Blues 2018
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@dice plus if you have SBW @13 and Ioane @11 to defend, is probably a tougher prospect that knowing you just need to tackle MOala at 13.
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@taniwharugby said in Blues 2018:
@dice plus if you have SBW @13 and Ioane @11 to defend, is probably a tougher prospect that knowing you just need to tackle MOala at 13.
'Just tackling' Moala is easily said than done. He's got a cutting edge on and off the field.
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SBW edges Moala for vision and distribution imo. Sonny looked to have gained a bit of pace but extra gas at centre is awesome... if you get the other core skills covered. I hope some of the younger midfielders get a sniff.
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Blues boss Tana Umaga expects most of his troops - but perhaps not Stephen Perofeta - to be injury-free by the start of Super Rugby action. Kirkpatrick is also currently hurt but likely to be fit and firing imminently. He listed forward Ross Wright as a player who impressed against the Chiefs. -
So given what the injury news, and the performances in the first preseason game, what are we thinking?
I'd say that Ruru will be on the bench, and Papali'i and Renata pressed their cases.
Questions that spring to mind about the forward pack:
Who will start at Loosehead prop? Will Hodgman be preferred for his work rate, with Manu's scrummaging used against a tiring pack, or will they want the best scrum right from the start?
How are the hookers looking for match fitness? Hard to say who will be available to play 60 mins, and who will be preferred on the bench.
Who will partner Scrafton at lock? I suspect that the superior lineout ability and match fitness of Cowley-Tuioti will see him start, with Tuipulotu eased back off the bench.
Will Gibson be fit enough to start at 7? What about Pryor?
Will Kanio be ready to start, or will Tupou (or perhaps Ioane with Taramai at 8 )?
Who will be the loose forward reserve?
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http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby/news/article.cfm?c_id=80&objectid=11991048
There is another interesting aspect to this season for Umaga. He is set to be more hands-off on the training pitch this year as he tries a more "director of rugby" role rather than a pure head coach role.
The newly arrived Ben Afeaki will be trusted with the scrum, with Steve Jackson again in charge of the forwards and Alistair Rogers the team's defence. Potentially the big change will centre on the team's attack, with former skills coach Dave Ellis taking over the role from Umaga.
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@tim you'd think Tana has his mind set with Pulu there?
With him as Captain, Ruru or Nock are gonna struggle to get a great deal of time to put pressure on him unless he gets injured.
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@taniwharugby Sadly enough, that is true. Can't see him saying no to a top performer though.
In the trial game we looked quite a lot sharper with Ruru at 9 than with Pulu.
They need to set up Smith with a girl at Auckland Airport.
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Provocative headline taken out of context.
I like the comments that Duffie did make though - on the money.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby/news/article.cfm?c_id=80&objectid=11992879
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We welcome back our All Blacks for Thursday’s final pre-season match against the Hurricanes ahead of the start of the Investec Super Rugby Championship.
Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Jerome Kaino, Rieko Ioane, Sonny Bill Williams and Matt Duffie will start in the match with Patrick Tuipulotu to join in the second half at the Mahurangi Rugby Club, Warkworth A&P Showgrounds starting at 4pm.
Ofa joins Alex Hodgman in the front row with hooker James Parsons returning for his first action of the season, as will Scott Scrafton who starts at lock with Josh Goodhue.
Captain Augustine Pulu starts at halfback inside Bryn Gatland who will guide a powerful backline that includes Sonny Bill, Rieko and Matt. This group will play the first half only with a new combination to play the second half.
Coach Tana Umaga said the starting group had all trained well last week while the Tens team was in Brisbane, and he is pleased to see a number of players back after niggling injuries.
“The experienced players have merged into the squad seamlessly and have worked very hard, and it is also good to see a number of players back training fully after some time out with injuries,” said Tana.
“This is our last hit out before Super Rugby so it is an important game for us to test our systems and our combinations. We will give most of the squad the opportunity to put their hands up for consideration for our first Super game.”
Tana said while it was great to win the Brisbane Global Tens title, his squad have immediately switched their attention to the upcoming Super Rugby season.
“We are excited to transfer the hard work on the practice field, in the gym and in our planning into the game situation.
“As a group we are also excited to support the Mahurangi club and take this game to Warkworth where our North Harbour and Northland fans can more easily come and watch us.”
The Blues starting team is:
1 Alex Hodgman, 2 James Parsons, 3 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 4 Josh Goodhue, 5 Scott Scrafton, 6 Jerome Kaino, 7 Dalton Papalii, 8 Jimmy Tupou; 9 Augustine Pulu ©, 10 Bryn Gatland, 11 Rieko Ioane, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 13 TJ Faiane, 14 Matt Duffie or Jordan Trainor, 15 Melani Nanai.
Second half team: Pauliasi Manu, Leni Apisai, Sione Mafileo, Patrick Tuipulotu, Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, Glenn Preston, Murphy Taramai, Akira Ioane; Jonathan Ruru, Daniel Kirkpatrick, Jordan Hyland, TJ Faiane, Orbyn Leger, Tamati Tua, Jordan Trainor.
Replacements: Mike Tamoaieta, Ross Wright, Jacob Pierce, Sione Havili, Sam Nock, George Moala.
