Crusaders v Chiefs

pukunui

Thought the saders over did the kicking at times. They tried the attacking cross kick a few times which didnt come off, one of which was rubbish and put them under pressure. Hopefully they can refine that. Really hope Ngatai can stay fit this year to push for the ABs midfield. Imo he is the closest thing to Conrad we have in that he seems to be an intelligent player. Pair him with someone with a bit of punch and the AB midfield might not be such a big hole.

SammyC

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="pukunui" data-cid="561572" data-time="1456704756">
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Thought the saders over did the kicking at times. They tried the attacking cross kick a few times which didnt come off, one of which was rubbish and put them under pressure. Hopefully they can refine that. Really hope Ngatai can stay fit this year to push for the ABs midfield. Imo he is the closest thing to Conrad we have in that he seems to be an intelligent player. Pair him with someone with a bit of punch and the AB midfield might not be such a big hole.
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Yeah almost mentioned that in both my posts. The Chiefs dropped a couple of kicks early on and we got a bit too keen and kept doing it.
 
Agree about Ngatai, he has to be an All Black this year.

gt12

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="pukunui" data-cid="561572" data-time="1456704756">Thought the saders over did the kicking at times. They tried the attacking cross kick a few times which didnt come off, one of which was rubbish and put them under pressure. Hopefully they can refine that. Really hope Ngatai can stay fit this year to push for the ABs midfield. Imo he is the closest thing to Conrad we have in that he seems to be an intelligent player. Pair him with someone with a bit of punch and the AB midfield might not be such a big hole.</blockquote>
 
I like non-injured Ngatai a lot. Hope he has followed the C Smith path and got his injuries out of the way. He can play anywhere too, so looks a great bet for a few tests in black. I still like him better at 13 (Moala 12), but with Fekitoa and Ranger around, there are plenty of class players who can play both positions. 
We'll miss the old firm, but there is plenty of class about that it shouldn't be a weak area...

Tim

I like Ngatai, but I wonder if he has either the pace or power for test rugby.

SammyC

You don't think he'd be as fast and strong as Conrad?
 
or Ryan Crotty?

pukunui

Yes power and pace were never words you would use to describe conrad so i don't see it being an issue as long as there is balance in the 12/13 combo. He is hardly a lightweight though. Just needs to stop getting injured. As far as i can remember he was one of the only ones to come out of that samoan test looking good.

Bovidae

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I like Ngatai, but I wonder if he has either the pace or power for test rugby.
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Ngatai was a national age grade sprint champion. He's quicker than you think.

Billy Tell

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You'll be happy with this news then: 
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='

'>

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Yeah, I read the article and I see he's a tradesman who's made his way by hard grit up the rugby ranks. He's perfectly adequate, but he is not the stuff of a title-winning 1st 15. Havili looked wasted/lost at 15, should be played elsewhere.

cgrant

I would be pleased by a SBW / Ngatai combo for the EOYT. For the June tests and the RC, I guess Hansen won't use two newcomers in the midfield at the same time. So we won't see a Ngatai / Moala combo, that's for sure.

Bovidae

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I would be pleased by a SBW / Ngatai combo for the EOYT. For the June tests and the RC, I guess Hansen won't use two newcomers in the midfield at the same time. So we won't see a Ngatai / Moala combo, that's for sure.
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I'd like to see Fekitoa (12) and Ngatai (13) given a chance. Fekitoa lacks distribution skills at this point of his career so I think he can be a like-for-like replacement for Nonu at 2nd 5. As others have mentioned, Ngatai has similar attributes to Smith. Crotty is another option but Ngatai has more upside.

Frye

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="cgrant" data-cid="561626" data-time="1456733558">
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I would be pleased by a SBW / Ngatai combo for the EOYT. For the June tests and the RC, I guess Hansen won't use two newcomers in the midfield at the same time. So we won't see a Ngatai / Moala combo, that's for sure.
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Agreed although Ngatai is a pretty experienced and heady player.
My early preference would be Ngatai and Fekitoa for the RC. With Moala in the squad mix.

booboo

Will have to watch Ngatai more closely. He's never stood out for me. Perhaps i was a victim of his early hype some years ago (early Hurricanes days) so i watched him to see what he could produce and it wasn't that much so I've written him off. 
Not that my opinion counts for much. 
From reading above he's the shit so I'll keep a closer eye out.

pukunui

Its not so much that he has an awesome highlights package but he just seems to do the right thing most of the time and pops up in places to allow a movement to continue by giving a good pass or stepping a defender. A lot like conrad has done for years.

Gary

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Bovidae" data-cid="561629" data-time="1456734739">
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I'd like to see Fekitoa (12) and Ngatai (13) given a chance. Fekitoa lacks distribution skills at this point of his career so I think he can be a like-for-like replacement for Nonu at 2nd 5. As others have mentioned, Ngatai has similar attributes to Smith. Crotty is another option but Ngatai has more upside.
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except that Nonu was a pretty good distributor

Bovidae

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Gary" data-cid="561660" data-time="1456765853">
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except that Nonu was a pretty good distributor
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Became a very good distributor. So hope for Fekitoa.

taniwharugby

I still have concerns about Fekitoas direction, so often he seems to take the wrong option (on offence and defence) or holds the ball a bit too long...granted he is still young and can learn, I am just not sure he is the right option for the ABs just yet, not that I have a better solution mind you.

Crucial

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I still have concerns about Fekitoas direction, so often he seems to take the wrong option (on offence and defence) or holds the ball a bit too long...granted he is still young and can learn, I am just not sure he is the right option for the ABs just yet, not that I have a better solution mind you.
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When in the ABs he follows the gameplan and I suspect that in the Highlanders he is given licence as part of the defensive plan to rocket out of the line and disrupt. It worked well for the in the final last year and you can see how the players around him deliberately re-align to close any holes he leaves

kiwiinmelb

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="taniwharugby" data-cid="561672" data-time="1456774172">
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I still have concerns about Fekitoas direction, so often he seems to take the wrong option (on offence and defence) or holds the ball a bit too long...granted he is still young and can learn, I am just not sure he is the right option for the ABs just yet, not that I have a better solution mind you.
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I love his attitude , he looks like he is always ready to get stuck into the work , 
 
But I understand where you are coming from , at times he looks like a junior footballer , the way he always seems to tuck the ball under his arm and then try to run around people

mooshld

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="kiwiinmelb" data-cid="561781" data-time="1456811701">
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I love his attitude , he looks like he is always ready to get stuck into the work , 
 
But I understand where you are coming from , at times he looks like a junior footballer , the way he always seems to tuck the ball under his arm and then try to run around people 
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I also love his attitude and the way he always hits the line at 100MPH.
 
For me his big work on his his retention in the tackle he needs to switch that ball to two hands when he is going into contact, sacrifice a bit of speed for security. But hes a young guy in a position that has historically allowed guys to grow into it so I think if he keeps going he will be in the mix for a long time. 
 
He seems the type who wants to develop as well not just sit back and let the world come to him.

ACT Crusader

I'm surprised how we actually stayed close in this game. There was very little happening from 10 out. Thought 1-9 played pretty well and we didn't give away that much ball at the breakdown given Todd plays a big part in securing our own ball.
 
But we sorely missed Crotty, Fruean and Dagg. A little more composure to link with a few of our wingers and green 1st 5 would've been useful.
 
Thought Cruden played well. Love it when he plays a little flatter and we can see his individual brilliance at work.

The Silver Fern

Crusaders v Chiefs