NZ team of the 1st round
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<p>well that seals it, he cant make our team!</p>
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<p>Nigel Yalden's NZ team of the week</p>
<p> </p>
<p>1 - Ofa T</p>
<p>2 - Coltman</p>
<p>3 - Franks O</p>
<p>4 - Tuipulotu</p>
<p>5 - Brodie</p>
<p>6 - Seu</p>
<p>7 - Gibson</p>
<p>8 - Read</p>
<p>9 - Hall</p>
<p>10 - West</p>
<p>11 - Lowe</p>
<p>12 - Ngatai</p>
<p>13 - Fekitoa</p>
<p>14 - Nanai</p>
<p>15 - McKenzie</p> -
<p>I'm really surprised to see so much love for Coltman, i thought that Parsons was the better of the two on Friday. Parsons was spot on with his throwing, allowing the Blues a lot of ball. The Highlanders struggled to win their ball, and while that was less Coltman, and more their very strange set up/strategy, i don't know that he did enough to be picked ahead of Parsons (who was also pretty visible around the field)</p>
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="SammyC" data-cid="561581" data-time="1456707272">
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<p>Fekitoa at 13 for me.. loved it when Ranger came on and he smashed him straight away, knows who his competition is.</p>
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<p>I'd maybe put Hall at 9, his running game really sparked the blues attack. </p>
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<p>Who smashed who ? it's not clear from your post. But yeah, great to see RR back. Has he had a haircut and shave yet ?</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="MN5" data-cid="561603" data-time="1456717954">
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<p>Who smashed who ? it's not clear from your post. But yeah, great to see RR back. Has he had a haircut and shave yet ?</p>
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<p>Pretty sure it was Rangers first touch (or if not that then his second) Fekitoa creamed him.</p>
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<p>Blues need to find some distributors in a backline full of ball hogs from 12 out I reckon.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="SammyC" data-cid="561604" data-time="1456718046">
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<p>Pretty sure it was Rangers first touch (or if not that then his second) Fekitoa creamed him.</p>
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<p>Blues need to find some distributors in a backline full of ball hogs from 12 out I reckon.</p>
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<p>Yeah Moala and Ranger are definitely tuck the ball under their arms and trample/fend/step whoever is in front of them but Ma'a certainly learnt how to pop a sweet pass so anything is possible.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="KiwiMurph" data-cid="561596" data-time="1456712480">
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<p>Nigel Yalden's NZ team of the week</p>
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<p>9 - Hall</p>
<p>10 - West</p>
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<p>Bloody hell, that's more one eyed than Canebry. No way do those two make the list...</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="nzzp" data-cid="561589" data-time="1456710086">
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<p>Good energy, but his passing wasn't flash. Really showed up by A Smith, who's pass is a thing of beauty. Still, beats the hell out of the 9's we've put out recently, so I'll take it!</p>
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<p>I agree. </p> -
<p>A little surprised to see Luatua in there. I thought he looked slow, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.</p>
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<p>Parsons and Taylor the pick of the rakes. Cruds over West.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="ACT Crusader" data-cid="561611" data-time="1456722477">
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<p>A little surprised to see Luatua in there. I thought he looked slow, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.</p>
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<p>Parsons and Taylor the pick of the rakes. Cruds over West.</p>
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<p>The Blues blindside defence had some gaps, and Luatua certainly got caught out. Overall though I thought he covered a lot of ground and looked pretty quick.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="ACT Crusader" data-cid="561611" data-time="1456722477">
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<p><strong>A little surprised to see Luatua in there. I thought he looked slow, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.</strong></p>
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<p>Parsons and Taylor the pick of the rakes. Cruds over West.</p>
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<p>really? I was impressed on Friday. He looked at fault for the Highlanders try by the young 12, but the end-on shot showed one of the Blues midfielders jammed in, leaving Luatua covering 2 guys. He got a lot of shoulders on a lot of guys, and did a heap of shit work. Maybe i was just looking for him, but he seemed to pop up all over the place. </p>
