All Blacks v Pumas
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BB, DMac, Ioane's 1 & 2, Fifita, ALB, NMS are part of the new breed of AB whose star may shine very brightly for 1, 2 or even 3 seasons before the next crop are welcomed in. It's just how it is these days. ABs who survived the knocks to plough on through to 3 RWC cups (the likes of GOAT, Nonu, Smith) those days are well and truly gone. We will never see the likes of a Colin Meads-endurance type figure again. Some guys - like Fekitoa, may want the experience of being an AB, but will re-assess and cut their ties when the $$$ comes a-knocking. We may as well accept it, it;s part of life in general - plus the way the game is played today, season / career ending injuries are a part of the wider rugby culture. We've seen it time and again.
Our core experienced group - BFA, Coles, Whitelock, BBBR, Cane, A Smith, Read, Franks, Moody will all need to be managed carefully through to Japan 2019, so these "new" recruits the brains trust are currently blooding and running with are all grist to the mill as far as I'm concerned. Some may work out - some may not, but I'd rather be in the camp that was prepared to give someone a go rather than lose out altogether. -
I think by 2019WC we will be looking far more stable ,
like has been mentioned , the leaders now will have 2 more years of maturity ,
the youth and talent will be there , it always is
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@Crucial It can help playing against a side that's tiring. The issue with the team has not been an inability to create pressure, it's been execution. This has no doubt been magnified by the merry-go-round in the centres due to injury.
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@kiwiinmelb said in All Blacks v Pumas:
the leaders now will have 2 more years of maturity ,
Or they'll be two more years past their best ...
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I'm fine with Read as skipper. He suffers by comparison to previous who may well be our greatest ever, and imo McCaw did it with benefit of better leadership class as deputies - Thorn, Carter, Read, Conrad, Nonu, Kev, Kaino, etc. they were battle-hardened veterans.
Coles, Whitelock, Brodie, they'll be everybit as good but might need a year to get there (as leaders; not players). And it could be that a little adversity is what will help galvanize that leadership; so, much as I'd hate to see ABs lose to Boks this year, this would probably be as good a time as any for the learning curve.
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@Salacious-Crumb said in All Blacks v Pumas:
.And it could be that a little adversity is what will help galvanize that leadership; so, much as I'd hate to see ABs lose to Boks this year, this would probably be as good a time as any for the learning curve.
We've already experienced the "loss we had to have" this year. Don't need another one IMO
I will never ever accept a loss to Boks. If we do lose I will not hesitate to ring out accusations of food poisoning and gold Rolex's....
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a loss and a draw is sufficient to learn from in a year thank you very much!
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There's a lot of shitty performances since the last rugby championship
Match Score Date Venue NZL v ARG 39-22 Sat, 09 Sep 2017 New Plymouth NZL v AUS 35-29 Sat, 26 Aug 2017 Otago Stadium, Dunedin NZL v AUS 54-34 Sat, 19 Aug 2017 Stadium Australia, Sydney NZL v LIO 15-15 Sat, 08 Jul 2017 Eden Park, Auckland NZL v LIO 21-24 Sat, 01 Jul 2017 Westpac Trust, Wellington NZL v LIO 30-15 Sat, 24 Jun 2017 Eden Park, Auckland NZL v SAM 78-0 Fri, 16 Jun 2017 Eden Park, Auckland NZL v FRA 24-19 Sat, 26 Nov 2016 Stade de France, Paris NZL v IRE 21-9 Sat, 19 Nov 2016 Lansdowne Rd, Dublin NZL v ITA 68-10 Sat, 12 Nov 2016 Olympic Stadium, Rome NZL v IRE 29-40 Sat, 05 Nov 2016 Chicago -
