Hurricanes 2021
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@canes4life Well he has played at 6 a bit, and with his reduced speed perhaps he will bulk up a bit and be a full time 6?
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@tim he could do, hopefully he can turn a new leaf at the Canes as I rated him a few years ago.
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@tim said in Hurricanes 2021:
@canes4life Well he has played at 6 a bit, and with his reduced speed perhaps he will bulk up a bit and be a full time 6?
The dude breaks every 5 minutes at 7, it will increase to every 3 minutes at 6.
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Maybe Ardie is now considered a no.8 so you need an extra openside? Kirifi and Evans the only current options. Iose is a 6/8 and there are plenty of those in the squad.
@Tim I would have promoted Howden if they need a true no.6. But in line with the Canes they like undersized forwards.
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@canes4life Maybe he will get the same change in injury luck as Scrafton.
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@bovidae good point, Ardie did an interview at the start of the year (prior to Cane getting injured) and he considered himself an 8 first and then a 7.
This now spells bad news for Flanders because the Canes obviously rate Prinsep as their best 6.
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@canes4life Flanders has one more year on his contract. If he doesn't get enough game time in 2022, he might go on the move. I think the Chiefs, Crusaders and Highlanders might all be keen.
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@stargazer he actually ended up getting good minutes with the Canes. Surely he's one player who should be on the long term retention list.
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@canes4life I agree, so they will have to give him enough game time to keep him, regardless of new signings or re-signings!
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@stargazer and I think they will, he's quality and will only get better.
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This is an excellent signing.
They could play blackwell & prinsep in lock
And savea, gibson & kirifi in Flankers.It will be the tallest team ever!!!
But you know they're all 'hard' workers....
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@canes4life said in Hurricanes 2021:
@bovidae good point, Ardie did an interview at the start of the year (prior to Cane getting injured) and he considered himself an 8 first and then a 7.
This now spells bad news for Flanders because the Canes obviously rate Prinsep as their best 6.
Does Ardie really have the size at 8 to be considered there at the international level given the rise of other AB 8 contenders? And do you think he is as good at 8 as he is at 7?
Speaking of which can Tom Robinson play 8? He'd be good in the lineout I imagine, seems fast and mobile enough for a 6/lock.. -
Can't help but feel Ardie's decision to be an 8 is going to leave the Hurricanes loose forward trio unbalanced until he either decides to go head to head with Cane at the All Blacks or leaves.
The guy was an awesome 7 and his form in 2018 and 2019 was great. I reckon he is better as a busy player and the closer he is to the ball the better. His play as an 8 see's him drift in and out of games almost as if he's not reading the game well enough to know where he needs to be. Play goes his way he often looks great, play doesn't go his way and you forget he's on the field.
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@toddy said in Hurricanes 2021:
@tim Maybe. It will be interesting to see how Cane progresses with his latest injury. How many games has Cane missed since 2018 to now through injury? Not that Ardie hasn't had his own issues since RWC 2019.
Not to mention the other top choice Papali'i is frequently injured as well.
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@canes4life given his injury history it is probably best for all concerned they stockpile him in national storage.
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@canes4life I really don't see the point of this signing. He should be at the bottom of the pecking order, but having seen the selections over the years, he migt push both Flanders and Evans (if he's staying) out of the 23. He'll be good for the food bill.