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<p>I have only seen the game once though, so i might be wrong. </p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="KiwiMurph" data-cid="561596" data-time="1456712480">
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<p>Nigel Yalden's NZ team of the week</p>
<p> </p>
<p>1 - Ofa T</p>
<p>2 - Coltman</p>
<p>3 - Franks O</p>
<p>4 - Tuipulotu</p>
<p>5 - Brodie</p>
<p>6 - Seu</p>
<p>7 - Gibson</p>
<p>8 - Read</p>
<p>9 - Hall</p>
<p>10 - West</p>
<p>11 - Lowe</p>
<p>12 - Ngatai</p>
<p>13 - Fekitoa</p>
<p>14 - Nanai</p>
<p>15 - McKenzie</p>
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<p>Thought Moody went well at LH for the Crusdaers - keep this up and he'll leapfrog Crockett. Still sad that Laulala our for the season :(</p>
<p>I'd have A Smith ahead of Hall at 9, thought his passing was sublime.</p>
<p>Cruden ahead of West. Cruden looked very good. All the first-fives went well for the NZ franchises, except Barrett who was a bit meh.</p> -
<p>Moody scrummed very well but was nowhere in the loose. Ofa T, on the contrary, showed a great workrate during the 2nd half. He did not scrum to badly either. That is why my choice was Ofa.</p>
<p>Hooker is a rather weak spot for this 1st round. No one stood out. Coltman was powerful, at least in the first few minutes when the Highlanders dominated possession.</p>
<p>I went for Faumuina because what I said for Moody is the same for Franks. Good scrummaging but low workrate. The Crusaders are slow starters.</p>
<p>The locks pick by themselves.</p>
<p>Blindside flank : everything Joe Edwards did was good. Nothing flashy but very solid. Seu did some freaky things but otherwise looked lost at times. Not the finished article yet.</p>
<p>Nr.8 : Luatua was far better than Read IMO and Squire only played 15 minutes (during which he was excellent).</p>
<p>Scrum half : Smith's passing and control were world class. Hall's passing gave West a few difficult moments.</p>
<p>1st Five : Cruden was outstanding for his first outing since his injury. West was OK but not better than Cruden IMO.</p>
<p>Temanivalu : I named him by default. Fekitoa made a few strong runs but looked like a headless chicken in each one. No composure, no passing game. I was tempted to select Lienert Brown who looked very good and dynamic when he came in.</p>
<p>Macilai : I think he was the most dangerous player of the whole Crusaders backline.</p>
<p>McKenzie bracketed with Smith : He was brillant while Smith scored two tries and was class. Two oustanding FB which is good for NZ rugby.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="nzzp" data-cid="561608" data-time="1456721591"><p>
Bloody hell, that's more one eyed than Canebry. No way do those two make the list...</p></blockquote>
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Isn't Nige from the Tron? -
<p>I've never been completely convinced by Ardie Savea at 15s. Despite his AB "apprenticeship" ticket to Europe and all the hype. Cane is a lock for one 7 jersey, but if Gibson (or someone) else can have a good season, I don't think it's certain that Savea will be an AB.</p>
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="nzzp" data-cid="561608" data-time="1456721591">
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<p>Bloody hell, that's more one eyed than Canebry. No way do those two make the list...</p>
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<p>I put it down to over excitement about the Blues actually winning a game than one-eyedness.</p>
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<p>They weren't the best on display all weekend.</p>
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<p>You could even argue for DMac at 10 given the amount of times in the Chiefs gameplan that he popped up at first receiver.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="cgrant" data-cid="561624" data-time="1456728919">
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<p>Moody scrummed very well but was nowhere in the loose. Ofa T, on the contrary, showed a great workrate during the 2nd half. He did not scrum to badly either. That is why my choice was Ofa.</p>
<p>Hooker is a rather weak spot for this 1st round. No one stood out. Coltman was powerful, at least in the first few minutes when the Highlanders dominated possession.</p>
<p>I went for Faumuina because what I said for Moody is the same for Franks. Good scrummaging but low workrate. The Crusaders are slow starters.</p>
<p>The locks pick by themselves.</p>
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<p>Agree that Moody's main impact was in the scrum.</p>
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<p>However.... Franks made 12 tackles compared with Ofa T (6) and Faumuina (1). So I guess it depends on how you define workrate </p> -
<p>The Blues had most of the possession in the second spell and Ofa T and Faumuina drove a lot and were very physical in the rucks.</p>
<p>Manu had a good first half with ball in hand but was monstered in the scrums. He could have made a good hooker IMO.</p>
<p>Mitch Graham was excellent when he came in : strong scrummaging (against a tired O. Franks however) and strong carries.</p>
