos on your win a few weeks back, you have an exciting bunch brewing. Hard done by the French (screw those guys).

Jordie wasn’t in the match squad against the Italians after hobbling off last week. I have not seen a lot of coverage in my part of the world other than ‘maybe’ a strain on a pre-existing MCL injury. Any insight on what his injury is? did you guys break him? Did we keep the receipt? What is his warranty period / money back guarantee situation?

With love, a nervous Leinster fan. X O X

What's your report card for the year and strengths and weaknesses to work on?

Thank you for your service Sam Cane! Hope the haters didn't get you down too much over last few years. You've been bloody brilliant !!! Youl leave a huge hole to fill

It is hard to adjust to not hearing Nisbo or TJ. He hasn't the same urgency in his voice, I am finding him to laid-back...

I can't be the only one who would prefer to see Savea at captain. Barrett is more of an enforcer than a leader. I understand he has a relationship with Robertson, but he's not the right man for the job in my opinion. Interested to hear your thoughts

It really concerns me that there’s been multiple posts and comments about this. It makes our fanbase look dumb asf especially when the only reasoning is just “being a big ball carrier”. Obviously most have common sense enough to know that 12 is much more nuanced and would need time to develop but continuously seeing this take and its confidently poor reasonings is just annoying.

Also, Clarke is playing his best rugby on the wing. And there’s been many big ball runners playing on the wing so I don’t know what’s the issue.

In conclusion , Clarke to 12 is a possibility but it just needs a lot of time to develop and should be trialled with NPC/Super for any viability. Nonu basically started converting as soon as he got to the All Blacks at around 20/21. And took years to develop his game into the best 12. Caleb is 25 and he still has the distribution ability of a lock with the odd offload in contact. It’s a long road ahead. Haven’t even mentioned the defensive side of it.

Is it time to change up the centres? As a huge Rieko fan I was okay with playing him all season until he figured it out but it’s led nowhere unfortunately. Who would you pick? For me, Toby and Milly are very underrated duo

But thoughts on Caleb Clarke playing 12, Jodie playing 13 and Reiko playing 11?

Caleb Clarke the way he runs hard at gain line always makes metres, gives nonu vibes. Reiko is so ineffective at 13 I still think he's probably our best winger. And Jordie has all the temperament to be our centre. Clarke/Jordie combo gives me non/smith vibes.

Wanting to get your opinions on this.

With reports out of France confirming that he has signed with Top 14 club ASM Clermont Auvergne. An official statement from Clermont is expected Wednesday night NZT, this comes after Plummer had been spotted visiting the club's facilities last week while in France on the current All Black tour. Full article here : https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/sport/534239/rugby-plummer-set-for-french-move-as-first-five-exodus-continues

As many have pointed out, we are fairly stale on attack with Jordie and Rieko as our centres. I should say they’re obviously both amazing talents, but Jordie never seems to be able to break the line like a Nonu or de Allende at 12, and Rieko very rarely manages to set up his outsides or offer much creativity in general at 13.

I think the reason Razor has been sticking with them is because of how solid they are defensively. From what I can tell they both do a great job at shutting down the opposition and scrambling under pressure. I can’t imagine he’s not seeing what everyone else is seeing though and would like more from them in attack.

This begs the question: does he intend to replace them between now and 2027 or try to mould them into a more effective offensive threat?

Like many, I’ve found it strange how few opportunities were given to Billy Proctor at 13 this year (before he went home for the birth of his child). Especially considering he has an established combination with Jordie from the Hurricanes. The fact they haven’t been tried together in the All Blacks at all so far is weird to me. If you were going to change things up, that’d be the most logical experiment in my opinion. Perhaps it wouldn’t be better off the bat, but from what I’ve seen, Proctor has more to offer overall at outside centre than Rieko does and would be worth investing in as early as possible.

Considering how unwilling Razor has been to do this, it suggests to me that he sees Jordie and Rieko as the best combination going forward. He must either feel that they are already delivering what he wants, or that they will eventually be able to.

I personally think a new combination is needed, but I’d love to get people’s opinions on this.

At times I feel like I must be delusional because I see so much chat about lack of young 10s, where is the next players coming through etc and I feel like Zarn is sitting right there.

He’s big, has silky skills, has a massive boot and can kick goals. Is elusive, fast, good under the high ball.

What am I missing here? How does Plummer get pushed ahead of Sullivan who seemingly has such a higher ceiling. Is it just injuries / the Blues mismanaging their squad with too many 10/15s?

He isn’t helping himself by hanging at the Blues in the logjam but I don’t understand why the Hurricanes for example didn’t do everything to grab him.

I’m surprised Razor hasn’t directed him to be a starter somewhere. He just looks like a classic 10.

I see posts about Kemara, Millar, Jacomb, even Godfrey as potentials but I feel like they’re all way behind where Sullivan already is (yes he’s older).