MOTM v Wales
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Pick your 3
ALL BLACKS: Damian McKenzie, Waisake Naholo, Ryan Crotty, Sonny Bill Williams, Rieko Ioane, Beauden Barrett, Aaron Smith; Luke Whitelock, Sam Cane, Liam Squire, Sam Whitelock (capt), Patrick Tuipulotu, Nepo Laulala, Codie Taylor, Kane Hames. Reserves: Nathan Harris, Wyatt Crockett, Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Scott Barrett, Matt Todd, TJ Perenara, Lima Sopoaga, Anton Lienert-Brown.
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@bovidae said in MOTM v Wales:
Cane, Ioane and ALB.
The first two are certainties and I would have picked S Whitelock as the third if not for the YC. I thought ALB was very good when he came on.Exactly this.
Naholo honourable mention. Squire good for 40 mins. shame that it is an 80 min match.
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Cane, Ioane, SBW. SBW over ALB because he played the whole game well, whereas ALB was only on 2nd half. Naholo just missing out for taking two tries really really well. It's a pity, Reiko and Waisake can't share a vote.
S Whitelock would have been up there if not for his yellow (got to be consistent).
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Cane and Reiko pick themselves, there could have been a few for my third but I'll select SBW for the third pick, as much for the stick he's copped this year, he played a strong game and will have likely shut up a lot of his detractors in the off-season. His defence was huge today, and his grubber was another beautie that almost led to a try, it's become a serious weapon in his arsenal.
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I'm disappointed, someone didn't vote for Ioane? Ioane is my MOTM for the sheer brilliance on attack, he created 4 tries and scored 2, without him it could have been a different scoreline. Cane was immense with his 25 tackles and impressive as always. Really thinking we should play a Todd/Cane combo with Todd focusing on turnovers with Cane just dominating the tackle area. I still gave Whitelock a vote just for his workload.
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@chimoaus said in MOTM v Wales:
Really thinking we should play a Todd/Cane combo with Todd focusing on turnovers with Cane just dominating the tackle area.
If the selectors don't want Jerome anymore it is a viable option. Cane actually operates like a 6 to me and Todd is pretty good over the ball. It would be an experiment but might be worth a try.
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@snowy
If we are getting the tight work done from 1-5 (perhaps excepting 2) then I think that's a nice idea - if Read can revert to the the wide ball runner, while Cane and Todd clean up around the rucks. Personally though, I like the idea of having one more (effective!) big body there early and finishing with Todd, who has easily overtaken Savea as the bench option right now. -
the Sams and SBW
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@taniwharugby said in MOTM v Wales:
the Sams and SBW
Prize for getting it right goes to TR!
Special mention for the wingers. But the Sams for their massive workload and Dubs was awesome in midfield. As busy as I've seen him. Organising, hitting up, tackling, drawing defenders.
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SBW was good but the wingers were exceptional.
Todd in top 5 methinks. Sam W showed his class at key moments and was a great workhorse as he always is. Underrated AB. -
@snowy said in MOTM v Wales:
@chimoaus said in MOTM v Wales:
Really thinking we should play a Todd/Cane combo with Todd focusing on turnovers with Cane just dominating the tackle area.
If the selectors don't want Jerome anymore it is a viable option. Cane actually operates like a 6 to me and Todd is pretty good over the ball. It would be an experiment but might be worth a try.
Focusing on turnovers from one player doesnt seem to be one of their priorities ... well it hasnt since Richie was that guy in his early years ,
They seem to prefer 3 guys that win the contact area , and winning turnovers to be a collective thing ,
But they might have a rethink with what is available
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One issue about going for turnovers is that it usually comes at a cost in penalties when you get it wrong. We were vulnerable to teams playing negatively, but kicking those penalties.
Now the strategy is to make teams attack us if they want to win. We then have a game of movement, which we prefer.
Wales attacked for long periods on the weekend and we didn't give them soft three pointers -- they had to earn any penalties. It's been years, since anyone strangled us the way France did in the missing RWC.
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Wait, SBW had a good game? Seriously?
I thought it was his worst of the year. All he did in the first half was drop the ball, throw shit passes, and make a bad rwad for their first try. Oh snd gave away the penalty for their first 3 pointer. I'm astounded.
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The level Cane is playing at is seriously not far below McCaw at the moment. He has been massively influential in every test this year. Dominant tackle after dominant tackle, he's an absolute fucking warrior.
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Also, Naholo gets some flak on here but he is an absolute class finisher. That's the sort of finishing that has set us apart from NH teams this year, and his two tries were both not easy and bloody critical.
