Bledisloe II
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@mn5 said in Bledisloe II:
Nonu might possibly be the very best ever yet for whatever reason isn't mentioned in the hushed 'DC/McCaw' echelon.....
Being an old bugger, I'd always rated Mike Gibson and Tim Horan the best midfielders I'd ever seen before Nonu. He is easily up there with them - all the skills and subtlety plus the raw power when needed.
His performance in Bledisloe 2 in 2015 matched Carter's display against the Lions in 2005 IMHO. Three years on and we are still trying to figure out the best way to replace him and Conrad. Speaks volumes on how good they both were together.
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@milk said in Bledisloe II:
@wreck-diver said in Bledisloe II:
@mimic said in Bledisloe II:
@rancid-schnitzel said in Bledisloe II:
@nzzp said in Bledisloe II:
@antipodean said in Bledisloe II:
I just don't see the Wallabies being that bad the week after. The lineout is solvable and even if you lose a couple, try something else... The scrum will be bolstered with Sio back and Tupou on the bench. A couple of sessions on running lines and catch-pass for the backs. Hey presto, they're competitive.
They were damn good for the first half. Aggressive hard defence, straight running. On a different night with a different ref, you're looking at a healthy half time lead.
I keep saying it; ther'es not much between these sides at the top level. I don't think the Wobbles will be as bad at set piece, and I reckon supporters should be heartened by the non-set piece effort last week.
All true but they don't have the heart and lungs to do it for 80. They were absolutely gone after 35 minutes. The ABs blew several opportunities in the first half as well and also lost line outs. I agree that it's a decent Aus team, but Cheika is just a shit coach.
This can be easily fixed if they amend their game plan to slow the game down in certain areas. They were trying to play at pace when they didn't have the fitness to last the full 80. Losing Tongan Thor was a huge loss.
Please he's not a Norse God he is a fat Sth Auckland kid that didnt have the balls to have a go in NZ after leaving school. In his own words he said he was used to running over skinny little white boys so move to Aussie to play rugby. I dont see him adding anything to their team let alone his youtube page.
Just seemed like a financial decision to me, and probably a fairly easy one if he doesn't have a great affinity for the All Blacks.
He's gone far better than I thought he would. I thought he'd be a bust.
And to be fair the path to the top in Aus is much shorter. If he had stayed in NZ he would still be an occasional reserve in a Super team while he 'developed'
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@victor-meldrew said in Bledisloe II:
@mn5 said in Bledisloe II:
Nonu might possibly be the very best ever yet for whatever reason isn't mentioned in the hushed 'DC/McCaw' echelon.....
Being an old bugger, I'd always rated Mike Gibson and Tim Horan the best midfielders I'd ever seen before Nonu. He is easily up there with them - all the skills and subtlety plus the raw power when needed.
His performance in Bledisloe 2 in 2015 matched Carter's display against the Lions in 2005 IMHO. Three years on and we are still trying to figure out the best way to replace him and Conrad. Speaks volumes on how good they both were together.
Giteau as influential as Nonu IMHO.
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@mikethesnow said in Bledisloe II:
@victor-meldrew said in Bledisloe II:
@mn5 said in Bledisloe II:
Nonu might possibly be the very best ever yet for whatever reason isn't mentioned in the hushed 'DC/McCaw' echelon.....
Being an old bugger, I'd always rated Mike Gibson and Tim Horan the best midfielders I'd ever seen before Nonu. He is easily up there with them - all the skills and subtlety plus the raw power when needed.
His performance in Bledisloe 2 in 2015 matched Carter's display against the Lions in 2005 IMHO. Three years on and we are still trying to figure out the best way to replace him and Conrad. Speaks volumes on how good they both were together.
Giteau as influential as Nonu IMHO.
Yep. Once Shiteau wasn't being mucked around and was able to concentrate on one position he turned into Giteau.
I think having Beale at 12 is trying to find another Giteau but for some odd reason Beale never seems to try to influence or call play despite being a more natural 10.
One of the Wallabies problems is that they try and shoehorn their class players in around their other resources. -
Someone on Reddit just stated that the Wallabies are 3-1 up over the All Blacks when refereed by Barnes. Interesting or nah?
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@daffy-jaffy said in Bledisloe II:
Someone on Reddit just stated that the Wallabies are 3-1 up over the All Blacks when refereed by Barnes. Interesting or nah?
That would go someway towards explaining the permanent hard-on the Walrus has for Barnes.
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@daffy-jaffy said in Bledisloe II:
Someone on Reddit just stated that the Wallabies are 3-1 up over the All Blacks when refereed by Barnes. Interesting or nah?
Barnes doesn't ref Bled matches that often, but yes, the last three times he has the result has been an Oz win.
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So Giraffe at the back and Laumape at 12.
Happy enough with that - would be nice if BFA has a stormer at 14.
Big chance again for Naholo too
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ALL BLACKS: Jordie Barrett, Ben Smith, Jack Goodhue, Ngani Laumape, Waisake Naholo,, Beauden Barrett, Aaron Smith; Kieran Read (capt), Sam Cane, Liam Squire, Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Owen Franks, Codie Taylor, Joe Moody. Reserves: Nathan Harris, Karl Tu'inukuake, Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Scott Barrett, Ardie Savea, TJ Perenara, Damian McKenzie, Anton Lienert-Brown
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@darren-nicholson said in Bledisloe II:
Happy with that, but surprised to see Laumape in over ALB who look good last week.
Before the first test Shag made a comment where he thinks ALB can provide good impact off the bench ,
I think most people in this case would see him as the steadier starter and Laumape as the guy to provide impact.
Unless its a tactical ploy , they want Laumape punching holes through a certain channel
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Most of the usual media types that get the inside oil have had ALB at 12 and BFA at 15...the latter doesn't surprise me and it is what I thought but I never thought they go for that 12/13 combo given the relative inexperience of the duo.
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The Canes mafia is pleased with these selections.
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Provided the ABs actually have a plan that centres around Laumape punching holes in close on a regular basis (unlike the bloody Canes), I can understand the selection with ALB coming on around the 55 minute mark to wreck some havoc against a tired defense.
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@bovidae I thought they always viewed that from the other side of the coin, in that what if Laumape or Goodhue go down in minute 1, can he play 79 mins.
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@taniwharugby Injury was not a factor according to the Stuff article.
"We wanted a specialist second five," explained Hansen. "Alby (Lienert-Brown) has been playing a lot of his rugby at 13. Whilst we're very happy with his performance [in Sydney], we love what he does for us off the bench.
"He brings a security, a sense of understanding of what's needed in that area and Ngani is more of a starting-type player. It just made sense."
