This week on Rugby Direct, Elliott Smith and Liam Napier put forward their arguments for the first All Blacks team of the year and how the first test against England will be won and lost.

We also hear from England coach Steve Borthwick and assess the standouts from the Maori All Blacks first hitout under new coach Ross Filipo.

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This week on Rugby Direct, Elliott Smith and Liam Napier are in Christchurch following the All Blacks squad announcement and reflect on the five new names in the squad of 32, as well as the big omissions from the group including Hoskins Sotutu and Ruben Love.

We also hear from All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan and uncapped prop Pasilio Tosi.

We also dig into a dominant Blues performance in the Super Rugby final against the Chiefs, that ended their 24 year drought.

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This week on Rugby Direct, Elliott Smith and Liam Napier review the Super Rugby semi-finals as the Blues and Chiefs advance to Saturday night's decider, at the expense of the Brumbies and top-seeded Hurricanes.

We also chat with Kevin Malloy, the Super Rugby Pacific board chair to review the season and discuss the future shape of the competition.

And with the All Blacks squad days away from being named, we give our respective 32-man squads we think will be named next week.

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This week on Rugby Direct, Elliott Smith and Liam Napier assess the four Super Rugby quarter-finals from the weekend and say farewell to the Rebels (for good) and the Highlanders, Drua and Reds for this season.

We also look ahead to the semis and assess what Patrick Tuipulotu's injury means for the All Blacks this year, as well as reflect on the departure of Akira Ioane to Japan after this season.

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This week on Rugby Direct, Elliott Smith and Liam Napier wrap a big week of rugby, beginning with the final round of the Super Rugby regular season and the quarter-finalists being set and the Crusaders missing the top 8 for the first time since 2015.

We also dig deep into the news the Melbourne Rebels will be axed at the conclusion of their current campaign, while NZR's governance has come and gone and there are still a lot of questions left unanswered.

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This week on Rugby Direct, Elliott Smith and Liam Napier count down to the crunch governance vote that will shape New Zealand Rugby, assess the fortunes of the Black Ferns and wrap up the penultimate round of Super Rugby.

We also dive into the new reports around the Springboks-All Blacks tours from 2026 and look back at a wild week for Rob Penney.

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Elliott and Liam catch up with legendary All Blacks halfback Aaron Smith on a range of topics after the completion of his first season playing for Japanese club Toyota Verblitz.

We reflect on Aaron's All Blacks career, his first season in Japan, the successors to him at halfback for the All Blacks, the continuing eligibility saga in New Zealand Rugby and the special plan he has for some of his jersey collection.

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This week on Rugby Direct, Elliott Smith and Liam Napier break down the news around Sam Cane's departure from New Zealand Rugby after this year and who leads the race to be both captain and openside flanker for the All Blacks in 2024.

We dig into the weekend that was in Super Rugby, with the Blues taking another step towards top seeding and we analyse a shock Black Ferns defeat to Canada.

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This week on Rugby Direct, Elliott Smith and Liam Napier run through the reaction from their interview with Chris Lendrum, specifically the desire to bring Richie Mo'unga back to new Zealand Rugby sooner rather than later.

We dig into the Blues going top of the ladder after denying the Hurricanes at Eden Park, as well as more questions on the Crusaders front after the Highlanders taught them a lesson or two under the roof in Dunedin.

We also dig into the Black Ferns and New Zealand under-20s posting impressive victories.

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On a special edition of Rugby Direct, Elliott Smith and Liam Napier catch up with New Zealand Rugby's general manager - professional rugby and performance Chris Lendrum, canvassing a range of rugby topics.

We delve into how his job has changed over time, sabbaticals and whether contracting is working the right way for New Zealand rugby, whether players will be selected from offshore in the next while, the future of Super Rugby and NPC, the Olympics and plenty more across nearly an hour.

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