AB RWC squad
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@gt12
I agree that there is no clear answer but I'd pick Hemopo over him if it was a straight shoot out between the 2. I'd even prefer Frizzell, Jacobson or Papali'i but can see the arguments against any of them - Frizzell not tight enough, Jacobson and Papali'i too green. -
Maybe the real problem is that Jerome Kaino has set the bar so high that all subsequent players will struggle to match and will be compared unfavourably as we have been treated to the forthright play of Kaino for such a decent length of time and anything less is a bit of a letdown.
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@mofitzy_ said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:
What was Squires best game in black? I can't recall ever being impressed. It would be one thing if he had some solid performances under his belt for the ABs but he has been found lacking in my opinion (I was a fan pre-ABs), then turning down the ABs (could be non rugby-related in which case he has my sympathy but regardless) combined with him ruling himself out of the ABs for the next 2 years makes picking him a headscratcher.
I ageee. It seems the longer he doesn’t play the better he was. But there is a reason the 6 problem has remained unsolved since Kaino left and that reason is Liam Squire being underwhelming and often injured. That plus the fact that he has hardly played all year and hasn’t been with the team at all and is fucking off next season means he would miss out if i was picking the team. I would take Hemopo which gives you an extra lock too or take a gamble that one of Frizell, Papalii or Jacobsen step up.
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@kiwiinmelb said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:
4 years ago there was a leak , cant remember exactly where it came from , but we were hearing NMS and Naholo were in and dagg was out, before it was announced
I'm not saying there won't be a leak, and some journos will probably make an educated guess in the hope of looking smart (or stupid). People will be on airport watch too for flights to Auckland. A mate of mine working at Hamilton airport told me who from the Chiefs was leaving for Wellington on that Sunday morning 4 years ago.
But some of the leaks are due to embargos on team announcements that will appear in morning newspapers but that won't be the case this time.
So @Chris-B needs to be stalking Nelson airport from tomorrow night to see if Squire and Moli are there.
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@Higgins said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:
Disappointed Shayne Philpott and/or Craig Green have missed out on selection. THey must have gone seriously close to ousting C Ralph.
Very close. But management needed a player to draw the females in the post game celebrations and Caleb came up trumps...
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@taniwharugby said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:
@nzzp no way will they not take Ioane!
Just taking a bit longer than normal to wash the Blues off him
Considering he clocked up more metres and more line breaks than Reece from similar runs I think it's the AB camp we need to wash off him.
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@Bovidae said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:
@mofitzy_ said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:
What was Squires best game in black? I can't recall ever being impressed.
I remember Squire having a strong game vs SA a year or so back.
The game I remember was back in 2017 in Cape Town. The one we won by a whisker. I thought he actually looked the part. Put in a strong 80 minute effort, played the tight game and tackled well.
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@Chris-B said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:
@Machpants Yeah - that's what I think they'll take too.
At prop, Franks gives insurance against Nepo being potentially a one-hit wonder vs Australia (we'll see how he goes vs SA), while Ta'avao gives emergency loosehead cover and can play a couple of minnow games there.
Drums seem to be beating for Squire, though who really knows what the selectors are thinking there. Pretty sure we will be fielding Ardie, Cane and Read in the big tests - though I'd not be unhappy to see Liam slot in at 6 and one of the others back to the bench.
I'd take Josh Ioane and leave Jordie on the call-up list, but no-one much seems to think that's happening.
Probably commented on before, but I doubt BC2 will be as big a factor as history/training when selecting TH props. I expect Cron has a ranking and that's unlikely to shift much on one game, unlike no 1. World ranking.
Amazing to think team spanked by Poms Saturday could have been 1 this morning!!!
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One more sleep..... unless @SouthernMan
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@Hooroo said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:
One more sleep..... unless @SouthernMan
@SouthernMann I think ...
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@nzzp said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:
@Hooroo said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:
One more sleep..... unless @SouthernMan
@SouthernMann I think ...
There were damn 3 of them!!!
@Southern-Man
@SouthernMan
and
@SouthernMannJust make up your mind and choose one!
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@ACT-Crusader said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:
The game I remember was back in 2017 in Cape Town. The one we won by a whisker. I thought he actually looked the part. Put in a strong 80 minute effort, played the tight game and tackled well.
That was the game I was referring to. But the exception rather than the norm for Squire.
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@Bovidae said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:
@ACT-Crusader said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:
The game I remember was back in 2017 in Cape Town. The one we won by a whisker. I thought he actually looked the part. Put in a strong 80 minute effort, played the tight game and tackled well.
That was the game I was referring to. But the exception rather than the norm for Squire.
(tongue in cheek) keeping his powder dry for the RWC?
Physically, he's probably the closest we had to Kaino, and probably the best of the contenders. That said, he's a fair step down.
I suspect if he goes, Matt Todd stays at home though... being the third 7 in the squad can't be a good thing
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@nzzp said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:
I suspect if he goes, Matt Todd stays at home though... being the third 7 in the squad can't be a good thing
There would be room for both Squire and Todd in the 5 loose forwards. Todd's problem is that he doesn't offer any utility value, which is important in a RWC squad. The coaches will want options.
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@Nepia said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:
@taniwharugby said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:
@nzzp no way will they not take Ioane!
Just taking a bit longer than normal to wash the Blues off him
Considering he clocked up more metres and more line breaks than Reece from similar runs I think it's the AB camp we need to wash off him.
He will make the squad and likely start at left wing so I don't know what I'm arguing
But I did get the impression that his output was far greater in the first half of the super season than the second half.
I play fantasy super rugby (you get points for metres made, linebreaks, tackles etc) every year and Reiko has been a must have player since he debuted, however his points output this season dropped dramatically in the second half of the season (like his brother, who has done that the last 2 years) to the point where most people had dropped him from their squads.
Anyway, I'm not sure where we find the stats to confirm (or not).
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Just watched the Ta$man game, am still not convinced that Squire is good enough. He's a bit cumbersome and didn't have much impact at the breakdown (compare this to Papalii). His main strength is that he offers another good lineout option but I fail to see what else he's outstanding at. Hopefully he gets better over the next few weeks but I wouldn't be confident seeing him in an AB 23. They missed a trick by not giving Paps more game time in black imo.
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@ACT-Crusader said in RWC squad. Who's in, who's out?:
About the right time to name my 31
Hookers - C. Taylor, C. Flynn, M. Hammett
Props - J. Moody, W. Crockett, B. Franks, O. Franks, G. Somerville
Locks - S. Whitelock, L. Romano, B. Thorn, C. Jack
Loose forwards - K. Read, R. McCaw, R. Thorne, S. Robertson, M. Brewer, A. Earl
Halfbacks - A. Ellis, J. Marshall, G. Bachop
1s 5s - D. Carter, A. Mehrtens, C. Slade
Midfield - A. Mauger, D. Gibson, W. Taylor
Outside backs - I. Dagg, C. Ralph, L. MacDonald, B. Blairlook at all those World Cup failures. Just look at them.
