Springboks V All Blacks
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@nevorian at Super Level I think Sam does have a good running game, while the closer confines of test rugby having him and BBBR together brings out the best in both and Sam not needing to take on that load.
Have we had many AB games with BBBR starting without Whitelock?
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I'm not sure, but BBBR's win percentage is the highest of current players from the 'top' 15. He's only lost three times (England, Australia, Lions).
Edit: I can't get stas guru to show me games for each without the other.
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@akan004 said in Springboks V All Blacks:
@stargazer said in Springboks V All Blacks:
@akan004 Sam missed games due to a head knock and the mandatory rest games. He played in 14 of the 19 Crusaders games. That's less than Scott Barrett (also in minutes).
What about his minutes last year for the Crusaders when he didn't have the head knocks? I also was critical of Shag's selection of only three locks this year. Felt he had picked too many loosies and should have selected an extra lock instead.
Those stats aren't live anymore on the Fox Sports website, but he missed the games against the Bulls (away) and Hurricanes (home) due to a suspension and he came of the bench in the away game against Hurricanes. Don't know whether he missed other games.
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@rapido said in Springboks V All Blacks:
This would be a Houdini-act if not for the fact that the Springboks not only handed the keys to the handcuffs around the All Blacks’ wrists, they unlocked the cuffs for them.
Waaaait aaaa minnnute....if the ABs had the keys, how did the Springboks unlock the cuffs? This is all I really got out of the article.
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@gt12 said in Springboks V All Blacks:
I'm not sure, but BBBR's win percentage is the highest of current players from the 'top' 15. He's only lost three times (England, Australia, Lions).
Edit: I can't get stas guru to show me games for each without the other.
Ok, here it seems that they've only played together 64 times, for three losses. I can't figure out how to add only one of them without the other.
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We've played four matches in the last five years without either, for three wins (Ireland of course is the loss).
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Seems like no. Matches they've played together in the last five years - two losses, two draws.
Since the last WC, we've lost once and drawn once when we have both playing - both of those were against the Lions. They're that valuable.
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In the Mo'ouga v Barrett debate.
There was a moment after Ritchie had come on that I think i have been converted.
Barrett was playing fullback and went into first receiver and put up an aimless defensive bomb with no chasers and Damian Willemse stepped Crotty on the kick return.
It was a "things make you go hmmmmm" moment.
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@chris-b said in Springboks V All Blacks:
Hansen (and Henry before him) have constantly beaten the "You can't beat experience in the big games" drum, so I reckon the chances of them heading to RWC with their first choice starting XV including all of Mo'unga, ALB, Goodhue and Rieko is about nil.
You know how some of us are reminded of a game won 6-3 vs Australia before the 1991 RWC.
Well the result of that game was to enter the Cup using experience as the primary selection criterion. It turns out, that the experienced players were past their prime though, and the strategy failed badly.
We've also had quite a few examples of complete novices turning it on for us at RWC games. NMS last one.
Experience is good. Except when the other player is better.
Shag uses it because he's not stupid. It allows him to justify the player he's already picked, rather than a guy who's having a single stellar season. Saying he values experience means he can keep a settled squad. But he's only too happy to ditch experience when he prefers someone, and elevate a DMac say to start over much more experienced players.
Surely then the solution anyway is to play Mo'unga more. Otherwise we are one injury away from him having to pull out an Aaron Cruden in RWC knockout stages -- and while it just worked for us that time, we got lucky.
Beauden Barrett hasn't covered himself with glory in the tight games. The solution isn't to keep playing him and hope it'll all just come right.
On the others --
I personally think ALB has plenty enough experience.
You're going to be a lone voice here suggesting Goodhue isn't up to it.
Ioane is more experienced than Frizzell at least. For #6 all our options really lack experience, so I'd pick the best one, not one with a trifle more experience.
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@crucial said in Springboks V All Blacks:
Funny how it has taken this long for everyone to realise that BB is not the type of 10 we require for a tight game that needs control and measured tactics.
It has been being pointed out for years that he is not a game managing 10.Yea wow crucial, literally no one else has been saying exactly that in the past...
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@mariner4life said in Springboks V All Blacks:
@crucial said in Springboks V All Blacks:
Funny how it has taken this long for everyone to realise that BB is not the type of 10 we require for a tight game that needs control and measured tactics.
It has been being pointed out for years that he is not a game managing 10.Yea wow crucial, literally no one else has been saying exactly that in the past...
I didn’t say no one.
Whenever the subject cane up though, there were always plenty of BB10 defenders. -
For what it’s worth, Sam Whitelock is first picked in my team. Along with Moody, Taylor, Franks, Read, Scott Barrett....