All Blacks v BI Lions Test #3
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@kiwiinmelb some concerns re tackling and defensive positioning yes. he's got good skills under the high ball though, and doesn't seem prone to nerves.
the last line of defence thing is often overstated in terms of fullback play i think. you make less one on one tackles than almost anyone else, and most of the time if you're making a one on one tackle in open play at fullback you're on a hiding to nothing and it is because someone else has already fucked up - it's just that they are really visible tackles. my concern is, while big and strong enough, he tends to get himself in weak positions at times and doesn't use the sideline particularly well.
is naholo definitely out? if i were hansen i would still be eyeing up that sexton/farrell channel with any/all of naholo/savea/fekitoa/laumape. best way to stop the rush defence is momentum and that ought to be front foot ball every time. -
@reprobate said in All Blacks v BI Lions Test #3:
@kiwiinmelb some concerns re tackling and defensive positioning yes. he's got good skills under the high ball though, and doesn't seem prone to nerves.
the last line of defence thing is often overstated in terms of fullback play i think. you make less one on one tackles than almost anyone else, and most of the time if you're making a one on one tackle in open play at fullback you're on a hiding to nothing and it is because someone else has already fucked up - it's just that they are really visible tackles. my concern is, while big and strong enough, he tends to get himself in weak positions at times and doesn't use the sideline particularly well.
is naholo definitely out? if i were hansen i would still be eyeing up that sexton/farrell channel with any/all of naholo/savea/fekitoa/laumape. best way to stop the rush defence is momentum and that ought to be front foot ball every time.Considering last line defence is a wet fish used to slap Dagg by a few posters on here I think to some it's not overstated.
I'm concerned, aside from having the name Barrett I haven't seen anything from him this year to suggest AB starting fullback.
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I'm not worried about Barrett at all.
Laumape is what has me more concerned.
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Laumape probably concerns both AB and Lions fans.
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@Nepia last line defense is a tough gig. I think we were spoilt for a while with Cully and Mils who were both excellent in that regard. I've seen Ben Smith miss tackles though he is reasonably good. Dagg has always been poor and Jordie is not an improvement by any stretch.
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I have read people making parallels of this game with 2011 RWC final where the weight from the fans made things much harder. I think though, this time the pressure is coming more from within to attone for the last performance.
Other interesting parallels are the BIL taking time out to jet boat and bungy jump in Queenstown. ABs in '99 and '07 anyone? -
@No-Quarter said in All Blacks v BI Lions Test #3:
@Nepia last line defense is a tough gig. I think we were spoilt for a while with Cully and Mils who were both excellent in that regard. I've seen Ben Smith miss tackles though he is reasonably good. Dagg has always been poor and Jordie is not an improvement by any stretch.
I prefer good last lines of defence, I was just finding it a bit weird that Barrett's very poor defence is being overlooked to push his selection case when Dagg's is focused on.
Cullen was awesome, and it was such an underrated part of his game too by lots of fans.
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@akan004 said in All Blacks v BI Lions Test #3:
Is this Charlie's last test or is he available for the RC? What a massive loss he's going to be.
He's moving to France at the end of the Super Rugby season, so he won't be available for the RC.
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@akan004 said in All Blacks v BI Lions Test #3:
What a massive loss he's going to be.
Agreed. Huge step down in capability.
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@kiwiinmelb said in All Blacks v BI Lions Test #3:
Anyone have any concerns with Jordie at FB ? ( if the rumors are true )
My only concern , is it too soon ?
I can see why they want to do it though , it gives them the structure they seem to prefer at the back
If they didn't think he was ready, they should haven't fucking picked him. Sorry if that seems like me having a go at you (it's not, I'm not convinced either) but if they picked him (conceivably as a fullback) it's actually a bit mad that he didn't play in test two given the expected weather and location.
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@gt12 said in All Blacks v BI Lions Test #3:
@kiwiinmelb said in All Blacks v BI Lions Test #3:
Anyone have any concerns with Jordie at FB ? ( if the rumors are true )
My only concern , is it too soon ?
I can see why they want to do it though , it gives them the structure they seem to prefer at the back
If they didn't think he was ready, they should haven't fucking picked him. Sorry if that seems like me having a go at you (it's not, I'm not convinced either) but if they picked him (conceivably as a fullback) it's actually a bit mad that he didn't play in test two given the expected weather and location.
Picking JB to play with Dagg would have been more in keeping with our 2 FB policy of the last few years
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I agree, so why didn't they do it? It's not so much that I have a problem with them going for power wings (and Naholo isn't that bad under the high ball anyway), it's moving Dagg across. In that case, why pick Jordie as a full member? Conceivably, he was picked as the 2nd FB (or why the fuck pick him), so why didn't he play when Bender went down? To the selectors I just wanted to ask, just add him as an apprenctice if you think he's not ready.
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@gt12 Yeah dunno mate. Did he play against Samoa? He has shown he can deal with the high ball and he has a big kick on him. Perhaps they just thought he was too green, especially if he is on debut, and plans went out the window when Bender went down. Otherwise I'd have thought before the start of T2 that a game at home when we were 1-0 in the series and apparently in control would have been a good one
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@gt12 @canefan I don't have an issue with them not playing Jordie last test. Dagg has done the business at fullback for the ABs before and we had a more experienced player who had a great game agains the Lions for his franchise (Naholo) come in because of Benders injury. Hardly an earth shattering or remarkable selection.
Now that Naholo is possibly under a cloud, then it becomes a choice between Jordie and Savea.
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@ACT-Crusader I had no problem with the Naholo selection, just making the hypothetical case for JB that's all. It would have been a tough debut although the good ones rise to the top, like Sopoaga did in Joburg
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