Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Elliott Smith: Newstalk ZB Rugby Editor ahead of the All Blacks v France series

Transcript

Elliott Smith: Newstalk ZB Rugby Editor ahead of the All Blacks v France series · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Right, we've got the first All Blacks test of the year.
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Tomorrow night they will be taking on the French at
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Forsyth Bar Stadium. And to Needing, what a game it's
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: going to be. What a place to be, but a
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: very cold one. By the sounds of it. News talks,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: they'd be Voice of Rugby Elliot Smith is there for
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: us this morning? Hey Elliott, Elliott? Can you hear me?
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: Mate? I've got your right on?
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: How cold is it? Exactly?
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: Bit Shelly? Look it was two degrees the other morning.
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: It's a bit warmer this morning, but it is raining.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: But the fortunate thing about Toneden, of course, is that
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: they've got the probably the country's best stadium as it
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: stands in terms of having a roof, So once we
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: get to tomorrow night, conditions no barrier to what we
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: might expect from from both of these two teams. They
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: both love it. I mean the All Blacks certainly love
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: it when they come to town knowing that they can
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: just play whatever rugby they want, or try to play
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: whatever rugby they want, given the roof at Fullsyth bar Stadium.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: And how important, how big of a deal is this
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: first one?
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: I think it's a chance of the All Blacks to
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: sort of draw a line in the sands. The season
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: last year was a few ups and downs, the first
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: year under Scott Robinson regime. Putting things into place this year,
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: you know, Scott Robinson's made plenty of changes to the
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: all Black side. He's blooding four debutantes tomorrow night two,
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: starting two coming off the bench. He admitted that perhaps
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: he was a little bit too conservative with some of
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: his selections last year. This time he swung the pendul
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: in the other way and is rolling the dice on
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: some inexperience and changing some combinations around not only those
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: four debutants, but changes elsewhere, moving to po Via to
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: to the blindside, Rico Yoani back to the left wing,
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: bringing a couple of flankers off the bench, which is
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: unusual as well. So this feels like more of an
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: All Blacks team that Scott Robertson, you know, wants to
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: perk and and and wants to sort of unleash on
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: the world rather than trying to win. And it feels
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: like a little bit of it, as I say, a
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: little bit of a sea change to this all Black
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: selection philosophy, which can only be a good thing depicting
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: on of course how it goes Tomorrow Night.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: It's going to stay as long as it works.
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: Hey, that's exactly right.
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: Fabia Holland making his debut a lot. This is going
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: to be quite the story to watch, doesn't it. I
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: mean he's obviously from Holland originally but has been playing
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: for the Highlanders down there and now he's going to
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: debut it lot for the All Blacks.
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: Yeah, real especial night Tomorrow Nights of Sabian Holland two
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: hundred and four centimeters tool. He is a big unit
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: and he's a kind of player All Blacks have been
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: looking for for for a few years now. That's that
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: big body that they can produce tall players, but that
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: big frame they just haven't had for it for a
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: number of years. Remarkable story. Come over from the Netherlands
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: at sixteen on a school scholarship and christ Church and
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: then comes down to the need and toils away at
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: the NPC, gets to Highland his contract and now a
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: couple of years later is in the All Blacks. That
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: is quite remarkable the sort of six years that Fabian
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: Holland has had and debuting Tomorrow Night on has adopted
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: home soil of Forsyth bar Stadium. And there's a couple
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: other players, you know, Christian Leo, Willie du CANEFI have
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: gone the other way about it. They're been toiling away
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: in club rugby or Super rugby for a number of
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: years and didn't know that they necessarily get their chance
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: and there sort of towards the end of their twenties
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: and get their opportunity tonight. So a couple of different
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: paths that some of these debutants are taken to the
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: All Blacks tomorrow night and fascinated to see how they go.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, Eli, finally, what's your points pick?
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: Oh look, I my colleague lean Navi went by all
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: Blacks by twenty. I went all Blacks by twelve yesterday
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: when we were doing some predictions. Always a little bit
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: rusty as they start the season, but I think they'll
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: win and win by twelve.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: All right, we will hold you to that. On Monday, Elliott,
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: thank you, Allen Smith and News Talks, he'd be Voice
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: of Rugby Endneed.
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: For More from early edition with Ryan Bridge. Listen live
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: to News Talks. It'd be from five am weekdays, or
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.