Pumas v All Blacks
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I'm a fan of C Taylor, like what I've seen of him in black so far in his career.
But he was poor today and his 2 poor throws contributed to our poor second half performance. Badly timed when we needed possession and structure to take some control with a player in the bin and the oppoistion and ref getting some momentum.
On another day when down to 13 men these mistakes would really bite you.
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Carried on watching after the test and is a,show about the 1996 tour of SA, great viewing, snippets of games mixed with interviews with players
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That was mighty generous of Jako to stay back for half an hour after the rugby had been played, to manage scrum practice. He managed to fit in a couple of extended committee meetings of the Referees Association while he was at it.
There is no-one quite so stubborn as a South African appointed as some minor official - I think it was Marius van der Westhuizen, linesman¹ from the far side, who refused to leave the field until Jako let him have his way over Joe Moody.
The Pumas had some talented fellas out there, and blokes who enjoyed tackling BBBR, Crockett, Read and Ardie, however they are a disjointed rabble together. Their forwards are (sometimes perfectly) cohesive up until the precise moment the set piece ends, then they rush about as individuals until the precise moment the next set piece commences. Their backs practice dramatic diving only, evidently - no-one seems to know what their team mates inside might do next.
They are a bit like having the mothers club organise the Queens Birthday Bash here tomorrow - order 6 cartons of light beer, a single carton of heavy and too little ice; leave the tomato sauce at home; put on designer salad and tasteless fat free burger meat; no inhumanely harvested beef rump steaks; discover there is too little space to mount the jumping castle for the kiddies; and forget to book the stripper.
I was looking forward to assessing how the new bloke fitted in with Ryan Crotty ( ™ too slow, one dimensional, boringly reliable) and would have appreciated more than 40 minutes in which to see enough.
Last night was like watching the new Under 15s outfits taking their early tentative steps into rugby. This morning was 40 minutes of classic All Blacks excellence followed by an unnecessary delay in getting out into the garden.
¹ "linesman" - they renamed it to "line sheila" or "line batter" - I know, I know - in their determination to de-masculinise the last remaining forum for blokes to be combative.
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There were some very bad missed tackles in that second half - and lazy offsides which were rightly penalised. J Savea carrying the ball under his right arm instead his left bombed one try and Izzy doing the usual look around and ponder his goose step instead of just heading for the corner bombed another. Cane and Kaino were missed around the rucks although A Savea was great when carrying - as for Squire, the game seemed to pass him by. DMac will never be an AB full back until he can tackle big guys and not just lay down in front of them.
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@No-Quarter said in Pumas v All Blacks:
Pat T coming into his own now,
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They said something like that regarding Jean Condom.
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@Mick-Gold-Coast-QLD said in Pumas v All Blacks:
There is no-one quite so stubborn as a South African appointed as some minor official - I think it was Marius van der Westhuizen, linesman¹ from the far side, who refused to leave the field until Jako let him have his way over Joe Moody.
that was Stu Dingleberry, the undercover Lions manager who gets them wins in JoBurg when inexplicably appointed.
Van der Westhuizen was superb in Super Rugby, and didn't have any negative influence on the game yesterday -
@Tordah said in Pumas v All Blacks:
@Mick-Gold-Coast-QLD said in Pumas v All Blacks:
There is no-one quite so stubborn as a South African appointed as some minor official - I think it was Marius van der Westhuizen, linesman¹ from the far side, who refused to leave the field until Jako let him have his way over Joe Moody.
that was Stu Dingleberry, the undercover Lions manager who gets them wins in JoBurg when inexplicably appointed.
Van der Westhuizen was superb in Super Rugby, and didn't have any negative influence on the game yesterdayI stand corrected Tordah - I copied and pasted Marius' (the referee) name from the SuperXV site's match preview (which has since been altered!?) because I assumed they would get that detail right.
I watched and admired Joost's career at the Bulls in Super Rugby (who I think you are referring to) and was saddened a couple of years ago to find this fit young fellow now suffers terribly from motor neurone disease.
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@Mick-Gold-Coast-QLD said in Pumas v All Blacks:
@Tordah said in Pumas v All Blacks:
@Mick-Gold-Coast-QLD said in Pumas v All Blacks:
There is no-one quite so stubborn as a South African appointed as some minor official - I think it was Marius van der Westhuizen, linesman¹ from the far side, who refused to leave the field until Jako let him have his way over Joe Moody.
that was Stu Dingleberry, the undercover Lions manager who gets them wins in JoBurg when inexplicably appointed.
Van der Westhuizen was superb in Super Rugby, and didn't have any negative influence on the game yesterdayI stand corrected Tordah - I copied and pasted Marius' (the referee) name from the SuperXV site's match preview (which has since been altered!?) because I assumed they would get that detail right.
