North vs South
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god, at least there is one you can smash beers out of
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@sparky said in North vs South:
@Kiwiwomble said in North vs South:
smith not starting the only surprise for me
Aaron Smith played a huge number of minutes for the Highlanders, is 31 and is clearly the Half Back in NZ. I can understand the AB selectors trying to manage his workload.
...probably the least amount of rugby he's played in a decade
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@Kiwiwomble The other point to consider is, by the next RWC in 2023, Aaron Smith who will be nearly 34 may be used as a finisher by the ABs.. No harm in giving him experience being one.
I'm as disappointed as anyone that Aaron Smith is not in the North starting XV, but I can understand the selectors looking ahead a bit.
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@sparky said in North vs South:
@Kiwiwomble The other point to consider is, by the next RWC in 2023, Aaron Smith who will be nearly 34 may be used as a finisher by the ABs.. No harm in giving him experience being one.
I'm as disappointed as anyone that Aaron Smith is not in the North starting XV, but I can understand the selectors looking ahead a bit.
Three years out from the world cup, least rugby played in the professional era - we've got to protect our senior players!
Don't be such a cuck.
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@Stargazer nothing is ever as bad as Palmerston north
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@Tim said in North vs South:
@sparky said in North vs South:
@Kiwiwomble The other point to consider is, by the next RWC in 2023, Aaron Smith who will be nearly 34 may be used as a finisher by the ABs.. No harm in giving him experience being one.
I'm as disappointed as anyone that Aaron Smith is not in the North starting XV, but I can understand the selectors looking ahead a bit.
Three years out from the world cup, least rugby played in the professional era - we've got to protect our senior players!
Don't be such a cuck.
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Like the look of the North team. Mixture of experienced pros and exciting young talent. Solid tight five. Powerful back row, TJP-BB reuniting, Reiko's chance to nail down the ABs 12 jersey, super fast Wings.
I'm a little concerned about DMac at 15 who was mediocre for the Chiefs in Super Rugby Aotearoa (not sure he scored a try). Hope he goes okay.
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@sparky said in North vs South:
I'm a little concerned about DMac at 15 who was mediocre for the Chiefs in Super Rugby Aotearoa (not sure he scored a try). Hope he goes okay.
Not sure if he scored a try but he was playing for the Chiefs so there weren't really too many opportunities. He did have the most carries, the second most metres (I think they only calculate the ones going forward
), squeaked into the top 10 of most defenders beaten ... so he might be okay, especially as he's not surrounded by Gatland coached Chiefs players. -
@Tim said in North vs South:
Right, got it. Lets start a 20 yo lock who is clearly substandard at Super Rugby level
No
@Tim said in North vs South:
Aaron Smith is on fire at the moment, so we'll put him on the bench. That should get the fans really pumped!
Yes
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@mariner4life said in North vs South:
@Stargazer nothing is ever as bad as Palmerston north
I'm here right now.
Can confirm.
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@Bovidae said in North vs South:
@Duluth said in North vs South:
Vaa'i getting a start is a surprise
I would agree. The same for Christie over Hunt in the SI team. The SI has a lot of Crusaders' combos which will be an advantage. Favourites!
Here are the players that aren't in the match-day squads:
NI
Kurt Eklund, Alex Fidow, Lachlan Boshier, Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, Mark TeleaSI
Andrew Makalio, Daniel Lienert-Brown, Reed Prinsep, Mitchell Drummond, Sio TomkinsonNorth has stronger rejects!
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Grant Fox explains the selections for North v South match (audio is different from text)
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@Nepia said in North vs South:
@sparky said in North vs South:
I'm a little concerned about DMac at 15 who was mediocre for the Chiefs in Super Rugby Aotearoa (not sure he scored a try). Hope he goes okay.
Not sure if he scored a try but he was playing for the Chiefs so there weren't really too many opportunities. He did have the most carries, the second most metres (I think they only calculate the ones going forward
), squeaked into the top 10 of most defenders beaten ... so he might be okay, especially as he's not surrounded by Gatland coached Chiefs players.Most carries for DMac = more opportunities to stuff it up.
Iām not a hater but he was very poor this year.
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@nzzp said in North vs South:
@Bones said in North vs South:
Barring a Mounga miracle, North have this.
South tight 5 look pretty good. A good tight 5 and 10 and yuo're in every game.
South to win 24-19, with Reece scoring all three tries for North š
