Sione Lauaki rip
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One of my favourite players. There was that Shield match for the Orcs in 2003 - the loss to BOP that O thought he put himself on the map professionally. Then the performances for the PIs, showed how dominant he could be.
It was great after the Lions tour that he continued to develop his game and by 2007 was a key piece in the AB 22. Shame about how it all played out for him personally in that tournament.
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Far out , that is terrible ,
his best was outstanding , was unusual in that it seemed to take him quite a while to get his fitness and form together , it seemed he needed more game time than most for that to get going , possibly something to do with his size , but when it did happen , he was one hell of a wrecking ball
RIP Sione
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WTF logged in to see another of our fine players gone way too soon.
Man, he was beast at his destructive best for the Chiefs - never really hit the expected heights for the ABs, dogged by demons perhaps, another in the mould of Flavell, Collins and Cribb, - still a fantastic athlete and powerhouse ball runner in his prime.. RIP Sione. -
Henry spoke about him yesterday and how devastating he was when fit,
But there were issues getting him to that level of fitness , and now wonders if that was all related to this illness
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JUdging by some comments on FB, it seems Twattue has said rather less than ideal things about Lauaki
I refuse to click on his rants, so unsure what he said, but can only imagine
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@taniwharugby I had a read, and honestly, I think some people are getting their panties in a twist for no real reason.
Rattue was simply extremely honest about him. I.e - he didn't forget about the faults that came with Lauiki's play. Maybe thats considered poor form by many, and I can understand how people can come up with that point of view, but on the whole he didn't say anything I thought that wasn't unfair.
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@MajorRage guess you reap what you sow...he spends most of his time being a cnut about pretty much everything, so people will then find anything remotely controversial in his words
As I said, I never knowlingly click on his rants, because I think he is a trolling cnut, and doesnt deserve to have me reading his tripe
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Fair enough - it's all just opinion anyway. Here is probabaly the "worst" of it.
"But there were always doubts about his fitness and psyche. A move to Waikato and the Chiefs didn't rid Lauaki of the gremlins.
Whatever McCaw copped - big fend, big injuries - he had the capacity to get back up again, and again, and again. The love of punishing training sessions, emotional strength, stability, a sense of purpose ... he had the lot, whereas a man like Lauaki didn't. Not even close, unfortunately, because he had an x-factor the game cries out for.
We are not to know if illnesses - renal failure and cardiovascular problems - discovered in 2012 contributed to his premature career decline.
What quickly became clear in Lauaki's truncated elite career is that he didn't have the capacity, mental or physical, to keep getting up. There were serious off-field transgressions, assaults that he admitted to"
Rattue then winds it up with this.
"But at his rare best, he was a never-to-be-forgotten sight on the field, a one-man stampede. No other All Black in the professional age represents so much potential lost."
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@MajorRage amusing thing is, he often called for McCaw to be replaced or dropped, or should just retire...yet hold shim up as the standard bearer.
Guess his memory isnt as good as others.
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@MajorRage said in Sione Lauaki rip:
Fair enough - it's all just opinion anyway. Here is probabaly the "worst" of it.
"But there were always doubts about his fitness and psyche. A move to Waikato and the Chiefs didn't rid Lauaki of the gremlins.
Whatever McCaw copped - big fend, big injuries - he had the capacity to get back up again, and again, and again. The love of punishing training sessions, emotional strength, stability, a sense of purpose ... he had the lot, whereas a man like Lauaki didn't. Not even close, unfortunately, because he had an x-factor the game cries out for.
We are not to know if illnesses - renal failure and cardiovascular problems - discovered in 2012 contributed to his premature career decline.
What quickly became clear in Lauaki's truncated elite career is that he didn't have the capacity, mental or physical, to keep getting up. There were serious off-field transgressions, assaults that he admitted to"
Rattue then winds it up with this.
"But at his rare best, he was a never-to-be-forgotten sight on the field, a one-man stampede. No other All Black in the professional age represents so much potential lost."
Fuck, I read that article yesterday but had no idea Ratpooh-fuckity-fuckwit wrote it.
I feel so dirty
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@MajorRage said in Sione Lauaki rip:
@taniwharugby I had a read, and honestly, I think some people are getting their panties in a twist for no real reason.
Rattue was simply extremely honest about him. I.e - he didn't forget about the faults that came with Lauiki's play. Maybe thats considered poor form by many, and I can understand how people can come up with that point of view, but on the whole he didn't say anything I thought that wasn't unfair.
I think it's an unfair thing to have in the archives for Lauakis kids to read. This becomes part of his legacy.
To maintain that Lauaki lacked mental fortitude is a rough thing to write in a newspaper article. I hate that his 'opinion' gets free reign to write the record with impunity.
Was Ratpoo there at training sessions? Was he party to frank discussions with trainers, coaches and doctors?
The same shit was written about Lomu when he was playing because people were ignorant of what was going on behind the scenes. His 'mental fortitude' was often questioned yet it turned out he had heaps of it. -
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@MajorRage said in Sione Lauaki rip:
@Crucial Did you read the whole article from Rattue?
TBH no. I try not to click on his stuff.
I think there is just one comment in the bit posted that I take exception to
"What quickly became clear in Lauaki's truncated elite career is that he didn't have the capacity, mental or physical, to keep getting up."
How can Ratpoo make fair comment on someone else's mental capacity?
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I think a lot of these 'tributes' focus a bit on his flaws, but it's interesting to have his condition being added to the narrative of why he never achieved more. I guess we'll never know.
This is my favourite tribute piece so far, because it at least talks a little about about Lauaki as a person (not just as a rugby player). However, as far as I can tell it's the only one that acknowledges that test Lauaki had against the Wallabies, which in my memory is one of the worst I've ever seen from an All Black. Poor guy just couldn't get himself out of the quick sand. I'd also forgotten that Foster had named him Chiefs captain. I recall at the time that Lauaki appeared to be self destructing.
In his time he was one of my favourite Chiefs players and I loved watching him and Sivi play for the Pacific Islanders and then the Chiefs. He was involved in those big victories over the Crusaders and Blues, which long suffering Chiefs fans will remember were almost impossible to come by back then... especially vs the Crusaders.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11799740
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Sione Lauaki - Test Tries
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On the surface Rattatue's comments are probably more mild than those Foster gave on Veitch on Sunday. Foster went so far to say Nick Gill, who was with the Chiefs at the time as a strength and conditioning coach, worked pretty much full time with Lauaki to get him up to speed to the detriment of others.
But I guess the key is the place it is coming from. Rattatue is a an unabashed knocker, Foster obviously had a soft spot for the guy and just wanted him to get it together.
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@MajorRage said in Sione Lauaki rip:
@rotated Clearly, you didn't read the whole article either.
Yeah, I actually did. He paints a picture of him being weak willed rather than unfocused.
It's a lazy piece and only the Rat would end a piece for a passing with "potential lost", who about "life lost?".
Contrast with it with his piece on Sumner.
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Presumably, this is the same Rattue who thinks that because a region with a high percentage of PIs has a number of them opting to seek greener pastures, that means the Blues is a racist organisation.
