2021 Crusaders
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@chris said in 2021 Crusaders:
@kev said in 2021 Crusaders:
@chris said in 2021 Crusaders:
@duluth said in 2021 Crusaders:
@chris said in 2021 Crusaders:
Dialing back the intensity I don’t like the sound of that.
That’s what makes AB rugby great if we do that at SR level it will flow through to The ABs eventually and we will lose our edge.The season has changed, there's 8 NZ v NZ games in a row. That is an increase in intensity. Having a few more inexperienced players in the mix offsets that slightly.
If your primary concern is the AB's you should worry about foreign players weakening the playing pool. In some positions 3 players will make the AB squad. If one of the 5 starting spots is taken by a foreigner we have 4 candidates starting each week. An injury or two forces the selection of bench players.
I would have a different opinion on foreign players if we had a few more NZ sides
That will decrease from next season with the new format coming into play.
I am not sure adding players who are not good enough to play in the competition does a lot to strengthen anything.
I would prefer to see what we have now and option for One player per franchise, 5 players in total can be foreign players.
5 players out of 190 SR postions doesn't seem that extreme to me.
Plus there is normally another 50+ players on wider training contracts spread throughout the SR teams as well as the 190 on full contracts.Every contract matters . The chance to be a full time professional is huge. Northland would love to have 1 or 2 more players experiencing a professional rugby environment.
The talk of players not being up to standard is 100% subjective. If you applied such an arbitrary standard then at any point a large number of current players wouldn’t have contracts ( .... if they have been lucky enough to play). Also every year the available players and form varies, so trying to implement a not up to standard rule as a cutoff is impossible. Of course the coaches will throw this line out all the time - it’s their problem to solve, using NZ players and the club / provincial system that has always worked so well and now needs support.
Quite noticeable ( unless you are Blues 9/10 ) that the same players are rolled out every week and not a lot of squad rotation happens currently anyway. Some of these guys just sit in the stands the whole season. A lot of the young ones especially which suggest they are not being selected to play this year.
You are entitled to your opinion of course.
But adding 5 overseas players of high quality IMO
Adds to the competition and hopefully the players you talk about sitting in the stands learn a lot from training and having these players around.
I see it being a potentially good thing.I don’t disagree with anything you have said. But clubs and provinces are under pressure. It’s seems to me that the best long term play is to prioritise NZ players and strengthen the club and provincial rugby pathway.
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@stargazer A couple of articles suggesting that Razor isn't either, "close to signing" - Good news for ABs!
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@machpants so long as it doesnt have an out clause if NZR re-appoint Fozzie...
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Geez, the guy has no luck! George Bridge is the 2021 version of 2020 David Havili!
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@taniwharugby said in Force v Highlanders:
@stargazer I knew he had spent time in Northland, was looking up something a few weeks ago and his wiki page said he was born in Perth, if you cant trust Wiki, what can you trust!!
Not sure whether this article about Tamaiti Willimas has been posted before, but it gives quite a bit of interesting info about him. -
@stargazer did you just change the wiki page too
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@taniwharugby Huh? I haven't been on Wiki for ages. Ha, someone must be reading the Fern!
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@stargazer yep cos it just happened, haha!!
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@taniwharugby
I just received a text from a mate of mine, saying it was him! He doesn't have an TSF account, but reads here now and then. Just happened to be lurking when we wrote our posts about Williams. Hi Beanstalk! 
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@stargazer said in 2021 Crusaders:
@taniwharugby said in Force v Highlanders:
@stargazer I knew he had spent time in Northland, was looking up something a few weeks ago and his wiki page said he was born in Perth, if you cant trust Wiki, what can you trust!!
Not sure whether this article about Tamaiti Willimas has been posted before, but it gives quite a bit of interesting info about him.No.8 to prop? Good lord it is a reverse Hayman story!
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All Access: Richie Mo'unga - Part 1
The rest can be found here (if you have a Sky Now pass):
Or watch via Sky Go (if you have a Sky Sport subscription).
Edited to add that these intros seem to be getting shorter and shorter.
This episode is much better than that with Laumape, but you don't get to see much if you don't have a sub. -
@stargazer yeah Laumape wasn’t the best option. I would have liked to have seen Coles or Jordie or even Blackwell so we could have seen what all the fuss was about.
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@canes4life They should have picked a senior player who has genuinely something to say and offers some insight in what makes them tick, what their struggles are and how they prepare for games. And not someone who is too (camera) shy to say much. They couldn't pick Ardie or Gareth Evans, because they were injured, maybe Coles, too. I actually think that Prinsep could have been more interesting.
I found the episodes with ALB and Mo'unga really good (I still have to watch the one with Smith).
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