I watched and admired Joost's career at the Bulls in Super Rugby (who I think you are referring to) and was saddened a couple of years ago to find this fit young fellow now suffers terribly from motor neurone disease.
No, I was referring to the referee Marius vdW. Think he's been the best referee in Super Rugby this season (alongside that Australian fellow, whose name escapes me. The one who got confused in the Highlanders-Brumbies quarterfinal at the end there).
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I don't think Barrett had a bad game. His kicking from hand was poor (three very poor kicks in all) but his passing was outstanding (he made the try for ALB then put ALB into space for Crotty's try) and defensively, he was a rock. He stopped dead in their tracks the big men running at him. His kicking from the tee was good, too (only one miss). I would give him a 7 out of 10 if notes were given.
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Ive been away for the weekend at the NRL GF but managed to see the game , havent read all the thread so apologies if its already been said
ALB impressed , he looks to have one major advantage over Fekitoa, and that is his ability and awareness to link with supports
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I think Fekitoa's days are numbered - he's been an AB since June'14 and not really progressed much. With ALB and Crotty making every post a winner, Moala impressing, and SBW due back at some point, I can't see how he fits in. And that's without even considering Ngatai, who is highly rated and we all hope makes it back after concussion(s). It's not a good look when two players who became ABs after you (and have yet to get the full benefit of the best coaches in the world) have already improved and kicked on past you.
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I certainly don't think Fekitoa's days are numbered. I'd go so far as to say he's easily our best defensive midfielder and is very strong on attack, regardless of the form of others. I'd feel more comfortable going into a test at the moment with him there over Moala and Ngatai, who are unknowns.
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I dont think his days are numbered , I think him and Crotty together is a great defensive pairing at the moment ,
But his flaw for me is his ball in hand stuff at times , the play often breaks down with him when supports appear available, , but that may be something they can work with ,
ALB on the other hand has great awareness in the same area of his game ,
One thing is for certain , there is going to be a log jam of midfield talent when everyone is available at the same time
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@TeWaio said in Pumas v All Blacks:
I think Fekitoa's days are numbered - he's been an AB since June'14 and not really progressed much. With ALB and Crotty making every post a winner, Moala impressing, and SBW due back at some point, I can't see how he fits in. And that's without even considering Ngatai, who is highly rated and we all hope makes it back after concussion(s). It's not a good look when two players who became ABs after you (and have yet to get the full benefit of the best coaches in the world) have already improved and kicked on past you.
So he's been around the ABs for 2 years, would that suggest he's got plenty to learn and time on his side?
If history is a gauge, look at a guy like Conrad who first made it in 2004 but for various reasons - injury, form, rotation, combinations - he didn't nail down a starting centre spot for some years after that.
I reckon Fekitoa has shown marked improvement this year than say last year. Less erratic running, better reading in defence and he's not slipping off nearly as many tackles.
I don't think there has been a clear message from the coaches that he has been surpassed or on the outer.
ALB played very well, but he still has things to improve on and they will give him time to do so. He rushed out of the defensive line a couple of times on Sunday. Funny that's what Fekitoa did on previous seasons and he seems to have eradicated that from his game this season.
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Fekitoa
Positives : defence, always capable of making a break
Negatives : seems not to know where he is running to, link with the supportALB
Positives : link with the support, vision
Negatives : defenceMoala
Positives : hard running
Negatives : one game in midfield only so hard to assessCrotty
Positives : does everything right
Negatives : does nothing flashy -
I dont see Fekitoa & ALB playing for the same spot.
The selectors this year have used 2 distributing / organising centres (Crotty, ALB) & 3 more physical centres (Moala, Tamanivalu & Fekitoa), more often than not they'll mix & match.
So ALB is probably shaping as the backup to Crotty - at times this year they've looked at using Ben Smith is the distributing / organising centre role such is the huge fricking void in NZ rugby in that role, ALB lets them leave Smith where he is best. They tend to think long term, Crotty is 28, ALB is 21, in AB planning that works well for Crotty bowing out in 2020 & ALB slotting in having played 30 tests.
I know that sounds a bit of a stretch but thats been their model, ID a young guy, bring him in as the no. 2 to a guy 8 years older, groom him for 3 years. Cane - McCaw, Whitelock - Williams, Cockett - Woodcock, Coles - Mealamu, Barrett / Cruden - Carter etc. Its why our transitions have been seamless under Hansen.
If Fekitoa loses his spot it'll be to SBW next year, or a fully fit Moala.
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ALB is basically a Conrad Smith in the making, perhaps he could even surpass Conrad. Has the smarts, size and pace. Still not 100% convinced about his defence at this stage but have no doubt that a player like him will fix up whatever flaws that may exist in quick time.
