Chiefs 2020
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@Victor-Meldrew said in Chiefs 2020:
@Bones said in Chiefs 2020:
@Yeetyaah said in Chiefs 2020:
shit in my hands and clap
I feel like this has been DMac's go to move this SRA.
Yeah, he's not been good. Don't doubt his physical courage, but he seems to have lost his bottle when on attack since his return from injury.
Makes me wonder if his injury has affected him mentally and he doesn't quite trust his body yet. That said, there were some nice touches from him today.
It looks to me that he isn't playing on instinct. As much as some like to throw the headless chook argument around he is currently looking to pass before he has even had a crack a lot of the time.
Is this a lack of confidence, a reaction to his critics, a coaching directive or combination of all?The thing is though, he isn't alone. ALB has gone from Mr Reliable to 'what is he doing?' on both attack and defence, Cruden went flat after being a little general pre-covid, the wingers lost what flair they had, the loosies all looked like journeymen. Weber has gone from being a sharp danger to his own worst enemy.
As I used to say to Blues fans, sometimes lack of confidence and a downward spiral can be an easy road to go down and a hard one to turn back on despite the talent at hand or the coaching messages but there really does appear to be some major adjustment problems at the Chiefs with Gatland. I said before he started that I feared he would be a poor fit for them style wise and I am seeing lots of evidence that he is trying to squeeze a square peg into a round hole.
The Chiefs have gone from having a such a lethal attack that other teams were wary of giving them loose ball to having no attack at all. The usually OK defence has opened up in places that it shouldn't.
Coaching (or coaching style) must be playing some part here.
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Yep, It's either taking (too much) time to adapt and develop a new style or it's the coaching style itself.
One of the things which impressed about the Chiefs last year was the team spirit and players stepping up after they were hit by serious injuries to key players. ALB was immense but now, as you say, he's a shadow of what he was last year.
A fish rots from the head down and Gatland, with his experience, needs to get his shit together and get things sorted
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@Crucial Pre-covid they seemed to be playing a Chiefs style game (the same Cooper/Rennie gameplan) and it was working pretty well. After Covid I have no idea what style of game they were playing.
You say that Cruden went flat, I don't think that's necessarily true, in his return games he was making the half breaks he's known for but there were never any runners.
I assume Gatland has a gameplan he wants to implement, and it may be a successful one going forward, but clearly the team weren't sure how to do that this SRA.
This talk about Saraceans players is just idiotic. The Chiefs really need to read the room on that one.
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@Nepia said in Chiefs 2020:
@Crucial Pre-covid they seemed to be playing a Chiefs style game (the same Cooper/Rennie gameplan) and it was working pretty well. After Covid I have no idea what style of game they were playing.
You say that Cruden went flat, I don't think that's necessarily true, in his return games he was making the half breaks he's known for but there were never any runners.
I assume Gatland has a gameplan he wants to implement, and it may be a successful one going forward, but clearly the team weren't sure how to do that this SRA.
This talk about Saraceans players is just idiotic. The Chiefs really need to read the room on that one.
Especially as those Sarries are only desperate for games because they are a bunch of greedy salary cap cheats in the first place.
They can fuck right off. -
I think there are some damning indictments on the coaching staff
The attack had no discernible plan, and actually seemed to get less cohesive as the year went on, despite a fair amount of consistent selection in the back line. Most of the time they looked like they met in the carpark, yet had been playing together for weeks.
The other is linked to the above, the defensive pattern, especially in the backs, was deplorable. We gave up easy try after easy try because the alignment and communication just wasn't there. And it wasn't just after repeated phases, it could be off first phase FFS!
We definitely lacked power runners. Cane tries hard, but he's a defensive player mainly. Sowakula is hugely over rated. Our 6 options are light weights, our locks are light weights, our front rowers offered fuck all. That is a stick i can't beat the coaches with. But someone has to put together the roster.
The season was very disappointing. Yes we were in games for a long time, but we were desperately poor for huge amounts of SRA.
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@Nepia That’s my first reaction as well f%*% that…then after a scone & cuppa….
Itoje – Let’s not kid ourselves here, that guy’s world class. Who in their right mind wouldn’t even consider having him in their ranks?
Farrell – A player who tends to take the right options & perhaps a perfect foil for Cruden & ALB. Not a bad player & that’s putting it mildly – guaranteed points.
-Adds legitimacy to the comp with the question, can these NH heavyweights compete? -
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@Tim said in Chiefs 2020:
@Magic65 said in Chiefs 2020:
Cruden
He's gone. Next year the Chiefs are relying on Trask if they can't recruit someone better.
if they throw in Sinkler i am all for it.
why not have a few of the best NH players down here?
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@mariner4life It would be good to see the three biggest dicks in English rugby lose week in week out.
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@Tim havent they also got Reihana in the squad, 2 promising greenhorns
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@mariner4life fuuuuuuuuuuuck off
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@taniwharugby Falcon and Trask in the squad, Reihana in the colts. Isn't Falcon playing in Japan next year?
EDIT: Yes he is.
And with Gatland revealing that Tiaan Falcon is also headed for Japan following this season, their future is Trask – the 21-year-old Bay of Plenty pivot, who has dipped his toes in at this level this year.
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@Tim said in Chiefs 2020:
@mariner4life It would be good to see the three biggest dicks in
Englishrugby lose week in week out.FIFY
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@Tim said in Chiefs 2020:
@mariner4life It would be good to see the three biggest dicks in English rugby lose week in week out.
if we had Itoje, Sinkler and Farrell we win probably half of those games. They are all quality players
Yes, massive tools, absolutely no disagreement there. But tools that can fucking play.
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@Tim said in Chiefs 2020:
I thought Falcon went alright last year. Shame to lose him. Maybe they're making room for a more experienced player to complement Trask and Reihana? Is Fletcher Smith available?
Fletcher Smith comes off-contract this year; no news about him re-signing with the Canes, yet.
Also, if the Canes don't sign him, McClutchie might be a good option. At the start of the 2021 SR season, he'll have 3 years of Mitre 10 Cup under his belt; so more experience than Reihana, but less than Trask's SR experience, obviously.
Falcon was very good for a rookie in his few SR games; then came the injuries. It's a pity he didn't get more than a few minutes against the Sunwolves since. It's a shame he's leaving NZ already. Hopefully, he's just going for one or two years, and isn't lost to NZ rugby yet.
