AB Depth Chart 2020
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@Crucial said in AB Depth Chart 2020:
@kiwiinmelb said in Blues v Highlanders:
Apologies if it’s already been discussed, And to go with that, is beaudy at 15 the best option for the ABs going forward ?
If it’s a yes , I’m all for him playing 15 at this level
This comment in another thread is worthy of discussion here.
We have had this problem for a while now IMO. As good a player as BB is, IMO he is not the type of 10 that we really need in the ABs.
Trouble is that we don't have any of those 10s around. Old Cruden (minus the chip kicks) would be the closest we have to a 10 that reads the opposition well and calls the shots on the fly. Someone that watches the opposition and works the ball into weak areas while changing gameplans when they have your own areas figured out.
BB has never been that guy and Mounga is also BB light.
So back to the reality and is BB the best option at the moment?
He has to be on the field at 10 or 15 so it will simply be a case (as per last year) of whether we gain more from a DMac or JB at the back than we do from Mounga at the front.Know exactly what you mean , I think mounga fits in somewhere Being inferior to cruden but superior to sopianga
So I guess the question becomes ,
Is mounga 10 , beaudy 15 , the best 10 / 15 combination we can field ? I tend to think it might be , for now at least
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@Bones said in Hurricanes v Crusaders:
@Chris said in Hurricanes v Crusaders:
@Frank said in Hurricanes v Crusaders:
How did Cullen Grace go?
As good as Big Red?
Better than Skinfold Ioane?I thought Grace was strong again physical in contact
He’s going to be good when he grows up impressive for the youngest player in NZ SR teams this seasonHe's got a shoulder and a half eh. Quiet game compared to earlier in the season, but not when you factor in his age and it being the first game back (although I guess you could apply those same factors to Robinson last week also).
Yes True it is encouraging. seeing some options coming along at 6, Robinson,Grace, for the future
I was only thinking back before SR we were looking weak at 6 maybe not now.
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@kiwiinmelb pffft...Sopoaga killed it for the ABs. Mounga has a way to go to be superior. Him in form is pretty much what @Crucial described.
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@Bones said in AB Depth Chart 2020:
@kiwiinmelb pffft...Sopoaga killed it for the ABs. Mounga has a way to go to be superior. Him in form is pretty much what @Crucial described.
He did in his first test start on debut.
In his 2nd (and only other) test start not so much!
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@KiwiMurph said in AB Depth Chart 2020:
@Bones said in AB Depth Chart 2020:
@kiwiinmelb pffft...Sopoaga killed it for the ABs. Mounga has a way to go to be superior. Him in form is pretty much what @Crucial described.
He did in his first test start on debut.
In his 2nd (and only other) test start not so much!
Too long between drinks. Not surprised he lost confidence after such a blockbuster start only to be put back on the shelf...
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Mounga not getting much love on here. Suspect it is more because of the team he plays for than his performances.... Just needs time in black so he can show Super form at international level. Getting thrown in the deep end by a desperate Foster & co in world cup year showed more of a coaching problem than a player problem I think.
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@Old-Samurai-Jack said in AB Depth Chart 2020:
Suspect it is more because of the team he plays for
Sigh.
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@Old-Samurai-Jack said in AB Depth Chart 2020:
Getting thrown in the deep end
It was a massive risk to throw a test match rookie 10 into the starting position at the world cup. It's the kind of thing that could ruin a player's confidence, but thankfully it looks like it hasn't.
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@Old-Samurai-Jack Yes. The coaches gave him way too little game time in 2018 and stuck with the Barrett-Dmac combo that didn't work instead. It was really odd. Then he's thrown into the deep in a RWC year and performed well for a rookie in most games. I'll never forget that awesome try-saving tackle on Cheslin Kolbe in the first RWC round! And somehow, some people, only seem to remember a RWC semi-final that was mostly lost in the forwards, and due to weird selection choices and a weak game plan from the coaches.
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Hard to forget a very blatant, very poor, front-on one-on-one miss early on that had pretty dire consequences
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@mariner4life it's funny, I have no memory of Mounga in that game at all.
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@Stargazer said in AB Depth Chart 2020:
And somehow, some people, only seem to remember a RWC semi-final that was mostly lost in the forwards, and due to weird selection choices and a weak game plan from the coaches.
You forgot the crap leadership from the senior players....
Ritchie looks one of those solid players who get better the more they play. He's a good foil to the more mercurial BB and gives us the option of switching players at 10.
And I'd def. want him taking the match-winning kicks rather than BB.
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Yes, there are plenty of good 6s, 7s and 8s in NZ right now, though untried at the highest level for most of them.
6 : Robinson, Grace, Jacobson (+ Frizell, Fifita, Boshier, Papali'i and Barrett though I think these last three are better wearing their usual jersey)
7 : Cane, Savea, Papali'i, Boshier
8 : Sotutu, Mikaele-Tuu, Ioane (?) -
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The Herald had a piece on why they thought NZ rugby wasn't getting any tall locks coming through but it was premium so I could read it. I am guessing they were claiming it's because of basketball?
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"All the franchises would agree that we don't seem to have a lot of depth at lock," Blues forwards coach Tom Coventry said. "Why that is, there's lots of reasons. The height of basketball tends to take our big tall men and they do a good job promoting their game."
