Sam Cane - All Blacks Captain
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@Stargazer Christie was getting through a truckload of work, I wonder if he could have kept that up over the season?
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@Stargazer said in Sam Cane - All Blacks Captain:
@Nepia Yeah, I guess we'll have to wait a while to find out. He seems to have a big engine, but Billy Harmon had just returned from injury, so they might have started rotating them more if the comp had continued.
His turnaround in form from last year was quite impressive. Seems like Razor gave him the confidence to go out and play this year.
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@Stargazer said in Sam Cane - All Blacks Captain:
@Nepia Last year? This is Christie's first SR season. Or do you mean Mitre 10 Cup?
NPC and U20s.
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@Nepia Yeah, he wasn't very inspiring during the 2018 JWC, but I'm convinced that Phillpott isn't capable of getting the best out of players. The same probably applies to Joe Maddock at Canterbury.
Can't wait to see how many of NZ's rookies progress over the next few years.
Obviously I'm biased, but I expect Devan Flanders to be in the flankers mix, too, in the near future. He needs to keep Prinsep out of the Canes' 6 jersey first though. -
@Stargazer Do you see Flanders as a 6 or an 8 at this stage?
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@KiwiMurph I think he's a number 8, who plays very well at 6, but his path is blocked by Evans for the 8 jersey, both at the Canes and the Magpies. But even if Evans moves to 7 in the absence of O'Connor for the Magpies, I think Mikaele-Tu'u is also more of a no. 8 than a 6, so probably Flanders' immediate future will be at 6.
Having said that, I noticed during several Hurricanes' games that Flanders was regularly at the back of the scrum, with Evans moving to blindside.
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@KiwiMurph said in Sam Cane - All Blacks Captain:
@Stargazer Do you see Flanders as a 6 or an 8 at this stage?
He's been more of an 8 but the Magpies have Evans and Mikaele Tu'u on their books at 8 so he could make the move to 6. I think he's got the skills and motor for it.
EDit: @Stargazer beat me to it.
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@Stargazer they used him at 6 in that last game against the Chiefs so maybe they see him there in the shorter term while Evans is at 8 (I hope so anyway as I'm sick of Fifita and his stupidity). He has plenty of time to develop into an 8, plus versatility helps aswell for future AB endeavours.
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@Crucial yeah thing is that Boshier this year is standing out as much as Jacobson last year. Was he looking like getting back from injury? He looked a great prospect, certainly played above his weight - big shoulder and carried really well in traffic.
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@Bovidae said in Sam Cane - All Blacks Captain:
@Bones Jacobson only had a hamstring tweak so should be available once SR starts again. He might be used at no.8 with Boshier and Cane.
That would be a tasty proposition.
Sowakula was playing well this year too. -
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@Nepia @Stargazer Christie was our best player in the opening rounds. I’m no Blackdragon when it comes to heights/weights but he looked noticeably bigger than he did when playing for the Cantabs last year.
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@Bovidae said in Sam Cane - All Blacks Captain:
They should be the 4 loosies in the 23. Sowakula would be good off the bench but you have to start Boshier. He was missed against the Brumbies.
Yeah. Karpik has never really shone has he? Good player but nothing commanding.
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@Crucial said in Sam Cane - All Blacks Captain:
@Bovidae said in Sam Cane - All Blacks Captain:
They should be the 4 loosies in the 23. Sowakula would be good off the bench but you have to start Boshier. He was missed against the Brumbies.
Yeah. Karpik has never really shone has he? Good player but nothing commanding.
I've said numerous times that Karpik lacks physical presence in SR. You often see him get in good positions at the breakdown to make a turnover but he doesn't have the strength to win that battle. A very good player at NPC level though.
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I'm glad its Cane. He has a good head on his shoulders' But I agree with Bovidae above - think there is room for Boshier who has come of age in 2020, and Sowakula is a physical presence, but Kirii is a player I'd like to see more of. Christie? maybe. Those stats above were telling.
